Every human culture since prehistory has had experiences with mind-altering substances, which could be one of the earliest indicators of religious formation. The Tassili n’Ajjer National Park in south-east Algeria is home to ancient rock art carvings (7,000 – 9,000 years old) that point to a lengthy, deep relationship between humans and psychedelic mushrooms. These…
Scientists don’t really know why DMT users are far more likely to report encounters with mysterious entities than users of other… [psychedelics], but a new study recently published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology may shed some light on this phenomenon. Most subjects said the encounter was initiated by the entity, and most participants also said that they were…
These restrictions were not just for children or for recreational use, but for all use, with the exception of very expensive and highly regulated research, and some religious ceremonies—and these exceptions were only allowed after legal battles. These agencies even banned potential drugs based on the existing ones so people couldn’t develop new variants. In a sense,…
Call it trickle-down transcendence… in parsing the history of psychedelia, there is one distinction that proves, if not hard-and-fast, then certainly very useful. It’s the split between elitism and egalitarianism. And historically, this tension has long compromised our ability to reckon with the broader import of the psychedelic gestalt… champions of the traditional psychedelic trip…
As long as he worked in the company [Sandoz], he was quite a conservative man, keeping his distance from the [so-called] counterculture, but the older he became, the more open he was to LSD use that went beyond therapy. …one of the most important things about LSD is that it can reconnect people with the living…
Although MAPS is doing everything by the book in seeking approval of MDMA as a prescription drug, Doblin’s vision goes beyond such doctor-approved uses. He aspires to a world in which people can use psychedelics responsibly without permission from physicians or priests. “Psychedelics are tools,” Doblin says. “They’re not good or bad in and of…
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…
“It is time to end the war on entheogenic plants and fungi.” Under Berkeley’s proposed resolution, police would still be able to enforce criminal penalties against people who are under 21, as well as anyone found to be commercially manufacturing or selling these entheogenic substances. Berkeley City Council will consider a measure that would forbid city…
This is one reason why some advocates believe that decriminalization is… even necessary… “A very large percentage of the people interested in psychedelic medicines can, with the right education and settings, do this work safely on their own or with a peer”. -Daniel McQueen “…decriminalization lets us begin to have that dialogue. When we take…
Denver’s measure doesn’t specify exactly how many mushrooms a person can possess before being targeted for prosecution, which police officials said may require clarification. The measure took effect upon its passage. “What is the definition of personal use? A day? A year? A lifetime? We’re trying to find the best balance,” said Denver police Commander James…
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