Category Archives: Psychedelics

Californias governor says that while he understands the profound potential of psychedelics to treat certain mental health conditions, hes still undecided on how he will approach a bill to legalize small amounts of certain entheogenic substances thats on his deskeven as new polling shows a majority of likely voters in the state back the reform.

Gov. Gavin Newsoms (D) position on psychedelics has been murky, with no clear indication of whether hed sign the legislation from Sen. Scott Wiener (D). But in a recent interview with Politico, he shared mixed feelings about the proposal.

On the one hand, he said as the father of four young children, he views issues through a different prism than he did when he led the charge on legalizing marijuana and pushed for other drug policy reforms, including supporting certain harm reduction services like syringe exchange programs.

Im also mindful of the anxiety and stress thats out there as well, he said. And thats a new spectrum of some respects.

On the other hand, the governor said hes also deeply mindful of the potential benefits of psychedelics.

I have a lot of friends that are vets, so he understands the profound and consequential nature of how these drugs have been used to address PTSD.

That is what I will bring in to a review of this bill, he said.

Watch Newsom discuss the psychedelics reform legislation, starting at 21:00 intothe video below:

Likely voters in California are more decided on the issue of psychedelics, according to an FM3 poll that was conducted last month. The survey, first reported by The San Francisco Chronicle, found that 60 percent of California likely voters support the psychedelics bill that the legislature approved, including 30 percent who strongly support it.

Another 44 percent of respondents said theyd view their state lawmakers more favorably if they supported psychedelics reform legislation, while 19 percent said it wouldnt make a difference and 38 percent said theyd view them less favorably.

In conclusion, California voters broadly support reforming laws around personal possession of plant-based psychedelics which can be effective in treating PTSD, anxiety and depression, the firm wrote. Support for such a bill is a net- positive for a state legislator as well.

Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they dont miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.

But for Newsom, it may not just be Californians hes thinking about as he weighs what to do with the psychedelics bill. Its widely speculated that the governor, who is termed out in 2026, is considering a future run for president, and he may worry about possible fallout in other battleground states if hes linked to legalizing other drugs.

Newsom has already shown a willingness to flout drug policy reform advocates. Last session, for example, he vetoed a bill to establish a safe drug consumption site pilot program in the state that was also sponsored by Wiener.

This session, meanwhile, the governor wont just be deciding on the psychedelics legislation. He has until October 14 to act on more than a dozen marijuana and other drug policy-related bills. That includes measures toprevent employers from asking job applicants about marijuana use,legalize cannabis cafes and promote environmentally sustainable track-and-trace plant tagging.

Read the California poll on psychedelics reform below:

Black Pennsylvania Lawmakers Discuss Marijuana Legalization ProspectsWith Focus On Ensuring Equity Is At The Center

Photo courtesy of Dick Culbert.

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California Governor Says Psychedelics Have 'Profound' Healing Potential, But He's Undecided On Legalization Bill As ... - Marijuana Moment

Dried Psilocybe mushrooms on a glass plate. James MacDonald/Bloomberg/Getty Images hide caption

Dried Psilocybe mushrooms on a glass plate.

Research on the therapeutic use of psychedelics is underway at several universities, and data continues to accumulate on how they may help with conditions from PTSD to depression. Many states and localities across the country are considering legislation. Some, like Oregon and Colorado, have already passed regulatory models, which involve licensing facilitators to administer these drugs. And there's increasing interest in that work from a group of professionals who already guide people through life's deep and difficult times: chaplains.

Chaplains are religious professionals who work in non-religious settings hospitals, schools, battlefields. Although they're trained and often ordained in a particular tradition, they help people of any faith or none at all wrestle with spiritual issues, and connect with a sense of meaning.

"We are with people in deep moments of grief, deep moments of pain, deep moments of life transition," explains Caroline Peacock, an Episcopal priest who serves as director of spiritual health at Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute. "And we know how to be with people in these very, very hard moments."

Peacock recently drew upon this training as part of a clinical trial using psilocybin, the compound in so-called "magic mushrooms," at Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute. Their results will be published next year. In the study, chaplains worked alongside mental health practitioners to administer the psychedelic drug to terminal cancer patients. And after the treatment, they provided what's called integration using their experience navigating shifts in worldview to help patients make sense of the experience.

After participating in the trial, Peacock convened a Psychedelic Care Network within the Chaplaincy think tank group Transforming Chaplaincy, which over 150 fellow chaplains have joined. The conversation is growing within the field both the Association of Professional Chaplains and the Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains held workshops on psychedelic-assisted therapy at their most recent annual conferences, and panels and webinars have been held in many forums, as chaplains explore this topic.

And while some chaplains are exploring psychedelic-assisted therapy because of their deep well of experience providing a non-judgmental presence to help make sense of life's difficult moments, many are also drawn to it because people taking these drugs often report what's described as a mystical experience.

Anthony Bossis is a clinical psychologist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, who has spent 15 years conducting psilocybin trials with patients facing advanced cancer. And he says patients taking the medication report a sense of awe and wonder, of interconnection, of transcendence. Moreover, he says, the research shows that the spiritual dimension of psychedelic treatment seems to be part of what makes the therapy therapeutic.

"The findings have shown already that the mystical experience has been a predictor, or a mediator, in terms of better outcomes," explains Bossis. "And we are seeing rapid and sustained reductions in depression, anxiety, hopelessness, fear of death, in people who do have an advanced illness who have this experience."

Given how frequently people report these spiritual encounters on psychedelics, it's not surprising that some religious practices have been built around them. Ayahuasca ceremonies in South America, peyote rituals in Mexico and the Southwest. But more and more, religions that don't have these traditions are saying they do have a container for these experiences.

Jaime Clark-Soles is a New Testament scholar, and directs the Baptist House of Studies at Southern Methodist University. She says that from Genesis to Revelation, scripture shows examples of faithful believers experiencing extraordinary states of consciousness, using fasting, prayer, and retreats, to change their everyday world, and step into a different sort of reality.

"To go to that place where you can stand in the presence of God. You know, 'be still and know that I am God,'" quotes Clark-Soles.

Clark-Soles took part in a clinical trial giving psilocybin to religious professionals at Johns Hopkins University, and says she experienced the presence of God fully and profoundly. Now, she's enrolled in a facilitator training program for psychedelic-assisted therapy, and hopes to bring awareness of the practice to others in the faith community.

She's heard pushback from some in that community, saying that the spiritual dimension of these drugs is just drugs... not God. But she says the moment when she accepted Jesus Christ, which nobody in her tradition would question, was also shaped by a context that affected her perceptions.

"I was away, I was in a retreat setting," says Clark-Soles. "I went outside, I was in nature, had a direct encounter with God. And here I am a seminary professor teaching, teaching Bible, right?"

Science can't tell us if any religious experience is real. The metrics we have are what people report on what they feel, and how their lives have been changed. As Clark-Soles says, "what fruits are born of it."

And people's lives have been changed by psychedelics, often in profound ways. Dr. Anthony Bossis has seen it throughout his research.

"For a person to have the experience, or the insight, that 'I'm not just my body, I'm not just my cancer' that's been a gift for people at the end of life," says Bossis. "To identify not only with a failing body, which will soon stop working, but that possibly there's something more remarkable at work in who we are as humans."

Religion has long offered a context, a language, for engaging with things in this world that are beyond everyday comprehension. Things we can't see the beginning or end of. How to live, and forgive, and make meaning. And with psychedelics, chaplains are hoping to bring their experience with these old questions into a new conversation to help those facing the end of life, or those just trying to figure out how to live it.

This story was reported with support from The Ferriss UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship

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As psychedelic-assisted therapy grows, so does interest from a new group: chaplains - NPR

In a groundbreaking move, Portland, Maineunanimously advances a resolution aimed at decriminalizing select psychedelic plants and fungi.

Backed by Decriminalize Maine, this move has the potential to reshape drug policies within the city, according toMarijuana Moment.

See Also: PsychMD's Nationwide, Safe-Supplied AI-Driven Ketamine Therapy With US Vets In Mind

The resolution targets specific natural substances, including psilocybin, psilocin, ibogaine, mescaline (excluding peyote), and dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Notably, peyote is excluded from the list due to its ecological vulnerability and profound cultural significance to Indigenous communities.

What sets this resolution apart is its focus on promoting personal use and sharing without compensation, particularly through home cultivation. However, it's essential to understand that criminal enforcement will not waver for activities such as selling, dispensing, possessing on school premises, or driving under the influence of these substances.

One of the most pivotal aspects of this resolution is the city's commitment to reprioritizing its resources. It emphasizes that city funds and resources should not be utilized to aid in the investigation or criminal prosecution of individuals engaged in the covered activities.

See Also:Can Psychedelic Therapy Enhance Quality Of Life In Seniors?

Councilor Anna Trevorrow plays a key role in introducing amendments to the resolution, with a focus on encouraging safer substance use practices. By allowing sharing and home cultivation, the city aims to deter involvement in the black market and align with communal and cultural usage patterns.

Inspired by a similar measure in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Portland resolution is driven by a commitment to medical and wellness perspectives. Councilor April Fournier underscored the natural use of these plants in supporting individuals on their healing journeys.

Whats Next?It's worth noting that the resolution will undergo thorough federal funding checks before a full City Council vote. The first reading is scheduled for October 2, with potential council action on October 16, pending any unforeseen delays.

Read the full story at Marijuana Moment.

Stay informed about psychedelic reform and explore other natural medicine markets at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference. Join us in Chicago for the 17th edition on September 27-28. Get your tickets HERE.

Read Next: Psychedelics Reform Update: CA Bill's Final Vote, MA 2024 Legalization Ballot, HI Task Force, OR Funding And More

Image by Marc Najera On Unsplash

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This Maine City Moves Unanimously On Decriminalizing Psychedelics: Focus On Public Health - Benzinga

Psychedelicsare one of the buzziest topics intech these days. With entrepreneursvouching for their benefitsfor creativity, focus and general well-being as well asresearch institutions and companies seekingFDA approval for medical treatments, these compounds are entering themainstream.

Microdosing: Whats It All About?

Pretty much what the word sounds like,microdosing involvestakingaroundone-tenth the amountof a normaldose of a psychedelic.

Testimonies from regulars to microdosinginclude enhanced management of symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression, ADHDand even chronic pain. Others microdose tooptimizetheir quality of life.

Although scientific evidence on microdosings benefits is somewhat hard to gather, the practice is believed to date back tothe 1500s. Modern Western practices began in the1960sand continued undergroundafter psychedelics were banned in the 60s and 70s,The Washington Postreports.

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James Fadimans2011 The Psychedelic Explorers Guide was one of the first modern writings on microdosing. Some years later, a Rolling Stonearticleon LSD microdosing disclosed that self-medicating was commonplace amongSan Francisco tech startups.

But its actually been going on for years.Steve Jobsreportedlyinformedthe Dept of Defenseof his LSD intake in 1988. Heattributedsome of his creativity to psychedelics.

TheWall Street JournalreportedthatTeslaTSLA andSpaceXs CEO Elon Muskconsumes ketamine andGoogleGOOG co-founder Sergey Brinpsychedelic mushrooms,

Benzingainterviewed someone whos well acquainted with the world of high-achieving tech professionals.

Lauren Mugglebeeworks with clients seeking personal growth and behavior modification. She says that traditional pharma drugs usedfor better focus or anxiety issues,disable you from really being able to connect with your body and feel.

While she incorporates different modalities into her coaching, Mugglebee highlights the unique role of microdosing psychedelics -noticeably psilocybin and LSD to help people transition away from pharmaceuticals, and pay close attention to themselves.

This is a key issue, as most top executives in the field are addicted to intensity, which typically leads to unreflectiveness and showing a lack of careful thought. Theyre addicted to working. Theyre addicted to making money. Theyre addicted to being right. Theyre addicted to being on autopilot so that they can get done what they need to get done, Mugglebee explains.

Aproductive and achievements-oriented culture is aperspectiveMugglebee knows something about, after 20 years of working in tech herself.

Microdosing psychedelics, she notes,wont resolve all problems. The process involves noticing what is going on around one without judgment. It is alsodependent on where each person is in their journey of building their self-awareness of building their ability to be present, to be in their body and to be in deep inquiry.

Mugglebee also stressesthe need for careful titration, that is starting low and going slow in orderto find the optimal dose. It is a process that fosters self-awareness around the body and emotionsand endorsesclinician consultationtowarda better-tailored outcome.

Her journey into microdosecoaching began two and a half years agounder the guidance ofPaul Austin,the trainers trainer. Austinhas been an active advocate for quite some time, starting underground and now out in the open via his Third Wave Communitypodcasts that feature such guests asmajor sector investorChristian Angermayer

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Tech Leaders Are Finding Balance Through Microdosing Psychedelics - The Dales Report

More research is emerging that suggests chronic pain may soon be added to the long list of medical conditions psychedelics can relieve.

A new study published in the European Journal of Pain last month found that both macro and micro doses of classic psychedelics LSD, psilocybin, DMT, mescaline led to better pain relief compared to conventional medication in volunteers surveyed.

Participants reported that full doses seem to achieve better perceived results in pain relief than microdosing, while microdosing's effectiveness seems comparable to that of conventional medication according to survey participants, the paper concluded.

Researchers focused on five conditions: fibromyalgia, arthritis, migraine, tension-type headache and sciatica.

Four of those five, with sciatica being the exception, were reported to be relieved by psychedelics on the dosage day, as well as 1-3 days after, with a few even reporting pain relief beyond the third day.

Psilocybin and LSD were the most common drugs used in this survey of 170 participants.

The effect of psychedelics on pain related to sciatica was statistically non-significant, researchers wrote. This result may indicate that these substances hold promise only for certain kinds of pain conditions, presumably those in which the inflammatory and/or psychosomatic components play a more prominent role.

Though data obtained from this survey is promising, echoing previous results from researchers investigating psychedelics' effect on chronic pain an issue impacting 20 percent of the world's population study authors acknowledge a number of limitations, with the biggest being design.

It provides purely retrospective self-ratings from a self-selected sample of individuals who self-administer psychedelics, the paper notes. This design carries the risk of obtaining biased data and the generalizability of the produced results is only limited. It provides limited information to disentangle the role that different mechanisms play to achieve these perceived analgesic effects.

Authors acknowledged controlled studies are needed, and recommend researchers design clinical trials to explore further.

Amanda Feilding, founder and director of the Beckley Foundation, initiated the survey after establishing The Beckley/Maastricht Microdosing Research Programme, which is dedicated to studying the effects of microdosing LSD on mood, cognitive functions, and pain management in humans.

The program's previous placebo-controlled clinical study of 24 healthy volunteers found that a 20 microgram dose of LSD significantly reduced pain perception, as compared to the placebo, during cold pressure tests. I am encouraged by these results as I have long believed that LSD may not only change the sensations of pain but also our subjective relationship with it, she said after that study was published in 2020. We must continue to explore this with the aim of providing safer, non-addictive alternatives to pain management.

As Psychedelic Spotlight previously reported, MindMed is also exploring LSD for chronic pain treatment, while Imperial College London researchers found in 2021 that nine out of 11 chronic pain sufferers self-medicating with psychedelics reported complete, or at least partial, analgesia during their dosage experience.

More recently, a 9/11 first responder advocating for California lawmakers to decriminalize psychedelics, shared that psilocybin healed his PTSD as well as debilitating cluster headaches. I stopped taking the cocktail of pills I had been prescribed, many of which caused damaging side effects and were addictive, he wrote, adding: Its not an exaggeration to say that psilocybin gave me my life back. Its been transformative, and allowed me to feel happiness and joy in a way I never thought I would again.

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Chronic Pain Can Be Treated by Psychedelics, Survey Suggests - Psychedelic Spotlight

Hadas provides insights into her role at APPA and the organizations mission to seamlessly integrate psychedelic medicine into the U.S. healthcare system.

We also dive into the significance of the first-ever professional practice guidelines for psychedelic-assisted therapy co-published by APPA and BrainFutures. These guidelines are shaping the future of psychedelic therapy and ensuring its safety and effectiveness.

Additionally, we discuss APPAs strategic partnership with The Daschle Group and its role in advancing the implementation of psychedelic-assisted therapy within the healthcare system.

Join us for a captivating conversation about the transformative potential of psychedelics in healthcare and the vital work being done by APPA to make it a reality.

Learn more about APPA here.

Join us for our launch event on July 18th, where well share about the work well be doing together to actualize our personal missions, grow, and heal together.

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Insights Into the First Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Guidelines With ... - Psychedelic Spotlight

The rising effectiveness of treatments for advanced cancer has left a growing number of patients in terrible limbo.

But psilocybin — the active compound derived from magic mushrooms — can help these patients find relief, a group of Texas-based scientists wrote in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer on Tuesday.

That’s part of a new openness in Texas — and the medical community as a whole — to ever-broader applications for the mind-expanding substances.

Next year the signatories of Tuesday’s letter — a group of researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston — will begin a study investigating whether psilocybin can help restore the mental health of the increasing number of patients living with advanced cancers.

That group of long-haulers is a cadre that largely didn’t exist a decade ago, said Amit Moran, a cancer biologist at MD Anderson.

“Ten years ago, you were cured, or you died,” Moran told The Hill.

But a rise of targeted cancer treatments has created a new group of patients living on the expanding frontiers of cancer treatment.

“More and more patients survive longer with cancer — they can live two years, five years, even 10 years,” Moran said.

Many of these patients, Moran said, “experience anxiety, depression and existential crisis.”

In particular, women facing late-stage ovarian cancer face overwhelming anxiety and “existential distress” as they stare down the prospect of a painful death and leaving their families behind, Moran and his coauthors wrote.

“These people know that one day they’ll do scan and see progression [in their tumors],” he said. “And they don’t know if that will be 6 months or 10 years.” 

Moran and his colleagues are looking into whether psilocybin could help, as this compound has been shown to offer considerable relief to those dying of terminal cancer — but has never been tested on those living with it.

“Our goal is to alleviate those symptoms to allow them to go back to functioning,” Moran said.

Both the journal letter and MD Anderson study are part of a new renaissance in the medical applications of “psychedelics” — an umbrella category that lumps together such pharmacologically distant compounds as psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine.

While these have very different structures and work on different parts of the brain, they share a common ability to help a patient radically — and often rapidly — reframe their relationship to previously intolerable life circumstances.

A 2021 meta-analysis of terminally ill patients who had received psychedelics for existential distress found that  both classical psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD and “atypical” ones such as MDMA and ketamine left the dying with “positive effects on existential and spiritual well-being, quality of life, acceptance, and reduction of anxiety and depression.”

Another study of psilocybin specifically found that a single dose could leave even healthy individuals with “long-lasting increases in mindfulness.”

These findings have been persuasive enough to convince even Texas’ highly conservative legislature — partly because of the state’s disproportionate number of veterans of U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of whom returned emotionally and mentally scarred.

In 2021, the Texas legislature passed a bipartisan law authorizing the state’s Department of Health to begin studying the use of MDMA, ketamine and psilocybin for a wide range of physical and emotional ailments.

“To me, this may be one of the most hopeful pieces of legislation that members of the Legislature have the opportunity to consider this session,” former Gov. Rick Perry (R) told reporters in 2021.

By November of 2021, the first study was underway: a joint state, federal and university effort to understand whether psilocybin could help alleviate post-traumatic stress disorders in veterans.

The prevalence of psychological suffering has blunted the partisan nature around psychedelics, one researcher on that study suggested to Houston Public Media.

“I think many people are at the point of ‘I will try anything,’ whether they’re conservative, anti-drug, whatever it is,” said Lynette Averill of the Texas-based Baylor College of Medicine.

Psychedelic research remains in its infancy, Moran noted. Of the more than 140,000 active clinical trials in the country, only 79 are looking into psychedelics. Of those, only a dozen are looking at cancer — and those are all focused on those who are dying. 

While cancer treatments can keep tumors in check for a long time, Moran hopes that psychedelic treatments can “bring them back to the job market, get out of bed, regain their functionality,” he said.

“The goal is not just to give them life — but a life worth living,” he added.

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Living with long-term cancer is depressing. Texas doctors say psychedelics could help - The Hill

The first time Isabel and her husband did MDMA together, they were at Burning Man, just a couple of weeks before their wedding. It was a profound experience.

It was like being seen for the first time for who we really were because it allows you to be super vulnerable and allows you to share these deep parts of yourself without fear of being judged, said Isabel.

I felt like we got married out there.

She and her husband Joseph, both physicians in their 40s who live in British Columbia, have been together for 15 years. VICE News has changed their names to protect their privacy because MDMA is illegal. They dont use drugs oftenthe Burning Man trip, 11 years ago, was Josephs first time taking MDMA. These days their trips look pretty different from a festival. Once a year, they get a babysitter for their two kids, rent a room at a resort and take the psychedelic to work through conflicts in their relationships.

We wind up spending a night and just pushing through about six months worth of marriage crap all at once, Joseph said. You're just kind of a different couple on the other side of it. Its very interesting.

Because of Isabels training in using both ketamine and MDMA for therapeutic reasons, the couple generally trips on their own while going through their issues. But theyve also had a guided trip with an underground therapist who serves people under the influence of psychedelics. Theyre part of a growing number of couples who are adding psychedelics to their couples therapy experiences.

Psychedelics are having a renaissance, with substances like ketamine, psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms), and MDMA being studied and used to treat issues like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, drug addiction, and end-of-life anxiety. While MDMA remains illegal in the U.S. and Canada, last year the nonprofit group Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) completed a second phase-three trial on using the drug as PTSD treatment and is expecting the Food and Drug Administration to evaluate its findings in 2023, potentially approving it for people with the disorder. In the meantime, MAPS and other groups already offer training in psychedelic-assisted therapy, while some therapists are already adding ketamine to their services because its legal. Others are offering discreet therapy sessions using illegal drugs. And both underground and above ground practitioners told VICE News demand is growing among couples who think psychedelics could help them take on their issues.

I tell my couples, Look, this is not a magic pill. It's an assist. And I would say that if they're willing to do the work, it expedites forgiveness, said Jayne Gumpel, a Woodstock, New York-based clinical social worker who has treated around 150 couples using ketamine.

Some of them have recommitted to each other after being on the brink of divorce, she said.

Gumpel also offers group retreats for couples; private sessions run for $200 an hour, while four-day retreats are $1,850 a person on a sliding scale. She said people often choose partners who provoke their defences or trigger trauma for their childhood, but they dont necessarily realize it. While using ketamine, she said peoples defences are lowered and theyre less attached to the idea that their side of the story is correct.

When the person who's listening learns how to hold that space and not get reactive...what happens is the person who's sharing their frustration about messiness starts to talk about their childhood when their mother was alcoholic and the house was a mess and they took it upon themselves to have to be the one to keep things organized. And that's how she felt safe, Gumpel explained. All of a sudden, the partner who feels ragged on because he's sloppy has empathy for the person who's complaining to him about it.

Its like a magical moment when theyre now understanding they have consciousness of this pattern theyre stuck in, she added.

Recently, Isabel said she and Joseph had a similar revelation, where she told him about something really horrible that happened to her as a child.

It was one of those moments in the relationship where youre like, Oh, that explains 40 percent of what I've been wondering about you for 15 years, Joseph said, adding that it gave context to questions he had about her relationship with her family. During other sessions, theyve cried, and even vomited.

Dr. Reid Robison, chief clinical officer at Numinus, a mental health care company that provides ketamine-assisted therapy to couples in the U.S. and Canada, said having one partner supporting the other as they work through trauma can be a powerful bonding experience.

We can identify the barriers that we have to love in ourselves, and then we can just do it so much more freely in our partnership. Numinus charges around $300 for dosing sessions, but typically a person also has integration sessions afterwards to talk about what they learned.

Robison said whether a person is using MDMA or ketamine, the drugs help people in turning towards each other instead of turning away. Hes even seen it work with people going through a divorce, helping them to get over old wounds so that they can co-parent better.

Isabel and Joseph have put up signs in their home that say turn towardsgentle reminders that theyve put in place to integrate the lessons theyve learned while on MDMA. She said theyve managed to break a pattern where she would complain about something, and he would withdraw, causing her to also pull away.

Both of them said doing MDMA, which boosts a persons levels of dopamine and serotonin (neurotransmitters that impact pleasure and sexual desire), has also greatly improved their sex life.

We had a good sex life, but now we have an amazing sex life, Isabel said, noting theyll typically put in five hours of work on their relationship before having sex during one of their resort stays. It really allowed us to explore breathing together and doing all these like deepening, like soul connection things.

Joseph said he considers MDMA a medicine, not a drug, and that it should be legally available to people. In fact, it was legal and used for couples therapy in the 1970s and 1980s, before being designated a Schedule I drug in 1985, meaning the government determined it had no medical use and a high potential for abuse. Early reports found that it was useful in navigating relationship issues and communication.

Depending on what happens with the FDAs evaluation of MAPS study, it may soon be available for people with PTSD.

Robison said that could open the door for it being allowed to be used for people with other issues, though itll be a slow process. He said people with PTSD can also struggle with relationships or have depression and anxiety, though, so there are ripple effects to their healing work that will be felt in their partnerships.

He said more research is needed on the impact of psychedelics on couples and he expects to see more therapists wanting to work with it in the years to come.

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Couples Are Doing MDMA and Ketamine Therapy To Save Their Relationships - VICE

The way people are using psychedelics is changing as awareness about substances like psilocybin and MDMA increases and more jurisdictions enact reform. But while a majority of American voters support regulating psychedelics therapy or decriminalizing them, according to a new poll, there are still some lingering negative sentiments toward the use of entheogens.

The complete findings from the UC Berkeleys Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP) survey were released earlier this week, offering one of the most comprehensive examinations of public attitudes toward the substances at a time when the laws governing them are being debated everywhere from the local level to Congress.

The center released top-line findings from the survey late last month, showing that 61 percent of U.S. registered voters support creating a regulated legal framework for the therapeutic use of psychedelics, including 35 percent who strongly support it, for example.

But beyond the policy considerations, the newly published broader results of the survey also speak to how people are experiencing psychedelics and dive deeper into their opinions about specific substances and trends.

The poll found that 47 percent of Americans have heard about psychedelics recently, and a strong plurality of those (48 percent) say that the message theyve received is that the drugs are being used as a mental health treatment option. That makes particular sense given both the increased media attention to psychedelics research and volume of legislation in recent years that addresses that issue.

Asked about their familiarity with various psychedelics, 96 percent said theyve heard about LSD, followed by MDMA (91 percent), psilocybin (83 percent), peyote/mescaline (67 percent), ketamine (66 percent), DMT (37 percent), ayahuasca (35 percent) and ibogaine (12 percent).For a baseline comparison, 99 percent of respondents said theyre familiar with marijuana.

More than half of respondents (52 percent) said that they or someone close to them have used psychedelics. And notably, of that group, 48 percent said that their use occurred within the last five years.

People were then asked about to characterize their use the entheogens. Seventy-three percent of people who have consumer psychedelics said it was for recreational use, following by therapeutic (39 percent), spiritual (32 percent), microdosing (27 percent), artistic (25 percent) and something else (16 percent). They were able to select multiple options, which is why the numbers total over 100 percent.

While recreational was the most common description of the usage, a follow-up question about the recency of their experience reveals that theres been a significant shift in why people are pursuing psychedelics, with therapeutic use and microdosing on the rise.

Just 21 percent of respondents whose use happened more than 10 years ago said that it was for therapeutic purposes, and that increases to 53 percent for those whove used in the past five years. Likewise, microdosing jumped from 14 percent to 41 percent for those two categories.

But while most people support psychedelics policy reform and promoting research into the substances, another interesting part of the survey reveals widely held negative views about the drugs. For example, 59 percent said that psychedelics are dangerous, and 59 percent also said that the substances can have long-term negative impacts on health.

Even among the 61 percent of Americans who support legalizing and regulating psychedelics therapy, 47 percent said the substances are not good for society. Another 63 percent said that psychedelics are not something for people like me.

Having a first-degree connection with psychedelics has a significant impact on perceptions. Fifty-three percent of people with connections to the substances said they can improve creativity, versus just 19 percent among those with no such connection.

Also, those who have personally experienced entheogens or are close with someone who has were far more likely to say psychedelics are an important topic of scientific research (70 percent), compared to those who dont have a first-degree connection (43 percent).

When it comes to who people trust to provide information about psychedelics, nurses, scientific researchers and doctors were considered the most trustworthy. Thats followed by psychiatrists, indigenous practitioners, veterans whove used psychedelics and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Law enforcement, parent groups, politicians and faith leaders were considered the least trustworthy.

The survey also found that liberal voters were most likely to support legalizing psychedelics for therapeutic purposes (80 percent), compared to 66 percent of moderates and 45 percent of conservatives.

The UC Berkeley Psychedelics Survey provides information vital to understanding where the public stands on psychedelics right now. This is critical for anyone working in the psychedelic field, Michael Pollan, an author who founded the psychedelics center, said in a press release. Nuanced debate in media, policy reforms and public education programs will be most effective when informed by data-driven insights rather than assumption and conducted in thoughtful response to the hopes, fears, and perceptions held by different communities across the U.S.

BCSP Executive Director Imran Khan said that our mission is to support the burgeoning field of psychedelics with vital evidence and trustworthy data and the UC Berkeley Psychedelics Survey provides this much-needed information for policy, business, media and research now and in the future.

The survey involved interviews with 1,500 Americans from June 9-15. Its margin of error is +/- 2.5 percentage points.

While there are countless surveys showing the growing, bipartisan support for marijuana reform in the U.S., comprehensive polling on psychedelics is rare.

One othernational survey of likely voters released in Marchdid similarly find majority support for allowing regulated access to psychedelics for therapy and federal decriminalization. But beside these two examples, psychedelics polling has been largely limited to specific regions, such asColoradoandWashington, D.C.

Considering that Denver became the first city in the country to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms just four years ago, the consistent majority support for reform is notableand that interest has been reflected in the massive push at the local, state and federal level to change laws governing the hallucinogenic substances.

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Photo elements courtesy of carlosemmaskype and Apollo.

Excerpt from:

The Way People Are Using Psychedelics Is Changing Amid Reform ... - Marijuana Moment

Psychedelic drugs could become the new cannabis amid increasing calls around the world to destigmatize and legalise substances such as magic mushrooms for medical and recreational use.

This, according to senior policy analyst, Steve Rolles, is due to certain similarities between cannabis and certain psychedelics. Psychedelics, while still having their own risks, are on the lower end of the risk spectrum, he said.

Rolles is a senior drug policy analyst at the Transform Drug Policy Foundation in the UK and a frequent participant in the public discussion of drug law and policy. Sitting down with MaltaToday, Rolles spoke about the recent rise in acceptance of psychedelic drugs, after global moral panic following their association with the hippie movement in the United States in the 1960s.

Rolles was in Malta to participate in a thematic roundtable focussed on decriminalisation, social justice and sustainable development organised by the Authority for the Responsible Use of Canabis, the Maltese regulator of the cannabis sector.

Psychedelics have been used for millennia

Indigenous societies have long utilized psychedelic substances such as peyote and psilocybin mushrooms in various rituals and spiritual practices for centuries. During the 1960s, psychedelics gained significant popularity and acceptance within the counterculture movement.

Due to legal restrictions, research on psychedelics faced significant challenges, resulting in most studies being discontinued by the mid-1970s. In light of recent promising findings, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recognized psilocybin-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression as a breakthrough therapy. Consequently, several cities and countries now permit the use of psychedelic drugs for therapeutic or spiritual purposes.

In the UK, magic mushrooms were legal from 2003 to 2005, and there was an open market in magic mushrooms. It wasnt even regulated at all. Nothing really bad happened, explained Rolles. In fact, he noted, a noticeable amount of drug users shifted from some illegal drugs, to magic mushrooms, a trend which Rolles sees as positive, due to the substance being safer than drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

Rolles said that during this brief period in the UK where prohibition of the drug was lifted, they werent associated with significant public health harms, and so, it seems like a natural next step.

Im not pro magic mushroom use, Im just being pragmatic, Rolles clarified.

But could we be moving from the 1960s counter-culture era phrase Turn on, tune in, drop out to turn on, tune in, legalise?

Legalisation to end the war on drugs

Beyond magic mushrooms and other psychedelic substances, Rolles acknowledged that while, the legalisation of drugs is a difficult debate, it is one of the few long-term solutions for tackling drug traffickers and the violence which is brought about by organised crime.

This however, according to Rolles is only possible if lower risk drugs, such as cannabis and psychedelics are first to be legalised, and should only be legalised in a cautious and responsible manner.

Colorado and Oregon have legalised magic mushrooms in a similar way that Malta has legalised cannabis, in that you can grow your own mushrooms, he said.

Key to the success of ending the war on drugs, according to Rolles, is discarding the mentality associated with the war and making sure that the legalisation of the so-called low risk drugs is done in an honest manner. Speaking about Malta and its attempt to take the first step, Rolles urged to stay true to the principles of harm reduction, crime reduction and public safety, while avoiding the risks of commercialisation.

Rolles commented on a common misconception regarding a link between a drugs legality and its use, noting that while tobacco is legal, governments around the world have slowly implemented measures to discourage its consumption. What we havent done is criminalise tobacco uses. Despite this, he noted that tobacco use is declining slowly, as governments invest in public information campaigns, while not criminalising anyone who smokes, stating that responsible regulation is key.

The Maltese cannabis model

Rolles emphasised that one must not repeat the same mistakes with other drugs that were fully commercialised, such as alcohol and tobacco.

I very much welcome the approach taken by Malta, (on cannabis) which feels to me like theyve learnt their lessons from mistakes that were made on alcohol and tobacco in particular. Rolles noted that as is the case with all drugs, tobacco and alcohol have risks linked to health and dependency, and despite this, the companies which sold these drugs were allowed to have massive power over legislators around the world. This, he says, lead to the companies having complete control over the markets with no regard to public health.

We need to be very careful to not repeat those mistakes with cannabis. In the case of Malta, Rolles applauded its model for moving away from commercialisation, even noting that this trait in the Maltese model is drawing attention from a number of countries that are looking to legalise cannabis themselves.

In fact, he said at the UNs annual Commission on Narcotic Drugs, as well as the Brazilian Congresss discussion on legalising cannabis, Malta is being seen as a leading example in this difficult reform.

Regarding the delay in setting up the associations in Malta, Rolles stated that, these things do take time, and has welcomed the caution of the Maltese model in what he described as a bold step forward. I think its in everybodys interest that this bold experiment is a success, he said, while adding that many who once dreamt of legalising cannabis are very keen to see the Maltese model succeed.

Originally posted here:

[WATCH] Turn on, tune in, legalise: Could psychedelics be next in ... - MaltaToday