Psychedelics and the Evolution of Festival Culture: David Starfire Talks Psychedelic Music
One of the driving ways psychedelics have become more mainstream in recent years is through the culture that emerges from art and music festivals. From Burning Man in the scorching Black Rock Desert to Envision Festival in the lush jungles of Costa Rica, electronic...
The Dangerous Side Effects of Benzodiazepine: Using Psychedelics as an Alternative Anxiety Treatment
A friend of mine used to routinely get panic attacks while he was driving. On the highway, visions of violent collisions and careening off the road haunted him almost daily, to the point where he could hardly stand to even get in the car. Understandably, his work...
What Do Your Psychedelic Visions Mean? What Psychedelics Teach Us About Human Consciousness
As you come up on LSD, moving objects leave long trails behind them. Elaborate, symmetrical mandala-like designs appear over surfaces, and noisy patterns like clouds and static come together into recognizable imagery, often of faces. Surfaces seem to breathe or flow....
Common Antidepressant Side Effects: Why You Might Want to Use Psychedelics Instead of SSRIs
When I was first prescribed fluoxetine (the generic name for Prozac), I didn’t think to ask my psychiatrist about side effects. I was only eighteen. I didn’t even really know what I was taking—just that this professional, whom I trusted, told me it would help. In the...
Why the War on Drugs Failed and How It Affects Psychedelic Addiction Treatment
Drug prohibition isn't just one of the most hotly contested issues of our day, it's an issue that has resulted in some of the most far-reaching consequences for both American citizens and people living around the world. The United States has led the global effort to...
How Psychedelics Can Help You Meditate, and Why Meditation Makes Your Psychedelic Experience Easier
As 2 AM rolls around, I toss and turn in bed thinking, “Why can’t I fall asleep?” I have so much to do tomorrow, and while anxiety about that kept me up at first, as the hours pass, I worry more about this insomnia itself. It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle that...
Voacanga: An Alternative, Sustainable Source of Ibogaine Treatment
Last week I was searching for an ibogaine treatment center to share with a close friend who has been struggling with opiate addiction. Aware of its tremendous anti-addiction and psychospiritual healing properties, I thought that an ibogaine or iboga experience could...
What are the Benefits of LSD? Rethinking Acid as a Therapeutic Medicine
When people hear the word psychedelic, the first substance that often comes to mind is lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), more commonly referred to as acid. This powerful psychedelic has been hailed by scientists and therapists as a breakthrough therapeutic tool,...
DOB and 2C-B: The Controversial Legacy of Alexander Shulgin’s Psychedelic Research
Alexander Shulgin has a varied reputation, depending on who you ask. Ask a DOW Chemical executive, and they might remember the part he played in making biodegradable pesticides. Ask a DEA officer, they’d remember him as the man who both served as an expert witness for...
Finding Psycho Spiritual Healing with a Huachuma Healing Ceremony
After the nausea wanes, huachuma enters and moves through your consciousness. You enter a lucid but dream-like state and your body feels numb. As the numbness grows, you feel like your soul is voyaging beyond your body as you experience extremes of joy and sorrow. As...
