Modern Culture

Psychedelics group wants to protect Portland… users of… plant- or mushroom-based psychedelics… from cops

March 30, 2025By

Portland advocates for psychedelic drug use are hoping to put an initiative on the city’s 2026 ballot that would protect people who use what they call non-toxic and non-addictive plant- or mushroom-based psychedelic drugs from arrest. Under the proposed initiative, non-toxic and non-addictive psychedelics would be designated police officers’ “lowest priority for enforcement,” according to the initiative…

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Psychology

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

February 20, 2025By

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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Anthropology

Psychedelic therapy begins in Colorado, causing tension between conservatives and veterans

January 1, 2025By

Psilocybin is decriminalized but there won’t be recreational dispensaries… conservative leaders are restricting the treatment over objections from some of the city’s 90,000 veterans, who’ve become flagbearers for psychedelic therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder… “We have an opportunity to support veterans, and it’s a really easy one to say ‘Yes’ to,” said Lane Belone, a special…

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Science

Psilocybin helped doctors and nurses who worked through the pandemic

December 7, 2024By

Researchers ran a double-blind, randomized trial in Washington State from February-December 2022. Their study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on December 5, 2024. This randomized clinical trial found that psilocybin therapy resulted in a significant, sustained reduction in symptoms of depression experienced by clinicians after frontline work during the…

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Science

The first functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study of psychedelics [was] published in 2012… 

December 4, 2024By

[In December 2024]; a [new] synergistic, multi-level understanding of psychedelics; a novel, synergistic understanding of psychedelics arising from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of three hierarchical levels of analysis: (1) subjective experience (phenomenology), (2) neuroimaging and (3) molecular pharmacology. The Altered States of Consciousness (ASC) scale is one popular questionnaire that captures several of these subjective…

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Biography/Memoir

2 arrested, psilocybin mushroom cultivation site shut down

November 19, 2024By

Officers seized approximately 10,000 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms in various stages of cultivation. Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies, Santa Rosa [CA] police detectives, and U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency officers served a search warrant… finding a large psilocybin mushroom cultivation operation inside the warehouses. Original Article (SF Gate):2 arrested, psilocybin mushroom cultivation site shut downArtwork Fair Use: Judgefloro

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Medicine/Healing

Healthcare workers back psychedelics but lack crucial knowledge, study finds

November 19, 2024By

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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Biography/Memoir

Ballot question 4 to legalize psychedelics…

October 23, 2024By

If the measure passes, Massachusetts residents over 21 would be able to grow, possess, and use certain natural psychedelics – but the commercial sale of the substances would remain prohibited. Supporters – including the Washington, D.C.-based New Approach PAC and Massachusetts for Mental Health Options – have raised more than $6 million dollars in support…

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Science

Psychedelic mushrooms are getting much, much stronger

October 10, 2024By

Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms, one of the species most commonly consumed, are among the most heavily inbred… Cultivators are using genetic sequencing and are hybridizing cultivars from ever more distant lineages to hunt for improvements, plus sheer aesthetic novelty. Technological advancements have allowed for fungal cells to more easily be manipulated during breeding, and developments in chromatographic…

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Psychology

Over 5 million Americans could benefit if psilocybin approved for depression

September 16, 2024By

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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