Anthropology

Drug pleasure ratings

The Net Pleasure Index is the first ever attempt to define and rank drugs in terms of the overall balance of pleasures and harms If you want to guess how it turned out here are the drugs we asked about, in alphabetical order: alcohol, amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine, GHB/GBL, ketamine, LSD, magic mushrooms, MDMA, mephedrone, and…

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Anthropology

How ayahuasca tourism jeopardizes traditional medicine

He warns against unrealistic expectations and charlatans who claim to perform miracle cures. “Someone is missing an arm and thinks the shaman will give them an arm, or they’re blind and think the shaman can restore their sight,” he says. ​ Although the question of whether outsiders are appropriating and changing a traditional practice for…

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Anthropology

Here is the full [Mexico legalization] Supreme Court ruling

When Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled… that consuming marijuana was constitutionally legal, it left the world shocked and somewhat confused … In a 4-1 vote … in Mexico City, the five-justice panel declared the personal recreational use of marijuana legal under the right of “free development of personality. In the same paragraph, however, the Court cautioned…

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Anthropology

How psychedelic science privileges some, neglects others, and limits us all

Currently, indigenous people who have been studying these medicines for many generations receive little if any respect in Western science for their extensive expertise. Furthermore, underground therapists, often women, have been putting their lives, livelihoods, and reputations on the line in the name of healing without institutional protections or recognition for their work. ​ These…

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