“What is truly groundbreaking is FDA’s rightful acknowledgement that MDD (Major Depressive Disorder], not just the much smaller treatment-resistant depression population, represents an unmet medical need and that the available data suggest that psilocybin may offer a substantial clinical improvement over existing therapies.” -Dr. Charles Raison, MD Compass Pathways, a pharmaceutical research firm, received the…
When we hear the phrase “dropping acid,” we immediately think of the counterculture essentials: flower print, Volkswagen buses and religiously-doled-out peace signs. In light of the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement, anti-establishment culture promoted several progressive ideologies, including environmentalism, feminism, gay liberation and even psychoactive drug experimentation. Considered forms of radicalism at the…
She argued that marijuana is as harmful as alcohol and opiates. “The legalization of marijuana is a proxy war, setting the stage for legalization of a variety of these other vice crimes” such as other drug use and sex work, [the] new press secretary wrote, arguing that cannabis reform advocates’ conception of liberty is itself…
Barrett and his team also observed a decrease in amygdala response to emotional information for one week after administration, though this to returned to baseline in the next test, one month later. It’s a small sample, and relied on a lot of self-reporting, but respondents claimed emotional distress was reduced in the week following [synthetic]…
In addition to highlighting ideological differences between licensing a product and providing it at cost or free of charge, the Compass patent has raised questions about efforts by companies to own forms of psychoactive substances, and the role IP claims play in promising returns to investors. Matthew Baggott, the former Director of Data Science and…
How may we legitimize our curiosity and excitement? I believe the power to do so is in the hands of the people. May we remain leery and methodological regarding the process of legalization, then, to the extent that it does not inhibit personal growth, freedom of expression, cognitive liberty, and the propagation of love. While…
I can totally see somebody in Silicon Valley doing ayahuasca in order to come up with the next algorithm that’s going to make them a billionaire. But there’s something that feels concerning to me about this nonspecific amplifier conversation… about the co-opting of psychedelics by capitalism. So, if psychedelics are non-specific amplifiers, I’m concerned that people…
The vending machine began dispensing in January 2020. [Henry] visits it to pick up his medication four times a day … participants do not have to attend counseling, swear off all other substances or show up every day at a particular time. Tyndall, a professor of epidemiology at the University of British Columbia, originally proposed…
To this day, many individuals who use psychedelic [entheogens/ethnobotanicals] feel they grant a certain kind of perspicacity, and the number of people who are using psychedelics appears to be growing. While under the influence… users typically experience changes in mood and perception, a sense of oceanic boundlessness, radically altered reasoning and thinking, and auditory and…
More than 80% of participants said they usually took LSD or psilocybin [mushrooms] at home, while more than half of participants said they used ayahuasca in a ceremonial or spiritual ritual setting. MDMA was usually used at a festival or party. [Re-creational] users of psychedelics… with low well-being are more likely than those with normal…
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