3 Ways Psilocybin Therapy Could Lead to Healthier Gender Transitions
The first transgender person I knew who decided to go through a physical transition was a 35-year-old living on his own. He had been kicked out of his parents’ home as a teenager and didn’t have much of a support network in San Francisco. On the other end of the...
How Defining Your Spirituality Can Positively Impact Your Psychedelic Experiences
When I first began using psychedelics, I considered myself spiritual but non-religious. In fact, I was severely disillusioned with the religion I had grown up in and still felt pain from leaving my church in my teenage years. And while I knew psychedelics might give...
What’s the Future of Psychedelic Therapy? One Researcher’s Vision of Psychedelic Public Policy
This month may prove to be a big one for psychedelics. Beyond it being a groundbreaking year for cannabis at the voting polls, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) will meet with the FDA at the end of the month to design the third and final...
Cannabis in the 2016 Election: Could a Pivotal Political Year Lead to New Psychedelic Policies?
In the hubbub of the presidential upset, marijuana laws have been less center stage this year than in past elections. But even if the buzz has been a little quieter, this has been a pivotal year for cannabis, with advocates saying this election might be a turning...
The Health Risks of Ibogaine Treatment and What Every Ibogaine Provider Should Ask You For
There haven’t been many ibogaine-related deaths reported in the last five years, but the ones we do know about all seem to have some elusive factor. The 2014 death of a woman in a Costa Rican ibogaine clinic was actually from a heart attack, but the autopsy report was...
The Nuclear Option: A Personal Story of Treating Social Anxiety with 5-MeO-DMT Psychedelic Therapy
Jacob was finally fed up with his debilitating social anxiety. As a successful businessman with a wife and kids, he had achieved what most people would call success, but for some reason his anxiety levels and social awkwardness seemed to be getting worse by the year....
Staying Hydrated on Molly: The Tricky Relationship Between MDMA and Water Intoxication
It’s not often that the suggestion, “Drink more water” is a dangerous one, and yet that advice resulted in an upswing of MDMA-related deaths in the early 1990’s when the first harm reduction campaigns started urging club-goers to stay hydrated. There is a risk of...
Achieving the “Set” in Set and Setting: 4 Principles to Make the Most of Your Psychedelic Experience
When I recently had the opportunity to talk with a psychedelic integration specialist, we discussed all kinds of topics—addiction, anxiety, mindfulness, and, of course, psychedelic experiences. With several years under his belt as a recovery coach and integration...
Does Cannabis Increase Creativity? Studies Suggest It Depends on Dose and Personality
A few years ago, a friend who used cannabis daily to relieve insomnia told me that, while marijuana was still helping him sleep, he felt it no longer promoted creative thinking like it used to. “It’s just not the same anymore,” he complained. When he first started...
Iboga and the Heart of Harm Reduction: An Interview with Dimitri Mugianis
After two decades of cocaine, heroin, and methadone use, Dimitri Mugianis felt ready to die. As someone who had originally turned to drugs as a form of rebellion and a way to numb psychological pain, his habit had turned into a hardcore addiction that took over his...
