In a paper published… in the journal Cell Reports, a team of researchers showed evidence that psychedelic drugs can induce structural changes in nerve cells — a trait called neuroplasticity — that could, in turn, help repair brain dysfunction in people with mood and anxiety disorders. “The structure of neurons affects their function, and in the case of…
The international medical journal The Lancet published a study showing that any level of alcohol consumption, regardless of the amount, leads to loss of healthy life. “The health risks associated with alcohol are massive,” said Dr Emmanuela Gakidou of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington (United States of America),…
“The FDA has also misled the DEA, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) with incomplete, inaccurate, extrapolated, and distorted information on adverse events and deaths allegedly associated with the use of kratom to encourage unwarranted legislative and regulatory restrictions on kratom at the federal, state, and local…
“Our findings set the stage for heterologous production of [psilocybin] in a controlled place for pharmaceutical purposes, using engineered microbial hosts, should the re-discovered pharmaceutical value lead to increased demands,” the researchers write in their report. After four decades of virtually ignoring the science of psychedelics, researchers tentatively returned to investigating how substances such as…
The state wasn’t going to allow outdoor farming until… people successfully convinced the regulators to allow sun-grown weed. It’s also the more environmentally friendly choice. Outdoor farming will always use less energy. Indoor farmers need a lot of power to run their lights and fans. Just like the grape vines for winemaking, pot plants absorb…
Qualitative data from the survey revealed that microdosers reported positive effects of the practice including migraine reduction, improved focus and productivity, and better connection with others. In quantitative results, microdosers scored lower than non-microdosing respondents on negative emotionality and dysfunctional attitude. The data yielded interesting results, including important information about how much of the drug…
In this new study, a large group of Brazilian scientists carried out the first randomized placebo-controlled trial with ayahuasca, treating 29 patients with treatment-resistant depression. Half of the patients were treated with ayahuasca, and the other half with placebo. “We observed a significant placebo effect, but the effects of ayahuasca were superior, and lasted longer,”…
Its scientific advisory board includes Tom Insel, the former director of the National Institutes of Mental Health.While most of the research is being led by universities and non-profit research institutions, Compass, a for-profit company founded in 2016, sees itself as helping to fill in the gaps … For the trial, which is set to begin within…
This study was not about marijuana. It was about a chemical called “WIN 55,212-2.” This chemical is a synthetic cannabinoid, which means it binds to the same receptors in the brain as marijuana’s active chemicals Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). But it’s not the same as marijuana, and it’s not derived from marijuana. In the paper,…
We are now hearing calls to increase psychedelics’ clinical availability; i.e., “legalizing psychedelics.” … Most important, only those with specialized training would be allowed to administer psychedelics to humans. Psychedelics possess unique characteristics that do not fit neatly into the criteria used to define schedule placement. Their safety and efficacy [ideally] exist… within highly structured specialized…
