Spirituality

Muslim women and psychedelics: a look at the past, present, and future

…the use of psychedelics falls somewhere in between social acceptance and outright prohibition among Muslim communities… and cultural perceptions of the psychedelic plant Peganum harmala. …the present study explores the historical as well as the current perspective on the use of plant medicine in Muslim communities and cultures, specifically focusing on Sufism… Original Article (Springer):Muslim…

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Politics

God, magic mushroom, and me

As Priest positioned himself on a sofa, Richards asked, “How do you feel?” “I’m a little nervous,” Priest told Richards, who held a degree in theology and was an ordained minister. Richards said with a smile, “You’re about to meet God.” He offered Priest a tablet of psilocybin in a chalice, as if it were…

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Spirituality

Judaism’s psychedelic…

My introduction to the intersection of psychedelics and Judaism came some five years before that best-ever Purim. The energy of Purim alone is enough to engender a psychedelic experience; but as we are commanded, substances like alcohol – or trippier substitutes – are an integral part of the program. I started to feel the blessed…

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Anthropology

…terror at music festival…

The Supernova Sukkot Gathering was a weekend-long outdoor trance music festival that began on 6 October 2023. Thousands of young men and women gathered at a vast field in southern Israel near the Gaza border to dance without a care. Old and new friends jumped up and down, reveling in the swirl of the bass-heavy…

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Politics

Oregon marijuana: OLCC… certificate of tax compliance rule

The OLCC announced several changes to the tax compliance rule this weekend at the Cannabis & Psychedelic Section of the Oregon Bar Association’s annual conference… On June 15, 2023, the OLCC approved temporary rules requiring marijuana retailers to obtain a Certificate of Tax Compliance (“Certificate”) from the Oregon Department of Revenue (“DOR”) as a condition…

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Politics

California nixes a bill to decriminalize plant-based psychedelics

“Should we be threatening people with arrest and incarceration for using mushrooms? Of course we should not,” says Scott Weiner [who introduced the bill] “If you want drugs to be unsafe, the most effective thing you can do is criminalize them and push everyone within the shadows where they’re where they’re less likely to ask…

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Politics

Dr. Bronner’s decries veto of landmark criminal justice and mental health reform legislation in California

The bill, which passed the California Assembly and Senate was introduced by California state Senator Scott Wiener and amended in various committees, would have decriminalized natural psychedelics, such as psilocybin mushrooms and ayahuasca tea, allowing adults of age 21 or older to grow, possess and use them without fear of prosecution. Senate Bill 58 also…

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Science

The magic of [natural symbiotic relationships with psilocybe] mushrooms [and other species]

Psilocybin has become a household name in the last decade. It’s been decriminalized in two states – Colorado (five natural psychedelic compounds: DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, psilocybin and psilocin) and Oregon… [psilocybin which converts to] psilocin [in the body] not only penetrates the cell membrane and binds to these very specific receptors, it binds stronger than…

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