Modern Culture

What to know about peyote

…some Native Americans would travel up to 322 kilometers (200 miles) on foot to attain the peyote… even the process of acquiring the peyote, called “the hunt,” is a part of the ritual. Since its scientific discovery around the turn of the 20th century, peyote use has expanded. Now, many people use the plant or its…

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Science

Salvia divinorum [&] analgesic & anti-inflammatory action

…the minutes-long hallucinogenic and dissociative effects of recreational S. divinorum in humans have been described in detail. Salvia divinorum… inhibited contractions of the mouse colon, stomach, and ileum in vitro; prolonged colonic propulsion; and slowed upper GI transit in vivo by activating KOR, CB1, and interestingly by activating cannabinoid type 2 receptors (CB2). In our laboratory, we…

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Psychology

…salvinorin…

Published reports suggest potential benefits of Salvia divinorum in the treatment of TRD [treatment-resistant depression]. One doctor reported on 7 patients with TRD who described relief from depressive symptoms with triweekly oral consumption of salvia leaves. Several patients reported lasting benefits from their use of salvia, with significantly reduced scores on quantitative measures of depression. Patients…

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Science

Shrooms and lsd linked to lower heart disease and diabetes risk

“The findings suggest that lifetime classic psychedelic use is associated with lower odds of having had heart disease or diabetes in the past year,” lead study author and Oxford sociologist Otto Simonsson, [said]. A team of scientists identified the unexpected trend after poring over ten years’ worth of data from the National Survey on Drug…

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Science

…do regulators and for-profit actors think about mysticism?

For a regulating body like the FDA, researchers aiming to put a psychedelic drug and treatment through the clinical research pipeline only need to prove two things: that the drug (and its associated protocols) are safe, and that they work successfully at treating the indication they’re after. While multiple psychedelic substances are currently undergoing dozens…

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Anthropology

…psychedelic… rush

The future of psychedelic therapy is also uncertain. While it seems likely that at least some psychedelic drugs will be approved for certain medical conditions in the years to come, it’s also possible that recreational use could be widely decriminalized or legalized. The status quo could also stay in place. The companies and people hoping…

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Biography/Memoir

Overwhelmed by illegal cannabis, Oregon county declares emergency

A megadrought across the West has created urgency, though, as illegal growers steal water, depriving legal users including farmers and homeowners of the increasingly precious resource. “Jackson County strongly requests your assistance to address this emergency,” the commissioners said in a letter to Gov. Kate Brown, Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek. Josephine…

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Science

Optimal dosing for psilocybin… considering weight-adjusted and fixed dosing approaches

Across a wide range of body weights (49kg [approx. 108lbs] to 113 kg [approx. 249lbs]) the present results showed no evidence that body weight affected subjective effects of psilocybin. In the 20 mg/70 kg and 30 mg/70 kg weight-adjusted groups, and in the fixed dose group, no significant associations were found between subjective effects and demographic variables including body weight…

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Medicine/Healing

…learn… lessons… the cannabis market…

In medical markets, there was an influx of “cannabis clinics” where practitioners specialized in the evaluation and treatment of patients with cannabinoid therapies. Many of these clinic chains built out expensive clinics resembling luxury medical spas, and later cashed out by selling their business along with their patient and client lists. In the United States…

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Medicine/Healing

FDA’s kratom ban would harm the public and damage the agency’s credibility

If the FDA secures a global kratom ban, countless people could die by suicide and unintentional overdose… why does the FDA vilify [whole botanical] kratom when so many stakeholders identify deficiencies in its arguments? Could it be that drug companies are commercializing synthetic versions of kratom and banning the plant would protect their interests? Companies…

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