Psychology

MDMA for active-duty troops…

The Department of Defense (DOD) is launching its first-ever clinical trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for active-duty service members with PTSD at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. …funded via the Defense Appropriations Act, has a number of interesting features. Those include the use of D-amphetamine as a control, a combination of the Lykos Therapeutics model…

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Psychology

“Bad trips” and guilt: Why difficult feelings during psychedelic use might actually be a good thing

A recent study in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs has shed light on a less discussed aspect of psychedelic experiences: the feelings of shame and guilt that can arise during these journeys. Mathai and his colleagues found that feelings of shame or guilt during psilocybin use were indeed common. Almost 70% of participants reported experiencing either shame…

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Medicine/Healing

…at downtown magic mushroom… shops

Windsor Coun. Renaldo Agostino… who represents the downtown on city council [Ontario]. “And you know what the truth is? One day, if that business is allowed to open, I’d be more than happy to welcome it.” A spokesperson for the stores [FunGuyz] who identified himself as Chris Stewart says they’ve been raided over 120 times……

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Psychology

Is everyone high?

…as people merge getting high and self-care… we need a new way to make sense of it. In today’s chaotic marketplace… the internet also transformed supply and demand… the idea of drugs as a social evil and the belief that only doctors define what is medical is being challenged… the distinction between licit “medicine” and…

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Medicine/Healing

Healthcare workers back psychedelics but lack crucial knowledge, study finds

The research… from Johns Hopkins University, surveyed 879 healthcare providers, shedding light on current attitudes, knowledge levels, and concerns… The vast majority of respondents, 93%, endorsed the potential of psilocybin and 76% supported the promise of MDMA in clinical settings. However, self-reported knowledge did not align with objective assessments. While participants rated their understanding of psilocybin’s…

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Psychology

The middle-class women who are…

…one study published in July 2024 found that the percentage of adults aged 35 to 50 who had used hallucinogens within the past year was seven times what it was in 2014. I spoke to a dozen women who use psychedelics regularly, and found them to be a diverse bunch: They come from different generations and…

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Psychology

Over 5 million Americans could benefit if psilocybin approved for depression

In the mid-range of estimates, anywhere from 56% to 62% of Americans currently being treated for depression could be eligible to try psilocybin. The number could even grow higher if people currently untreated for their depression decide they would like to try psilocybin, the investigators noted. Original Article (Newsweek):Over 5 million Americans could benefit if psilocybin…

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Psychology

Psilocybin… the human brain

Psilocybin was supplied by Usona Institute… (Open Science and Praxis Signatories) here we tracked individual-specific brain changes with longitudinal precision functional mapping (roughly 18 magnetic resonance imaging visits per participant). Healthy adults were tracked before, during and for 3 weeks after high-dose psilocybin (25 mg) and methylphenidate (40 mg), and brought back for an additional psilocybin dose 6–12 months…

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Psychology

What psychedelia can learn from Clusterbusters

…if someone is desperate and suicidal, of course they should be able to try psychedelics, as quickly and safely as possible. The healthcare system is broken, the FDA approval system is slow and very expensive…and people can sometimes heal themselves outside of the medical system.  Clusterbusters is a really interesting example of a peer support group which…

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Science

How cannabis and psilocybin might help some of the 50 million Americans who are experiencing chronic pain

I want to help understand how to effectively use cannabis and psilocybin as potential tools for pain management. …lethal overdoses from cannabis are almost unheard of. This is remarkable considering that nearly 50 million Americans use it each year… a group of cannabis and pain specialists published a proposed guideline for clinical practice in early 2024 to…

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