“Looking back on my first ceremony, I realize that I had absolutely no idea what I was stepping into. I had to learn many lessons the hard way”. This article is about some of these hard-earned lessons of my experience with visionary plant medicine (VPM), a term I will use to describe the virtually endless…
“The sacramental use ofayahuasca is on the cusp of becoming a permanent part of the colorful religious landscape of northern New Mexico”. After years of litigation, it now seems likely that União do Vegetal (UDV)–or more formally, O Centro Espirita Beneficente União do Vegetal–will build a temple in Arroyo Hondo, just outside Santa Fe. UDV…
Amongst the plant healing community, there’s widespread concern that the ayahuasca liquid gold rush is attracting unscrupulous charlatans, who are motivated by money rather than a higher cause, and who may put ceremony participants in unsafe situations. “As you know, its totally a sham,” was the first thing Doblin said. “They do a disservice to…
“We do not recognize, condone, or allow the use of marijuana, or any other substance other than peyote, in any of our religious services”. “To the extent that the claims of any of these organizations rest on allegations or inferences of an affiliation with traditional Native American Church organizations or with any legitimate chapter of…
“Reading the Psychedelic Society many years ago, in a time when I immersed myself in the universe of McKenna’s writings and talks, I was captivated by the idea. Yet in the years to come my thoughts of the subject have become less certain and unequivocal”. Like many of McKenna’s ideas, the concept of the psychedelic…
“Of course, I have no way of knowing if the mushrooms that my great-great Grandfather Daugherty was allegedly harvesting were actually P. cubensis”. Nor do I know if the Choctaw or Chickasaw tribes even possess(ed) a knowledge of the visionary properties of coprophilic psilocybin mushrooms. I recount this anecdote only as a means of raising…
“Estimates on the number of U.S. Herion Addicts Range from 300,000 to 500,000.” The resurgence of the deadly drug has sparked a flurry of action from governors’ mansions and statehouses across New England and the Midwest to small-town police stations from northern Kentucky to Wisconsin. “It’s really on the top of everyone’s radar from a…
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented data on drug overdose death rates from 2001-2014, and it does not look good”. “Prescription drug overdose deaths have nearly tripled since 2001 Opioid overdose deaths have nearly quadrupled since 2001 Benzodiazepine overdose deaths have increased by more than 600% since 2001 Cocaine overdose deaths are up…
“After three months of treatment, the frequency of all seizures was reduced by a median of 45 percent in all participants. Almost half (47%) of the participants in the study experienced a 50 percent or greater reduction in seizures and nine percent of patients were seizure-free”. Among specific patient populations, DS patients had a…
The researchers said MDMA appears to enhance the extinction of the conditioned fear by altering neuronal activity in the amygdala, a brain structure associated with memory and emotions. Researchers have discovered that MDMA — commonly known as ecstasy or molly — speeds up the extinction of the conditioned fear response in mice. The findings help…
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