Modern Culture

To decolonize drugs, start with [understanding]…

…this kind of internalized prohibition “shows how the process of colonialism colonizes not only the land, but the people as well, to become a perpetual machine of oppression against themselves.” …research points to implementation of drug prohibition and penalization policies as a way to “civilize” Indigenous peoples [and “others”]. Over time, these ideas have been…

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Modern Culture

Psychedelic drugs will follow pot’s path to legalization

…the old arguments against psychedelics are obsolete, grounded as they were in a fundamental fear of the experience of altered consciousness… indeed, when local municipalities vote to “legalize” [ie, decriminalize, ie, home production, non-commercial grow, gather, gifting, etc.] mushrooms, as several Massachusetts cities (including my own hometown of Cambridge) did in early 2021, they are…

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Modern Culture

Psychedelics don’t deserve the stigma

It’s time to destroy the stigma surrounding psychedelics and educate ourselves on their effects. Just like any drug that is used irresponsibly, psychedelics still pose a risk to users, but when used safely, they are undeserving of the false, overexaggerated effects people ascribe to them. Thankfully, psychedelics are gradually breaking out of the taboo. Last…

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Modern Culture

Ethical concerns about psilocybin intellectual property

It is critical to reconsider the neoliberal pharmaceutical approach, including basic science to clinical science, and the implications of its stated goals. In the case of psilocybin, for which there are now at least 24 registered patent processes… bioprospecting and biopiracy often cause conflicts, tensions, disconnection, poverty, and suffering in the communities… Depression is considered…

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Modern Culture

…in praise of magic mushrooms…

It’s the latest wrinkle in the burgeoning food-as-medicine movement… …and the ongoing rollback of the war on drugs. In November [2020], [Oregon decriminalized personal possession of psilocybin]. Investors, for one, are tripping, pouring funds into more than 200 mushroom startups in the U.S. Original Article (Forbes):Forbes food & drink awards 2020: In praise of magic…

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Modern Culture

2020 was the [first of many years of] psychedelics [ahead]…

2020 recorded the highest number of published psilocybin research to date, with the NIH’s pubmed registering 118 publications on the drug, almost double from the 68 publications recorded in 2019… “This is going to lead to a constitutional challenge, which is actually how cannabis came about…” …[that] means you’re going to have de facto legalization,…

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Modern Culture

City… urges [State] to decriminalize [grow, gather, gift] psychedelics and allow healing ceremonies

The Oakland City Council on Tuesday [12/15/2020] unanimously approved a resolution… the measure as introduced had included the phrase “decriminalize or legalize,” but [City Council Member] Gallo moved to remove the legalize part just prior to the vote. The vote is a product of activist-led efforts by the group Decriminalize Nature (DN), which has been…

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Modern Culture

Psychedelics as political players…

In a sense, psychedelics are belatedly following the other parts of the 60s counterculture that have been mainstreamed via commercials, fashion, lingo, music, and literature. Yet, for all the Baby Boomer nostalgia industry, a real hardcore part remained outside. And that’s because it preexisted the 60s but found, however brief, a public expression in the…

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Modern Culture

Are psychedelic [plant/fungi]… the next… wellness trend?

The government is currently considering a petition that calls for the decriminalization of psychedelic drugs. “I feel more strongly than ever that decriminalization will happen,” says Trevor Millar, executive director of Canadian Psychedelic Association, “We’re 10 years ahead of where I thought we’d be at this stage of the game five years ago.” “We know…

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Modern Culture

How [free, abundant access to naturally-occuring psilocybe mushrooms] can save the environment

The result is a scientific worldview that encourages looking at nature not objectively, not from the clean, well-lighted bench in the laboratory, but subjectively… there’s been mycological experts going back tens of thousands of years.  This evolving eco-consciousness is… a clear and profound notion of a transaction, signed by nature and humanity, an exchange between…

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