Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or for dissemination in theUnited States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. Securities laws.

TORONTO, May 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Buzz Capital Inc. (TSXV: BUZ.P) ("Buzz Capital" or the "Corporation"), a capital pool company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"), is pleased to announce that it has signed a letter of intent datedMay 8, 2020 (the "Letter of Intent") with Novamind Ventures Inc., an Ontario corporation, ("Novamind) to complete a business combination by way of a transaction that will constitute a reverse takeover of Buzz Capital by Novamind. The proposed transaction is intended to constitute an arms length qualifying transaction (the "Qualifying Transaction") for Buzz Capital, as defined in Policy 2.4 of the Exchange. Upon completion of the Qualifying Transaction and the Financing (as defined and described below), it is expected that Buzz Capital (following the Qualifying Transaction, the Resulting Issuer) will be a Tier 2 Industrial Issuer, subject to Exchange approval.

Description of Novamind

Novamind invests in the infrastructure that drives the worlds leading psychedelic clinics and retreats. Novamind was founded in May 2019 in Toronto, Canada.

Ongoing clinical trials approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are currently evaluating the safety and efficacy of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (to treat PTSD) and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (to treat depression), and if approved, will require specialized infrastructure to facilitate patient treatment. Novamind seeks to accelerate research and innovation in psychedelic medicine by investing in the people, science and technology required for a regulated psychedelics industry.

Until such time that the FDA approves new psychedelic medicines, Novamind invests and operates exclusively in those jurisdictions with established legal regulations for the use of psychedelics. With this as a prerequisite, Novamind was an early mover in 2019 and made two strategic investments in industry-leading psychedelic retreats and clinics:

Novaminds investment in Synthesis and its acquisition (pending) of Cedar Psychiatry provides Novamind with access to proprietary resources including psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy protocols, industry-leading data, patient screening tools, leading facilitators and scientific advisors. Utilizing these best practices and partnering with leading practitioners in the psychedelic space, Novamind is building a network of clinics and retreats offering people access to safe, legal psychedelic experiences while advancing research for psychedelic medicine.

Additional information on Novamind will be provided in the filing statement to be filed pursuant to the Qualifying Transaction.

The Qualifying Transaction

The Letter of Intent contemplates that the Qualifying Transaction will be undertaken by way of a three-corner amalgamation, pursuant to which Novamind will amalgamate (the "Amalgamation") with a newly formed subsidiary of Buzz Capital and, as such, approval of the Novamind shareholders (Novamind Shareholders) will be required. Upon completion of the Amalgamation, the corporation formed by the amalgamation of Novamind and the newly-formed subsidiary of Buzz Capital will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Buzz Capital.

Prior to the Amalgamation, Buzz Capital will effect a consolidation (the Buzz Consolidation) and Novamind will similarly effect a consolidation (the Novamind Consolidation; together with the Buzz Consolidation, the Consolidations) of, respectively, the issued and outstanding common shares of Buzz Capital (the Buzz Shares) and Novamind (the Novamind Shares). Under the Buzz Consolidation, the Buzz Shares will be consolidated on a basis that results in the holders of Buzz Shares (Buzz Shareholders) holding post-Buzz Consolidation Buzz Shares (Buzz Consolidated Shares) having a value of $1,700,000, provided that Buzz Capital has net cash of minimum $500,000 at closing. Assuming a net cash position of a minimum of $500,000, this would result in the Buzz Shares being consolidated on a 1:1.9788 basis, resulting in approximately 4,250,000 Buzz Consolidated Shares being outstanding. Under the Novamind Consolidation, the outstanding Novamind Shares will be consolidated on a 1:4 basis, resulting in Novamind Shareholders holding approximately 19,018,750 post-Novamind Consolidation Novamind Shares (Novamind Consolidated Shares). The number and exercise prices of the outstanding convertible securities of Buzz Capital (Buzz Convertible Securities) and Novamind (Novamind Convertible Securities; together with the Buzz Convertible Securities, the Convertible Securities) will be adjusted in accordance with their terms as a result of, respectively, the Buzz Consolidation and Novamind Consolidation.

Following the Consolidations and pursuant to the Amalgamation, the holders of Novamind Consolidated Shares immediately prior to the completion of the Amalgamation will each receive, for every one (1) Novamind Consolidated Share held immediately prior to the completion of the Amalgamation, one (1) Buzz Consolidated Share (the Exchange Ratio). Outstanding Novamind Convertible Securities will either automatically adjust in accordance with the terms thereof such that following the completion of the Amalgamation, the holders thereof shall acquire Buzz Consolidated Shares in lieu of Novamind Consolidated Shares or will be replaced with equivalent convertible securities of Buzz entitling the holders thereof to acquire Buzz Consolidated Shares in lieu of Novamind Consolidated Shares, and otherwise bearing the same terms as the Novamind Convertible Securities which they replace.

Completion of the Qualifying Transaction is subject to the satisfaction of a number of conditions, including, but not limited to:

Selected Financial Information of Novamind

The following tables sets out unaudited historical financial information of Novamind for the period commencing on its date of incorporation, May 22, 2019 and ending April 30, 2020.

Novamind Financing

In connection with the Qualifying Transaction and prior to the Novamind Consolidation, Novamind is undertaking a non-brokered private placement (the Financing) of Novamind Shares at a price of $0.10 per share for minimum gross proceeds of $2,500,000. Novamind engaged First Republic Capital Corporation (First Republic) as its exclusive lead finder in connection with the Financing. As compensation, First Republic will be paid a cash commission equal to 7% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Financing and compensation warrants (Compensation Warrants) equal to 7% of the number of Novamind Shares issued under the Financing. Each Compensation Warrant entitles the holder to acquire a Novamind Share at an exercise price of $0.10 for a period of 24 months following the closing date of the Financing. The Novamind Consolidation will result in the number of Novamind Shares and Compensation Warrants issued in the Financing being divided by four, and the effective offering price under the Financing and the exercise price of the Compensation Warrants being adjusted to $0.40 per share. Novamind has closed a first tranche of the Financing for gross proceeds of $1,607,500.

Pro Forma Capitalization

The table below demonstrates the anticipated non-diluted capitalization of the Resulting Issuer post Qualifying Transaction and Financing, assuming completion of the minimum Financing, and lists the number of common shares of the Resulting Issuer (Resulting Issuer Shares) anticipated to be held by the Buzz Shareholders, Novamind Shareholders and investors in the Financing.

Note:

It is anticipated that proceeds from the Financing will be used for acquisitions and for general working capital.

Board of Directors, Officers and other Insiders

Upon completion of the Qualifying Transaction, it is anticipated that the board of directors and officers of the Resulting Issuer will be comprised of the individuals listed below. In addition, the parties anticipate that Novamind will nominate the Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of the Resulting Issuer. The identities and biographies of these individuals will be disclosed in a subsequent press release or filing statement prepared in connection with the Qualifying Transaction. To the knowledge of Novamind and Buzz Capital, no person will beneficially own, directly or indirectly, or exercise control or direction over, more than 10% of the Resulting Issuer.

Chuck Rifici (Director), Ottawa, Ontario

Chuck is a pioneer of the North American cannabis industry, having created and managed opportunities which have had an incredible and widespread impact on the Canadian cannabis landscape. The founder of Canopy Growth (FKA Tweed Marijuana), Chuck is Chairman of Auxly Cannabis Group, Chairman at Feather Company and is a chartered professional accountant (CPA). He obtained his MBA from Queens University and holds a BASc in Computer Engineering from the University of Ottawa.

Yaron Conforti (Chief Executive Officer and Director), Toronto, Ontario

Yaron Conforti is the founder and principal of Emmcap Corp., an investor in venture-stage companies. He previously served in senior investment banking roles at Desjardins Securities and Sandfire Securities and in CEO, CFO and corporate director roles for private and public companies.

Jesse Kaplan, CFA (Director), Toronto, Ontario

Jesse Kaplan has been a partner with Plaza Capital Limited since 2015. His career has focused on advising and investing in early stage growth companies. This has included extensive work helping companies through the process of going public in both Canada and the United States. Jesse was previously a senior analyst at Harborview Advisors LLC, a New York based investment firm and Palladium Capital Advisors, LLC, a NASD member investment bank. Currently, he is a board member of Abacus Health Products (CSE:ABCS) among other successful companies.

Sruli Weinreb (Director), Toronto, Ontario

Sruli Weinreb is the founder and managing partner of Plaza Capital Limited. Plaza Capital supports many North American early stage growth companies with strategic debt placements and equity investments. He is also the chief executive officer of Lake Central Air Services Inc., the worlds leading modification and integration partner for the airborne geophysical survey industry. Before founding Plaza Capital in 2013, Sruli was the chief executive officer of eMobile Inc., a telecom arbitrage company with a specialization in international roaming which he co-founded in 2008.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship of a qualifying transaction of a capital pool company is required by the Exchange unless exempt in accordance with Exchange policies. Buzz Capital is currently reviewing the requirements for sponsorship and may apply for an exemption from the sponsorship requirements pursuant to the policies of the Exchange; however, there is no assurance that Buzz Capital will ultimately obtain this exemption. Buzz Capital intends to include any additional information regarding sponsorship in a subsequent press release.

Further Information

The Buzz Shares are currently halted from trading on the Exchange and will remain halted until such time as determined by the Exchange, which, depending on the policies of the Exchange, may or may not occur until the completion of the Qualifying Transaction.

All information contained in this news release with respect to Novamind and Buzz Capital was supplied by the parties respectively, for inclusion herein, and each party and its directors and officers have relied on the other party for any information concerning the other party.

Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including, but not limited to, Exchange acceptance and if applicable pursuant to Exchange requirements, majority of the minority shareholder approval.

Where applicable, the transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the transaction, any information released or received with respect to the transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative.

The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Corporation's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the intention of the parties to enter into the Definitive Agreement, the completion of the Financing and Amalgamation, listing as an Industrial Issuer, and the use of proceeds from the Financing. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Corporation. The material factors and assumptions include the parties to the Definitive Agreement being able to obtain the necessary director, shareholder and regulatory approvals; Exchange policies not changing; and completion of satisfactory due diligence. Risk factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by forward-looking information include, among other things: conditions imposed by the Exchange, the failure to obtain the required directors' and shareholders' approval to the Qualifying Transaction; changes in tax laws, general economic and business conditions; and changes in the regulatory regulation. The Corporation cautions the reader that the above list of risk factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Corporation is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in theUnited States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under theUnited StatesSecurities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within theUnited Statesor to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

SOURCE: Buzz Capital Inc.

For further information:

Buzz Capital Inc. Chuck RificiCEO, CFO and Director

Tel: (613) 239-0531

Novamind Ventures Inc. Yaron ConfortiCEO and Director

Tel: (647) 953-9512

Website: http://www.novamind.ca

Link:

Novamind and Buzz Capital Announce Qualifying Transaction TSX Venture Exchange:BUZ-P - GlobeNewswire

TORONTO, May 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Revive Therapeutics Ltd. (Revive or the Company) (CSE: RVV), a specialty life sciences company focused on the research and development of therapeutics for medical needs and rare disorders, is pleased to provide a corporate update on its pharmaceutical programs for Bucillamine in the treatment of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and in the psychedelics area.

We are advancing our main programs in COVID-19 and psychedelics with the aim to initiate clinical studies in the short-term while leveraging our assets and building our pharmaceutical-based product pipeline for long-term growth, said Michael Frank, Revives Chief Executive Officer.

Bucillamine in the treatment of COVID-19

The Company is preparing along with its CRO, Pharm-Olam, the Investigational New Drug (IND) package to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the proposed Phase 3 confirmatory clinical trial (Phase 3 study) to evaluate Bucillamine in the treatment of patients with mild-moderate COVID-19 due to the SARS-CoV-2 infection. As previously announced, the FDA recommended that the Company proceed directly into a confirmatory clinical trial. Also, the Company is updating its current IND with the FDA for Bucillamine, which will not only pave the way to proceed with the Phase 3 COVID-19 study but also the IND will serve as the foundation to pursue future programs with Bucillamine in infectious diseases and inflammatory and respiratory disorders. Revive aims to submit the FDA IND package in June 2020 and expects to obtain FDA acceptance to proceed to a Phase 3 study. The Company is also seeking to conduct a clinical study with Bucillamine in the treatment of COVID-19 in Canada and is preparing its pre-Clinical Trial Application (pre-CTA) package to Health Canada that will include data on the safety, efficacy, manufacturing process and clinical trial protocol of Bucillamine. The Company estimates to have feedback from Health Canada in June 2020 and expects to initiate a clinical study as soon as possible following receipt of regulatory clearance from Health Canada.

Drug Delivery License and Psilocybin Research and Development

Further to the Companys recent announcement in entering into a sponsored research partnership agreement with the University of Wisconsin-Madison to evaluate novel formulations and drug delivery technology focused on psilocybin-based pharmaceuticals, Revive has expanded its exclusive license of the drug delivery technology from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) to include all hallucinogenic compounds. The Company has a worldwide license agreement with WARF for the drug delivery technology in the research and development and commercialization of all cannabinoids and hallucinogenic compounds using the drug delivery technology which initially aims to deliver both synthetic and natural extract of psilocybin in a potential number of ways such as topical gels, creams or ointments, oral or transdermal patches, oral dosages and foams. Revive is currently evaluating novel oral dosage forms of psilocybin, such as oral dissolvable thin films or tablets, and is working with the Reed Research Group out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to complete formulation development with the intent to pursue clinical studies for indications currently not being evaluated with psilocybin. In addition, the Company is exploring opportunities to sponsor an investigator-led clinical trial evaluating psilocybin in the treatment of a particular indication to be disclosed once an agreement has been finalized.

About Revive Therapeutics Ltd.

Revive is a life sciences company focused on the research and development of therapeutics for infectious diseases and rare disorders, and it is prioritizing drug development efforts to take advantage of several regulatory incentives awarded by the FDA such as Orphan Drug, Fast Track, Breakthrough Therapy and Rare Pediatric Disease designations. Currently, the Company is exploring the use of Bucillamine for the potential treatment of infectious diseases, with an initial focus on severe influenza strains including COVID-19. With its recent acquisition of Psilocin Pharma Corp., Revive is advancing the development of Psilocybin-based therapeutics in various diseases and disorders. Revives cannabinoid pharmaceutical portfolio focuses on rare inflammatory diseases and the company was granted FDA orphan drug status designation for the use of Cannabidiol (CBD) to treat autoimmune hepatitis (liver disease) and to treat ischemia and reperfusion injury from organ transplantation. For more information, visit http://www.ReviveThera.com.

The Company is not making any express or implied claims that its product has the ability to eliminate or cure COVID-19 (or SARS2 Coronavirus) at this time.

For more information, please contact:Michael FrankChief Executive OfficerRevive Therapeutics Ltd.Tel: 1 888 901 0036Email: mfrank@revivethera.comWebsite: http://www.revivethera.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider have reviewed or accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words could, intend, expect, believe, will, projected, estimated and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on Revives current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Forward looking information in this press release includes information with respect to the Offering, including the intended use of proceeds. Forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions that have been made by Revive at the date of the information and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof, and Revive is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. Reference is made to the risk factors disclosed under the heading Risk Factors in the Companys annual MD&A for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, which has been filed on SEDAR and is available under the Companys profile at http://www.sedar.com.

See the original post here:

Revive Therapeutics Provides Corporate Update on its Pharmaceutical Initiatives - GlobeNewswire

It can be a lot of (semi-sadistic) fun to watch someone have a bad trip, and it can be a lot of (shared) fun to listen to celebrities reminisce about the bad trips theyve survived in the past, but its generally agonizing to sit down and do either of those things for more than an hour. That sad fact of life proves to be an insurmountable problem for Donick Carys Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics, an exasperating Netflix documentary so high on its own supply that it starts to see things that arent there namely, the entertainment value in watching a bunch of famous people tell interchangeable stories about seeing the carpets move or whatever.

Want to hear Sting tell you about the time he ate some dried peyote, got higher than the notes in the chorus of Roxanne, and then watched Halleys Comet from the top of a mountain while someone smeared deers blood over his face? Of course you do. Want A$AP Rocky to regale you with a story about when he had sex on mushrooms and ejaculated the entire spectrum of light (I have no idea why there was a rainbow coming out of my dick;I dont even like rainbows). Youre only human.

But in much the same way as your ego might dissolve into the universe after dropping some good acid, all of these personal accounts soon blend together into a generic swirl of shared memories, and the films efforts to offset that problem only end up making it worse. Like most bad trips, Carys documentary is ultimately harmless. And like most bad trips, you realize somethings gone wrong after just a few minutes, and then start to freak out that its never going to end.

Positioning itself as a tongue-in-cheek rebuke to the kind of fear-mongering PSAs that helped make psychedelics taboo in the American unconscious, Have a Good Trip never tries to hide or mitigate its pro-LSD agenda. While the vast majority of the movie is devoted to celebrities bumping their heads on the doors of perception, and the whole thing would fall apart if Carys subjects were just a bit less famous, the film is ostensibly meant to promote the mind-expanding possibilities of psilocybin and its friends to further the idea that out-of-body experiences can enhance self-understanding, clarify our relationship with the planet, and even help treat anxiety disorders and drug addictions.

Kicking things off with a half-assed framing device that tries to split the difference between the films various modes, Have a Good Trip introduces Nick Offerman as the kind of lab-coated scientist who might show up at the start of an after-school special and tell his teenage audience that a single dose of LSD will leave them permanently insane. Dont get me wrong, drugs can be dangerous, he tells us. But they can also be hilarious. With the doc so quick to show its true colors, occasional asides from the likes of Deepak Chopra or UCLA psychiatry professor Dr. Charles Grob amount to little more than cheap stabs at legitimacy.

Have a Good Trip is less successful as an educational film than it is as a re-educational film; viewers wont really learn anything about the effects of psychedelics on the mind and body, but anyone without first-hand experience might gradually unlearn some of what theyve been taught. The individual stories dont add up to much, but the fact that all of these fame-os were able to get back on their feet after some pretty bad trips, well, there might be a lesson in that.

And Cary does what he can to bring those lessons to life, even if it can seem as if hes yet to glean any wisdom from them, himself. Case in point: After a handful of talking heads mock the way that movies have always depicted acid trips (e.g. fish-eye lenses, hyper-saturated colors, etc.), Cary chooses to illustrate his subjects recollections with the kind of wacky animation that feels as trite as anything else; it might be hard to compete with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but even Booksmart did it better.

Cary fares better when he relies on the talents of his cast if most of your interview subjects are comedians, you might as well use them. In one of the films amusing re-enactment sequences, Adam DeVine embodies a young Anthony Bourdain as the late chef waxes paranoid about the time he thought hed killed a pretty hitchhiker (Carrie Fisher also pops up, as the dead breathe new life into a documentary thats clearly been collecting dust for a while). Elsewhere, Paul Scheer and Rob Corddry play each other in their respective trips, while Nick Kroll true to Offermans promise hilariously recreates the time he got high at the beach and became one with the kelp.

The most extensive gag is a fake after school special hosted by Adam Scott, and starring Riki Lindhome, Haley Joel Osment, Ron Funches, and Maya Erskine as innocent high school students who get peer-pressured into doing enough drugs to kill an elephant. The parody is too stale to justify how often Cary returns to it, but it builds to a series of gags that are almost funny enough to make the long walk seem worthwhile.

By that point, however, most people will have already ditched this doc in favor of some other streaming fare; perhaps Never Have I Ever or Too Hot to Handle, two recent Netflix Originals that are respectively funnier and more hallucinatory than Have a Good Trip in every way. Theres plenty of room for a movie that tries to destigmatize psychedelics especially one that argues for personal experience, and has the presence of mind to maintain that these drugs arent for everyone but this slapdash effort seriously overestimates the value (entertainment or otherwise) in listening to famous people talk about staring at their hands.

It doesnt help that some of the anecdotes are almost too interesting: Rosie Perezs account of how LSD liberated her from a lifetime of Catholic guilt is so rich that you wish Cary had devoted an entire episode of a show to it, as opposed to squeezing it into an overstuffed 80-minute documentary that feels so long it melts time and space together without any drug enhancement whatsoever. Life is a trip, Chopra insists, and psychedelics might help to improve your ride. But theres nothing this forgettable documentary can give you that one tab of LSD wouldnt let you keep.

Have a Good Trip will be available to stream on Netflix starting Monday, May 11

Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.

Originally posted here:

Have a Good Trip Review: Netflix LSD Doc Is Way Too High on Its Own Supply - IndieWire

When rapper A$AP Rocky did acid, a rainbow shot out of his penis. When Sting did, the grass started talking to him. And for Rosie Perez, her psychedelic trip made it feel like her body became one with her mattress.

Their stories are all part of Netflix's upcoming documentary, "Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics."

In the documentary, which premieres May 11, celebrities recount what it was like to take mind-altering drugs like LSD and "magic" mushrooms and actors reenact the wild moments. Viewers can expect stories from Ben Stiller, Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Silverman, and others. Actors will also perform drug trips described by late stars Anthony Bourdain and Carrie Fisher.

The kooky vignettes are given a serious edge by researchers who explain the science of psychedelics and their potential to treat anxiety, depression, and addiction.

Indeed, existing research on LSD and psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in psychedelic mushrooms, suggests that the drugs could open dormant neural pathways in people's brains to help them have spiritual experiences and even find relief from mental health disorders.

Magic mushrooms have been on the psychedelic scene for decades, but they're currently gaining traction in the medical community as a potential treatment for depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

But only a handful of studies on the substance exist because of the its current status as a Schedule I drug (one withno currently accepted medical use, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration).

A small study, published in November 2016 in theJournal of Psychopharmacology, looked at29 cancer patients who reported feeling depressed or anxiousdue to their cancer diagnosis. For seven weeks, each patient went through psychotherapy sessions and received either a single 0.3 mg dose of psilocybin or niacin (vitamin B) afterward. Researchers noticed that the patients who received psilocybin had an immediate reduction in anxiety and depression, which held at the six-and-a-half-month follow-up.

An actor reenacts Carrie Fisher's psychedelic trip in "Have a Good Trip." Netflix

In another small study, published in 2006 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology,researchers gave 36 medically and psychiatrically healthy participants 30 mg of psilocybin, with dose adjustments made depending on patients' weight. The psilocybin was distributed during two or three separate sessions, and at a two-month follow-up, 50% of the participants said their psilocybin experience improved their personal well being or life satisfaction moderately. 29% said it improved their life satisfaction "very much."

One potential reason psilocybin has this effect, as Business Insider previously reported, is its ability tochange the way information moves through the brain.

Author Erin Brodwin compared the brain to a series of highways. Normally, traffic tends to buildup on some highways more than others. But when a person uses psilocybin, the brain reroutes some of the traffic onto the underused highways, freeing up space on the overused ones.

For a person with depression, overused highways can lead to more negative thoughts, self-criticisms, and overwhelming feelings, so psilocybin has the potential to help decrease those effects.

See original here:

Celebrities share LSD trips in Netflix documentary 'Have A Good Trip' - Insider - INSIDER

I dont think psychedelics are the answers to the worlds problems, Sting shares in the trailer for the new Netflix documentary Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics. But they could be a start.

The film, out on May 11, dives into the history of psychedelics and celebrates their cultural impact while pondering hallucinogens powerful role in treating mental health. A star-studded cast of actors, comedians and musicians includes Ad-Rock, Anthony Bourdain, Bill Kruetzmann, Natasha Lyonne and Sarah Silverman recounting their own personal experiences with acid, mushrooms, peyote and ayahuasca. Nick Offerman narrates, playing a mad scientist, while many of the celebrity trips are reenacted in comedic scripted scenes with trippy animation scattered throughout.

'Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics' official film poster.

Made over the course of a decade by Emmy winner Donick Cary, whose credits include Late Night with David Letterman, The Simpsons and Parks and Recreation,the idea for his debut documentary was conceived in his hometown of Nantucket Island following a conversation with Ben Stiller and Fisher Stevens at the 2009 Nantucket Film Festival. Slated to premiere at SXSW in March, Netflix Originals has brought it straight to streaming following the film festivals coronavirus cancellation.

Ahead of the films release, I went behind the scenes with Cary via email to talk about how he got so many celebrities to open up, advocating for psychedelics and why hes hopeful well all be able to hug again soon.

Katie Shapiro: Why tackle the subject of tripping? And why now?

Donick Cary: A serendipitous encounter on Nantucket Island at the Nantucket Film Festival 11 years ago with Ben Stiller and Fisher Stevens.We were all sharing stories about hallucinogensfunny, crazy, scary, enlighteningand I thought hey itd be cool if a whole bunch of people told these kind of stories and then we could bring them to life with animation and re-enactments.Seemed like a fun version of a movie kind of like a long extended dinner party where everyone shares what their brain revealed to them when they took hallucinogens.Unlike Drunk History which is drunk people trying to tell storieswe ended up with very sober people reflecting on what they learned sharing the good and bad, the mistakes and revelations.

Shapiro: Any personal experience?

Cary: A few.

'Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics' writer and director Donick Cary.

Shapiro: How did you cast the celebrities featured in the film?

Cary: We asked EVERYONE we could get a request to and then anyone who said yes roughly 1 in 10! we went and interviewed.We actually talked to TWICE as many people as are in the film and hope to do a part two. We had too many great stories to fit in one movie.We still have amazing stories and revelations from David Crosby and Patton Oswalt, Whitney Cummings and Ozzy Osbourne to Bootsy Collins, Devo and the Jackass guys. And X, Ed Ruscha and members of the Doorsand on and on.Even some of the interviews in the movie had to be cut down that would be fun to share more of Jim James, Tom Lennon, Ben Garrant and Natasha Lyonne were just getting started in Part One!

Shapiro: What was the creative inspiration for the scripted scenes?

Cary: The LSD Afterschool Special was inspired by growing up in the 80s and the general mainstream take on drugs at the time: Just say noand then lets not talk about it ever again. Meanwhile, people were clearly doing drugs and experimenting, so there was a real disconnect between getting real factual information and how everything was portrayed in Reagans America.You could go to a [Grateful] Dead show OR even a Dead Kennedys show and there was a psychedelic scene happening.SO lumping psychedelics into the drug war and just say no campaigns made it something you couldnt have a rational conversation about.And this idea that we can just scare people into NEVER experimenting just wasnt reality.I have kidsI want them to have content that explores the reality of this stuff and be informed to make responsible decisions.Thats a component of this movie I hope...a response to scare films.This film is REAL stories and REAL things to consider and watch out for.Its not for everyone!You do you. ANYWAY, I thought itd be fun to make fun of that dated pop culture portrayal from the 80s and 90s.Also the brain on drugs spotsI had to make one of those.It feels like a crime to be a comedy writer for so long and never do a take on the frying pan eggs spots this is your brain on drugs!

Shapiro: What was your creative inspiration for the animated scenes?

Cary: I spent a few seasons on The Simpsons and wrote a couple of trippy episodes Dohin in the Wind and the Mr. Sparkle episode and had SOOO much fun making psychedelic animation. Animation is a wonderful way to transport the viewer in a documentary to different eras and different head spaces.My studio, Sugarshack Animation, did the bulk of the animated reenactments in our offices in Bulgaria.I very much wanted each storytellers reenactment to have a different look and feel be its own short film so the challenge for Sugarshack was to come up with not just one animation style but 20! Each were inspired by the tone and style of the interviewee and the setting of their story.

Shapiro: How did you tackle production over the course of so many years?

Cary: Oh boy.Well as I said...11 years! This was never a full-time job for anybody involved, so it took its time falling into place.So many great people contributed over the years mostly people with one name like DPs [cinematographers] Stash and Skyler.But also people with two names like line producers Jim Ziegler and Jeremy Reitz.The first piece of the puzzle was that we had to get celebrities so we were kind of at the mercy of their schedules.Wed get a random email from our bookers (Central Talent Booking) that Sting can do next February 14th at 10 a.m. in NYC...Carrie Fisher is available in two weeks at her house...Ozzy Osbourne is available RIGHT NOW if you can get there. Haha! SO that piece of it was pretty random and took a while.We had a lot of wonderful help and support at the beginning from Ben Stillers company Red Hour (Stuart Cornfeld and team) and Fisher Stevens company who has produced everything from The Cove to The Tiger King they both really helped me chart the course to get this made.Ultimately, my producing partner Mike Rosenstein (Sunset Rose Pictures) and my own company Sugarshack 2000 ended up financing and producing this for Netflix thanks Zana and team!But as far as timelineughI was adding up all the TV shows I did over the same time periodtwo seasons of New Girl, two seasons of Parks and Recreation, three seasons of A.P. Bio, Silicon Valleyetc. I was thinking Wow, what a long, strange and then I thought I cant quote the Grateful Dead in thisits too obvious!

Nick Offerman plays a mad scientist narrator in 'Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics.'

Shapiro: You were slated to have your world premiere at SXSW. Howd you take the cancellation news?

Cary: We cried and hugged.And then stopped hugging becauseyou know pandemic.We were so excited to premiere at SXit felt like the exact mix of music, comedy and conversation that this movie is. We were going to have a big screening and partya happening, a crazy sceneYo La Tengo (who did the incredible soundtrack with music supervisor Kim Huffman Cary) playing live! Reggie Watts and more were going to join in for convo and comedy with DJ sets and mind-blowing, crazy fun. SO anyway.First tears.BUT we get itpandemic and all.Basically we just pivoted to getting excited about sharing it with the world on Netflix. We hope it not only brings some laughs to a world that can use them, but also adds something to the bigger conversation about mental health and interconnectedness.There are so many good conversations that need to be had!

Shapiro: Any plans for future film festivities once stay-at-home restrictions lift?

Cary: Wed love to take this coast-to-coast and beyond...bring along some live comedy, music and experts in the field to do panel conversations, answer questionsdance?Hug again?

Shapiro: What is your hope for the film to contribute to the current conversation surrounding the legalization of psychedelics?

Cary: I would say personally I am not an advocate for hallucinogens for everyoneI am an advocate for rational conversation and rational use for those who are interested and might benefit (with supervision and support, ideally from a licensed source).Its an incredibly powerful tool and should be explored as a medicine in the treatments of things where we dont have all the answers: depression, addiction, end of life anxiety or trauma. The human race is up against a lot right now and we can use all the help we can get.Why not be open to solutions wherever they might come from?You can buy alcohol everywhere and it destroys so many lives. And in most places currently, you can barely have a rational conversation about even the pros and cons of psychedelics. Lets talk! Why not!?

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Non-traditional capitalization and informal punctuation are Cary's.

Download the coloring book pageversion of the official film poster here.

Original post:

Netflix And Trip: Take A Psychedelic Adventure In This Star-Studded Documentary - Forbes

Among the biggest challenges faced bythe psychedelics industry is the stigma that surrounds it.

"The anti-drug marketing of the past decades was highly effective, and so now when psychedelics are mentioned, visions of tie-dye come to mind," Timothy Ko told Benzinga.

The times are changing.

An uptickin "rigorous" academic studies is underway where drugs that werepreviously viewed as dangerousare now being considered by the Food and Drug Administrationas potential treatments for addiction.

Ko is one entrepreneur working in this space. As CEO of Entheon Biomedical, he overseesthe development of psychedelic medicines to help those dealing with substance use disorder. And he's not doing it alone.

What makes Entheon Biomedical different from other companies in the space is the expertise of those involved, Ko said.

We sought the advice of the leaders in the psychedelic space who are familiar not only with the pharmacological aspects of the science, but also the patient experience."

Another differentiator is that British Columbia-based Entheonfocuseson DMT, a hallucinogenic tryptamine drug and the main active ingredient in the plant medicine Ayahuasca.

Psilocybin and DMT are both tryptamines and work on many of the same receptors in the human body, as they are molecularly very similar," Ko explained. "Much of the visual and emotional components of the experiences are similar, and it is possible to create psilocybin-like experiences with the appropriate dosing of DMT."

DMT is widely found in many plant and animal species, and even in the human brain. This makes it a safer drug, Ko said.

The molecule is very well tolerated and metabolized in humans, he said.DMT is well-known to be short-actingand intense, but if properly harnessed and administered, the experience can be elongatedand smoothed out to be less jarring, and result in a therapeutically useful experience.

People typicallyassociate the word addiction with substance abuse. In reality, the problem is much more complex, as there are many types of addictions.

Aside from substance abuse, a person can be addicted to certain behaviors, like gambling.

I define addiction as any behavior that has negative consequences that one is compelled to persist in and relapse into and crave despite those negative consequences, saidaddiction expert Dr. Gabor Mat.

With this broader definition, it is easier to understand why addiction is such a massive problem across the globe.

Still, the statistics are more focused on those with substance abuse. TheWorld Health Organization estimatesthatthere are around 31 million people who currently struggle with these issues, and around 11 million people who inject drugs. On top of that, it is projected there are 3.3 million deaths a year from alcohol abuse.

Ko'sown personal experiences inspired him to explore addiction treatments.

Psychedelics, he sais, saved his life.

Ko said his brother struggled with substance use disorder and mental illness over the course of two decades.

Personally, psychedelics, and more specifically DMT, were instrumental in helping me to reconcile my life, and come to terms with the multitude of traumas, strained relationshipsand maladaptive beliefs and behaviors that a person amasses over a lifetime, Ko told Benzinga.

Other therapies didn't work, and Ko said he found himself on the brink of a spiritual, mental and emotional collapse.

When he was finally connected with DMT, Ko said ithelped him change not only his self-perception, but his perspective about his relationships and the world.

I was a changed man, and thus proceeded with the best years of my life.

Unfortunately, his brother didnt share the same fate, as he died in March 2019.Every conventional therapeutic intervention failed, Ko said.

Following my brothers passing and knowing the transformative potential of psychedelics, I set out to assemble a team that would include those already leading psychedelic research and consult with them to develop a product to help people like my brother."

Psilocybin researchhasalready shown promise in the treatment of addiction, he said.

Psilocybin and DMT affect the same neurotransmitters," Ko said. "DMT, when properly dosed, can recreate the effects of psilocybin.

The public perception of psychedelics runs the gamutfrom oblivious, to skeptical, to overly excited, Ko said. As a result, it is often challenging to makesure that the narrativeis presented to the general population in a way that doesn't discouragelegitimate science, businessesand benefits, the CEO said

"With investors becoming more discerning to hype, and implausible stories, I think that we will see a paring down of players in the space."

An increase in FDA research willhelp move the market in the right direction, he said.

The realities are changing as drugs like ketamine and MDMA, previously thought to be of no therapeutic benefit, are now being reclassified as potential cures to diseases, he said."As these findings prove usefulness and safety, the argument of good is backed by empiricism."

Photo courtesy of Entheon Biomedical.

2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

View post:

Entheon Biomedical CEO Timothy Ko On The Potential Of Psychedelics In Addiction Treatment - Benzinga

For everyone forced by the COVID-19 pandemic into quarantineeither by themselves or with a select few loved onesNetflix has become a vital means of (temporary) escape from reality. As if to enhance that role, the streaming service has now become a de facto advocate of traveling not outdoors but inward, via two offerings that directly target the psychedelic crowd: first, Pendleton Ward and Duncan Trussells trippy animated affair The Midnight Gospel, and now Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics, a documentary that investigates the varied experiences celebrities have had on acid, mushrooms and other hallucinogensand the potentially therapeutic role they might one day play.

That latter angle comes courtesy of Dr. Charles Grob, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA who believes that there are many conceivable benefits to using psychedelics to treat individuals suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD and other similar ailments. The fact that the FDA has recently approved studies along those lines suggests that Grob isnt simply a counterculture outlier. Nonetheless, Have a Good Trip is at its dullest when attempting to make an actual argument for the societal benefits of mind-altering substances; no matter how promising their medicinal qualities may or may not be, the primary value of these drugs is the hysterically whacked-out stories that result from their consumption.

And thankfully, writer/director Donick Carys film has those in spades.

Premiering on Netflix on May 11, Have a Good Trip revolves around a series of interviews with well-known stars whove all tuned in and dropped out at one point in their lives, be it Ben Stiller, Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Silverman, Beastie Boys Adam Horovitz, Marc Maron, Paul Scheer, Rob Corddry, David Cross or My Morning Jackets Jim James. For some, like A$AP Rocky, who saw A rainbow shot out of my dick during sex on acid, the experience was euphoric and enlightening. For others, it was less sofor example, Rosie Perez, who was surreptitiously dosed at a crowded dance club and wound up losing her shirt while backstroking along a cascading wooden floor, and then merging with her bedroom mattress.

The traumatic and the riotous are often one and the same in these tales, as is generally true for those journeying through psychotropic realms. Thus, theres no better summation of this non-fiction inquirys outlook than that provided by Nick Offerman, whoappearing as an educational video-style laboratory scientiststates, Dont get me wrong, drugs can be dangerous. But they can also be hilarious.

Director Cary dramatizes his speakers anecdotes with Drunk History-esque recreations starring other notable comedians, and his films funniest accounts come from its two now-deceased participants: Anthony Bourdain and Carrie Fisher. The former recounts a Hunter S. Thompson-inspired road trip with a friend in which they picked up two beautiful hitchhikers, partied like crazy in a motel room, and then freaked out when one of the two women suddenly ODd before their very eyesonly to magically awaken a few moments later, behaving as if nothing had happened. For Fisher, meanwhile, an afternoon at the beach during her Star Wars heyday turned sour when, while tripping, she was photographed by a group of Japanese touristsall of whom got snapshots of Princess Leia zonked out of her mind and, like Perez, topless.

Have a Good Trips goofy formal flourishes dont end with those reenactments, all of which are prefaced by swirly-colored title cards. Shouting out to the 1980s, a corny LSD Afterschool Special hosted by Adam Scott imagines a Bad Trip by a bunch of high-schoolers (including Haley Joel Osment and Maya Erskine), while The More You Trip segments educate viewers on the dos and donts of tripping. Those lessons involve the need to control your set and setting, and to avoid driving and looking into mirrorsadvice that goes hand-in-hand with other handy tips about how best to handle a hallucinatory reverie, such as making sure you dont do so when in a negative frame of mind, since acid, mushrooms and the like enhance unhealthy thoughts and emotions to possibly unnerving degrees.

Further embellishments include animation for sequences like Stings recollection of a deer blood-soaked Mexican peyote trip, and stuffy archival videos from the United States Navy about the dangers of LSD. The film has a cartoonish everything-and-the-kitchen-sink aesthetic approach that keeps the proceedings lighthearted, save for when Dr. Grob or Deepak Chopra appear to provide some drugs-are-actually-useful blather. Have a Good Trip makes a far more convincing case for the acceptability of acid and mushrooms through its loony celebrity commentary, which underlines thatcontrary to common scare-tactic wisdomsuch drugs are less apt to make you jump out a second-floor window than simply lead you on a crazed adventure thats only as dangerous as you allow it to be.

It does demystify these drugs, casting them as consciousness-altering elements that are frequently great fun, occasionally big-time bummers, but always far from the insanity-inducing menace theyve been thought of by the public at large.

Consequently, Stings ruminations on how psychedelics help him forge connections with himself, his loved ones and the universe are ultimately far less impactful than absurdist bits such as Nick Kroll being covered in kelp by his friends and then running around a beach pretending to be a Kelp Monster. Have a Good Trip doesnt take its subject matter lightly, exactlyThe Grateful Deads Bill Kreutzmann wisely cautions against dosing others without their knowledge, and A$AP Rocky is upfront about the fact that he doesnt encourage everyone to give psychedelics a try, because some simply arent cut out for them. Yet through its raft of narratives, it does demystify these drugs, casting them as consciousness-altering elements that are frequently great fun, occasionally big-time bummers, but always far from the insanity-inducing menace theyve been thought of by the public at large.

Does this mean Have a Good Trip will encourage those who are on the fence to give acid or mushrooms a try? Possibly. But the real fun of Carys documentary is the vicarious thrill that comes from hearing how others fared, for good or ill, while tripping their balls off in less-than-ideal circumstances. Although watching it while under the influence will no doubt also be amusingif, that is, such hallucinating viewers can first manage to stop staring intensely at their hands.

Go here to read the rest:

Netflix Reveals Celebrities' Wildest Drug Trips, From Anthony Bourdain to Carrie Fisher - The Daily Beast

The Billions Stock Watch is a weekly accounting of the action on the Showtime drama. Decisions will be made based on speculation and occasional misinformation and mysterious whims that are never fully explained to the general public. Kind of like the real stock market.

Welcome back, you beautiful, duplicitous television program. Only one episode into the season and weve already moved from double-crosses to triple crosses. And Chuck Rhoades is marching into a dimly lit bar, flopping into a booth, and just straight-up saying Its a triple cross before he even says hello. Im so happy I might explode.

Lets backtrack a little, though, just so were all on the same page. At the end of last season, Chuck and Axe worked together to trap Taylor in a murky situation that resulted in Taylors personal fund folding into Axes. But, unbeknownst to Axe, Taylor agreed to work with Chuck to ruin Axe from the inside, largely because Chuck was deeply jealous of and angry at Axe for being Wendys savior in her fight to save her medical license, and also because thats just what Chuck does. And unbeknownst to both Chuck and Axe, Taylor had a plan to play matador and let the two bulls charge wildly gore each other in the ring. It was a lot. Billions rules.

And now its even more, somehow. Taylor gave Chuck info about a Bitcoin farm Axe is helping to bankroll, Chuck busted the farm and pressed Taylor for even more info, Taylor spilled the beans to Axe, Axe attempted to play nice with Chuck by returning the first-edition Churchill works that Chuck sold last season, Chuck immediately saw through this and diagnosed the aforementioned triple cross, and here we are.

On another show, a lesser one, this could be enough plot for most of a season. On Billions, it took up about 25 minutes, total, leaving plenty of time for hallucinogenic hijinks and cameos by WWE superstars and a full-on wedding. Billions moves very fast, always, heaving people and debris out of its way as it speeds by, kind of like a runaway locomotive barreling through Mardi Gras. To be clear, this is the highest compliment I know how to give.

Also, to continue being clear, just once in my entire stupid life Id like to storm into a dimly lit bar, belly up to a table where my co-conspirator is waiting, and announce Its a triple cross. The rush you must feel as the words leave your lips my God. More powerful than any drug you can buy.

Well, hello there, Mike Prince, as portrayed by televisions Corey Stoll. Pleasure to meet you. I feel like Im going to like you. Im almost sure of it. Yes, theres the thing where youre like the flipside of the Axelrod coin, a conscientious investor who claims to be attempting to do good as hes doing well, a money man who is human first, someone who cares about the means and the ends. All of that.

But mostly I think Im going to like you because you seem like a worthy adversary who gets under Axes skin. We havent seen many of those lately, at least on the money side of the show. Its not that youre even a threat, really, except to Axes pride, as we saw when you snaked him at the Vanity Fair cover shoot for the new crew of Decas (people with a net worth of over $10 billion) (and seriously, read the room here, fictional Vanity Fair), which Axe claimed not to care about and then promptly began plotting to ruin you over. Also, I think youre probably full of hooey and I cant wait for that reveal in a few weeks.

If there are two things in this world that are very much not for me, they would be, one, the great outdoors, and two, vomiting my brains out, so ayahuasca is not something that has ever really intrigued me, alleged universal clarity be damned. But good for Axe and Wags, though. Kind of. It is a little funny that the whole office is tearing itself apart in the wake of a hastily constructed revenge merger and Axe and Wags just decided to hop on motorcycles to screw off and do psychedelics to celebrate Axes net worth hitting 10 figures, but whatever. Again, I am not intrigued by the allure of puke-inducing braindrugs and I have barely half as many figures to my name as Axe, so maybe I just dont get it.

Axe did not appear to be having fun, though. Wags was all Mother Earth and hooting owls and Axe was going on maniacal rants about kings and power, and Im pretty sure he was stalking around the fire on all fours like a prowling jungle cat, if anyone needed another Bobby Axelrod is an apex predator metaphor. Axe does not seem like a dude who is wired at all for a mind-enhancing superdrug. I think hed benefit more from, like, a weed brownie and some herbal tea. Man needs to wind down, is what Im saying.

All that said, big fan of the self-discovery beard. And the wild mane of hair. Axe looks like a straight-up Game of Thrones character here, like Damian Lewis is still annoyed that hes the one working British actor in the world who wasnt brought in for an audition on that show, like hes cosplaying as Biker Tormund to exorcise those demons. I love it. Or rather, I loved it, past tense. I was devastated to see him clean-shaven and tightened-up at that Vanity Fair shoot. I was hoping hed come back to the office holding a sword and the detached head of one of his many mortal enemies. Set the tone. Show everyone whos boss. Make Brian happy.

Thats what Im really getting at here. My enjoyment. Grow the beard back. Come on.

In addition to being on the receiving end of this absolutely crushing exchange, one that made me physically wince and realize how much I never want to get into a heated argument with a trained psychologist, this was Chucks week:

But at least he has those books, I guess.

This is where I should probably discuss the cameo by WWE superstar Becky Lynch, who is apparently friends with Wendy, in what is possibly the wildest cameo this show has seen since Axe greased the wheels of a deal by having Kevin Durant record a Bar Mitzvah greeting on a cell phone. Im not going to do that, though. Instead, Im going to highlight the fact that Bonnie responded to a very reasonable HR-related complaint by lifting both of her palms to her face and ripping off an extended fake fart that someone in the captions department had to got to? transcribe. Im so happy for everyone involved here.

Kate Sacker is the best. Shes the most competent and confident person in the room in most of the rooms shes in, she gets stuff done and takes zero of Chucks crap, and she has everything lined up for a nice springboard into Congress. From there, presumably the Senate and/or the Oval Office. Shes an impressive lady who I would never cross in a million years and when she stares at people it looks like she is trying to turn them into dust right there on the floor. One day shell probably succeed.

But this is not good. Were a single episode into this season and shes already at least two strikes into Billions Characters Headed For Personal And/Or Professional Ruin situation. The first was articulating her plans for the future, the thing about Congress. No one on Billions ever gets to see their dreams through. Every dreamer gets crushed and swept up and tossed into a trash can. Remember Rebecca Cantu and her short-lived plan to run a department store? Remember Lara Axelrods hangover recovery business? Remember Ice Juice? Saying your dreams out loud on Billions is like having two weeks until retirement in a buddy cop movie. Things are about to go sideways for you. Quickly.

Which brings us to strike two: Working with Chuck to go after Axe. If theres one thing weve learned for certain about Billions over its four-plus seasons, its that Axe and Chuck are two cockroaches who will still be left standing after the apocalypse which they probably caused while everyone else around them gets vaporized. Sacker is about to get Connertyd. I feel it coming and I hate it.

I loved everything about the scene where Axes diabolical henchmen Wags, Dollar Bill, and Victor gave him an update on the Bitcoin prosecution. I love that all three of them came to deliver a brief message any one of them could have easily delivered solo. I love that they came in strutting in a wide line like a teenage street gang from West Side Story. I love that Axe, who presumably knew they were coming, was waiting for them while sitting in a chair facing the opposite direction and staring out his penthouse window at the city skyline around him like a total supervillain.

I missed you so much, Billions. Never leave me again.

Here is the original post:

The 'Billions' Stock Watch: It's Time For Psychedelics And Subterfuge - UPROXX

Prohibition Partners LIVE, in partnership with digital investment firm MAZAKALI, has launched ProCapital, an exclusive investment-focused two-day interactive forum showcasing investment opportunities across the international plant-based medicines (PBM) space that includes cannabis and psychedelics.

On June 22-23, investors, operators, and entrepreneurs will gather together on one digital platform to connect with innovative businesses operating in these rapidly developing markets. ProCapital offers operators the opportunity to attract capital and investors the ability to make real-time investments and obtain guidance from those at the cutting edge of the cannabis and psychedelics industries.

It is a turbulent time for the industry. Severe limitations are being placed on travel, mobility, and the natural operations of the cannabis supply chain. However, we continue to learn, educate, and innovate in a bid to deliver real value to delegates from every corner of the globe. With uncertainty brewing across the market, we are bringing together the global industry to help provide clarity, explained Stephen Murphy, Group Managing Director of Prohibition Partners after announcing the partnership.

The live event will be powered by MAZAKALIs Digital Capital Investment Platform, ProCapital will offer curated opportunities and broker/dealer supported investment flow within the plant-based medicine (PBM) space. Licensed Investment Advisors will provide investors with the education and tools needed to build and implement optimal investment portfolios across cannabis and psychedelics.

Against a backdrop of industry consolidation, physical distancing has also promoted exploratory travel across vast, virtual bridges of cooperation. ProCapital is born of the idea that synergistic partnerships accelerate efficiency gains, and that quality global education, networking, and investment will fuel this classic emerging market through its next growth stage. Sustainable value based on core fundamentals has replaced temporary euphoria-driven pricing, a return of rationale welcome to investors exploring what might prove to be the best performing asset class in the decade ahead, said Sumit Mehta, Founder, and CEO of MAZAKALI.

While there has been a lot of talk about tight capital, many companies have managed to raise money. Investors are still committed to the industry, but only for the most deserving of companies.

Apply to pitch at the summers most influential global cannabis and psychedelics event:

Attendees can expect to hear perspectives from leading investors, politicians, and cultural leaders. Delegates will have the opportunity to ask questions, schedule meetings, and make direct investments into curated and broker/dealer approved private companies through the MAZAKALI Digital Capital Portal.

Super early-bird tickets for Prohibition Partners LIVE areon sale now. To view the full agenda for ProCapital, as well as the other Prohibition Partners LIVE event streams,click here.

Post Views: 159

Read more from the original source:

Prohibition Partners Teams Up With Mazakali For Live Investor Event - Green Market Report

From attempts to see with the third eye to clandestine government operations, Americans have been fascinated by the confounding effects of psychedelic drugs. Despite thousands of scientific papers that have been written about many of the substances in the list below, we still dont know everything there is to know about hallucinogenic drugs. Part of that is because we still have a lot to learn about the human brain.

Serotonergic (classical psychedelic drugs)

Serotonergic (classical psychedelic drugs) these are usually what the layman (or woman) thinks of when they conjure up an idea of psychedelic drugs. LSD, DMT, and mescaline all fall into this category. Using these drugs will cause drastic changes in your sensory perception including visual and audible hallucinations.

Empathogens

Empathogens these drugs affect the neurons that release serotonin, giving the user the feeling of euphoria, love, and increased attentiveness and awareness. A typical high from one of these psychedelics usually involves relatively mild changes to perception such as audio and visual stimuli.

Dissociatives

Dissociatives the two key things that dissociatives do is create a sense of depersonalization and derealization. Users tend to feel a disconnect from the world, their surroundings, and even their own bodies.

Psychedelics arent often chemically addictive, and some have even been studied as possible aids in addiction treatment. Addiction is often caused by direct alteration of brain chemistry, and psychedelics often have a low impact on brain chemistry, except for indirect influences. However, they do have a high risk of abuse, and some can cause lasting psychological problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder and even psychosis. Some substances can cause psychological addiction when a person becomes emotionally dependent on the drug. And other synthetic psychedelics are believed to be habit forming.

Keep reading to learn about the most popular psychedelic drugs and how they affect your body and brain.

Lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as acid or LSD, is possibly the most well known psychedelic drug. Popularized by the 1960s counterculture, LSD made its way into pop culture with public figures like the Beatles admitting to using it. The chemical was also the subject of a wide range scientific study throughout the 20th century, including the CIAs illegal and controversial Project MKUltra.

LSD alters awareness and perceptions and may also cause hallucinations. It is not chemically addictive but can cause some negative effects like anxiety and paranoia. Some research shows an increased likelihood of developing psychological disorders like schizophrenia in adults with other risk factors.

Psilocybin, or magic mushrooms, a group of fungi that have been used since prehistoric times as an entheogen and hallucinogenic drug. The substance psilocybin is found in a variety of genera, with over 100 species in the genus Psilocybin, though the mushrooms of that genus usually dont produce hallucinations.

Psilocybin causes an increase in empathy, euphoria, and altered thinking. In some species, it can cause open and closed eye visuals.

Though they arent chemically addictive and they dont represent a significant health threat, they are hard to distinguish from deadly mushrooms. Toxic species like Death Caps can look identical to some species of psilocybin and grow in the same places.

N,N-Dimethyltryptamine, better known as DMT, was popularized by two researchers in the late 20th century. Scientist Rick Strassman studied it extensively in the 1990s and gave it the nickname the Spirit Molecule. Terence Mckenna, an ethnobotanist, studied and described the effects of the DMT in detail.

DMT has been used for possibly thousands of years by Amazonian tribes that activate DMT innately in rainforest plants by brewing it in tea, called ayahuasca with MAOIs (which is necessary to make it active when ingested).

The substance may be among the most powerful psychedelic drugs on earth, with potential for powerful visual hallucinations. There is little evidence to suggest that it could cause chemical dependence or medical complications. However, there is a chance that psychological issues may develop from bad trips.

Mescaline is a psychedelic alkaloid thats found in a number of southwestern cacti like peyote, the San Pedro cactus, and the Peruvian torch. Peyote is popularly used by Native American shaman in religious ceremonies. The drug is illegal in the US but special exceptions are made for groups that use it for religious purposes.

Mescaline causes color enhancements, euphoria, and an increase in introspection. Users often report having personal epiphanies on while on the drug. When ingested, the peyote cactus is bitter and can commonly cause nausea and vomiting. Mescaline, like other psychedelic drugs, has a potential for psychological addiction. However, it isnt chemically addictive and has a very low physical risk for healthy users.

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, better known as MDMA, ecstasy, or molly is an entactogen which is a class of drugs that produce a feeling of communion or oneness with others. Unlike the rest of the top five psychedelic drugs, MDMA is most often used as a party drug. Other hallucinogens require careful attention to set and setting, the users mindset and the place they are using. In loud, crowded settings, users increase their likelihood of a bad trip.

MDMAs effects; however, have a larger emphasis on increased empathy and emotional connection. It also elevates mood and sometimes facilitates a mental and physical euphoria. In some users, MDMA can create mild hallucinations like color changes or heightened audio effects.

MDMA causes dehydration and raises your body temperature which means users are required to drink water consistently while high. MDMA has been recorded leading to fatal medical complications due to hyperthermia and dehydration, especially when combined with alcohol.

25I-NBOMe, better known as N-Bomb or simply 25I, is a synthetic designer drug that is used for neurochemistry and brain mapping. Its also a potent psychedelic hallucinogen. Like its cousins in the 2C family of synthetic drugs, 25I is used recreationally for its similarity to MDMA. It causes an increase in empathy and affection as well as visual hallucinations. It may also cause extreme anxiety or a feeling of doom.

Unlike the 2C family and MDMA, 25I is fatal at high doses. An effective dose is less than a milligram, while similar synthetic hallucinogens require anywhere between 3 to 10 mg. There have been several recorded instances of overdose caused by mistaken identity.

Salvinorin A, or salvia, is a psychoactive drug that comes from the Salvia divinorum, a plant thats native to the high mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. Salvia is unique in its chemical structure when compared to other naturally occurring psychedelics. Unlike other psychedelic drugs, its not an alkaloid, but rather, a terpenoid, which is a broad category of organic chemicals.

Saliva is a dissociative, a class of psychoactive drugs that distortsight and sound which makes users feel detached from the world around them or even from themselves. Hallucinogenic effects can cause trance-like-states, anxiety, and dysphoria.

Salvinorin A is federally legal in the US, but some states like Florida consider it a controlled substance.

Phencyclidine, or PCP, is a synthetic drug that also causes dissociative hallucinations. PCP was originally synthesized as an anesthetic for medical use. Because of its side effects, which can include mania, delirium, and disorientation, use in humans was discontinued in the 1950s.

Unlike other psychedelic drugs, PCP is considered to be moderately addictive, and there is some threat of developing psychological issues.

Ketamine is a precursor to PCP and was synthesized for the same purpose, as an anesthetic for use in surgeries. It can cause sedation and memory loss as a side effect and was later restricted to veterinary use. Its recreational use causes similar effects to PCP and it, too, has a low to moderate addiction potential.

Dextromethorphan, or DXM, is the one drug on this list that has the most accidental usage. DXM is a common active ingredient in a cough suppressing medicines like Vicks, NyQuil, Robitussin, and many others. At high doses, it can cause dissociative hallucinogenic effects like PCP or ketamine. However, it is less likely to cause addiction or dependence.

Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, or GHB, is a psychoactive drug that naturally occurs in the brain as a neurotransmitter. It has been used medically as an anesthetic and for treatment of narcolepsy. When used recreationally, users report effects similar to alcohol or MDMA and, like MDMA, it is often used in clubs and at raves. In rat studies, GHB has shown to be habit forming, and some users report feeling withdrawal symptoms after stopping use.

The 2C family is a group of synthetic psychedelics used as designer drugs and MDMA analogs. They were first synthesized by chemist Alexander Shulgin in the 1970s. Since then they have been used to circumvent legal bans on MDMA. Many members of the group, like 2C-I and 2C-B cause stimulation, euphoria, increased heart rate, color enhancement, and hallucinations. Different members of the 2C family have different effective doses, and they can be hard to tell apart. This can lead to overdose in cases of mistaken identity.

Marijuana does not make the top 12 despite the fact that it is widely used and some psychologists consider it as a psychedelic drug. However, the number one defining attribute is that a psychedelics primary action is to alter cognition or perception. While marijuana may do this in some situations, it is primarily used for mood-heightening and relaxing effects.

Another psychedelic thats growing in popularity is ibogaine, a substance found in plants that are native to West Africa and used in tribal rituals. It hasnt reached a high level of recreational use compared to some of the drugs on the list. However, it is being studied as an experimental addiction treatment drug in some countries. Though it has shown some potentially dangerous effects on the heart.

If you are struggling addiction or drug abuse of any kind, you are not alone. Psychedelic drugs are often used alongside more dangerous substances with serious side effects and withdrawal symptoms.

Read more:

The 12 Most Popular Psychedelic Drugs | Ocean Breeze Recovery

Bruce Linton, formerly the CEO of cannabis behemoth Canopy Growth (NYSE: CGC) and now Director of Mind Medicine (OTC: MMEDF) is this weeks guest on The Green Rush! Since his departure from Canopy in 2019, Bruce has since moved onto several new ventures within the cannabis and psychedelics spaces but is still the unquestioned face of the industry. Started with CNBCs Kevin OLeary, Bruces most notable role right now is with Mind Medicine, a neuro-pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and deploys psychedelic inspired medicines to improve health, promote wellness and alleviate suffering.

Fresh off taking Mind Med public on the NEO Exchange, Bruce sat down with Lewis to chat about what hes been up to since his departure from Canopy. The two touch on all of the headlines dominating the cannabis industry including most notably the public markets and capital crunch as well as what his outlook is for the long and short-term future of the space. In addition, the two tackle the burgeoning psychedelics industry and explore the work that Mind Med is currently undergoing, why now was the time to take the company public and what convinced Bruce that psychedelics were the real deal.

In addition, the pair discuss Bruces other cannabis ventures including his roles at Vireo Health (OTC: VREOF), Better Choice Company (OTC: BTTR) and Gage Cannabis.

As most know, Bruce is a one-of-a-kind leader in this space and his interview with Lewis provides a ton of great insights on how he is approaching the future.

Dont sit back, lean forward and enjoy!

See Also: Green Rush Podcast: Vanguard Scientific's Matthew Anderson On The Cannabis Capital Crunch And Ancillary Services

Bruce Linton, Director of Mind Medicine Inc.

Bruce has a passion for entrepreneurship and making a positive difference in the world. He brings a wealth of experience in building strong technology driven companies, developing world class teams and positioning his companies to deliver exceptional customer value and service.In his newly appointed role as an Active Advisor, Bruce will serve as Executive Chairman with GAGE Cannabis Co., following completion of the acquisition of Innovations GAGE is innovating and curating the highest quality cannabis experiences possible for patients in the state of Michigan and bringing internationally renowned brands to market.

See Also: Green Rush Podcast: ELLO's Hershel Gerson Says The Average Cannabis Company Has 6 Months Of Cash Before They Run Out

He is Special Advisor with Better Choice Company (BTTR) BTTR is an animal health and wellness cannabinoid company that acquired TruPet LLC, an online seller of ultra-premium, all-natural pet food, treats and supplements, with a special focus on freeze dried and dehydrated raw products. And Director with MindMed MindMed is assembling a drug development pipeline of psychedelic inspired medicines planning or undertaking FDA trials.Bruce is also an Activist Investor with SLANG Worldwide Inc. (OTC: SLGWF) is a leading global cannabis consumer packaged goods company with a robust portfolio of renowned brands distributed across 2,600 stores in 12 U.S. states. And with OG DNA Genetics Inc. (DNA) DNA has built and curated a seasoned genetic library and developed proven standard operating procedures for genetic selection, breeding, and cultivation.He is the Founder and Former Chairman and CEO of Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC/WEED), Co-Chairman and past CEO of Martello Technologies, and Co?founder of Ruckify & Better Software.

Links and mentions in the show

Links to the guests company and social media accounts

Show Credits:

This episode was hosted by Lewis Goldberg of KCSA Strategic Communications.

Special thanks to our Executive Producer Nick Opich and Program Director Shea Gunther.

For cannabis and psychedelics content in Spanish, check out El Planteo.

The preceding article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Link:

Green Rush Podcast: Bruce Linton On Psychedelics, Listing On The NEO, And The Difference Between 'Going Public' And 'Being Public' - Benzinga

Anxiety is a modern epidemic. Officially it affects around one in four New Zealanders but talk to anyone who works in our schools and universities and they will tell you the problem is far bigger than that.

Young people are suffering and mental health services are struggling to help. Last year, one US study showed the percentage of 18- to 26-year-olds suffering from an anxiety disorder had doubled since 2008. And it seems that women are far more likely to experience psychological distress than men.

What if there was a new therapy for anxiety non-invasive, no side effects, you'd barely even know you were on it except you felt calmer? What if that same treatment could work for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, support the mental health of cancer patients, help in palliative care, control addiction, maybe even boost everyday mood and enhance work performance? Many people believe this potent remedy already exists it is called microdosing and currently, it is against the law.

Microdosing involves taking tiny amounts of illegal psychedelic drugs such as LSD or magic mushrooms, at about a tenth of the usual dose potentially all that is required to make changes in the brain.

It first took off in Silicon Valley where microdosing is one way high performing professionals are trying to give themselves an edge in a competitive business. They believe it boosts creativity and focus, increases productivity, improves sleep and helps them manage stress.

Despite its illegality, the practice is now becoming more widespread.

It may sound like microdosing is the latest and greatest life hack, but so far there isn't much solid scientific evidence to back it up, only a lot of chatter. The man who may be set to change that is Dr Suresh Muthukumaraswamy at Auckland University.

He has spent his career looking at how various therapies affect brain activity and this year will embark on a world-first study to see if microdosing really is as effective as enthusiasts claim.

It has taken a long time to get the ethics approval and funding needed, but partly thanks to a large donation from Silicon Valley, the project is set to go. Dr

Suresh says that while there are many interesting claims about the benefits of microdosing, the few laboratory studies so far haven't found any positive results. This may be due to the placebo effect people believe a drug is going to work and so it seems to but there is another possible explanation.

"Laboratory studies are tremendously boring," Dr Suresh explains. "You come into a sterile environment, take the dose and then you're monitored, probed and prodded for six hours. It's not a good reflection of what is happening when people take a microdose of LSD, then go out and engage with the world, do their job, live their life. If this drug is a platform that enhances experience, then perhaps you need to have an experience."

His University of Auckland trial will involve 40 healthy male volunteers no women this time round because the hormonal activity of the menstrual cycle creates changes in the brain and makes the testing process more complex.

For six weeks, half the men will take a microdose of pharmaceutical grade LSD and half a placebo, then they'll switch. No one will have any idea whether they are on the real drug or the fake, and crucially they will be allowed to take the pills home and experience microdosing "in the wild", rather than solely in the lab.

"People will be filling in nightly questionnaires about things like mood, wellbeing, concentration and any negative effects. And we'll bring them into the lab to do more involved assessments of brain function," says Dr Suresh.

Modern imaging techniques, such as fMRI, mean scientists can actually see what is going on in the brains of people who are taking these drugs. When he was based in the UK, Dr Suresh was involved in one trial where participants took a full dose of LSD and it was found that parts of the brain that don't normally connect with one another, started to communicate.

LSD, commonly known as acid, is a synthetic chemical that binds to the serotonin receptors in the brain. In small amounts, it produces mild changes in perception, mood and thought. When larger doses are taken it can cause visual hallucinations and an altered sense of time.

The heyday of LSD was the 1960s when the US psychologist and writer Timothy Leary urged people to take an acid trip to "turn on, tune in, and drop out", but humans actually have a far longer history of using psychedelics.

In South America, shamans have used a plant-based psychoactive tea called ayahuasca in traditional healing rituals and ceremonies for centuries. And there is archaeological evidence that shows people were taking magic mushrooms thousands of years ago.

In recent years there has been a renewed interest in the therapeutic use of psychedelics. Scientists around the world have been looking at how MDMA (ecstasy) might help patients with severe PTSD; at how ayahuasca might be used to treat depression; how LSD may be helpful for addiction and severe phobias; and how psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, might be a breakthrough for hard-to-treat health and mental health issues.

Aucklander Amadeus Diamond runs a Facebook page called Psychedelics New Zealand and has set up the Entheos Foundation with the aim of raising funds for local research and education.

Amadeus works in finance and isn't a microdoser himself, but is excited about the potential of these drugs to help those dealing with everything from addiction to PTSD and depression, and frustrated that their illegality is making it difficult for sufferers to access them.

"I want to help," he says. "I want to put the word out and get these things to the point where people can benefit from them."

Since the publication of US writer Michael Pollan's book, How To Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics in 2018, he says there has been a surge in interest.

"I'm getting six or seven messages a week from people saying, 'I have PTSD' or 'I'm depressed' or 'A family member is suffering from depression, please help.' And it breaks my heart when I have to say I can't. All I'm able to do is point them in the direction of the best research.

"I can't help them source illegal drugs and I can't encourage them to self-medicate because that would be irresponsible."

Illegality notwithstanding, there are other reasons why self-medicating with hallucinogens could be a bad idea. Drugs sold as LSD may actually contain other substances, some of them more dangerous and stronger, so it is easy to take too much.

Pick the wrong mushroom and rather than it being 'magic', it could paralyse and kill you. If you are taking other drugs such as SSRIs or have mental health issues, it might make things worse rather than better.

For Laura*, those risks appear to have been worth it. Since she was a child, she has struggled with anxiety. Her panic attacks were sometimes so severe that she would black out.

"There didn't seem to be a trigger," she recalls. "It would happen randomly while I was at school or walking down the street. Then a couple of years ago my anxiety got so bad I didn't want to leave the house."

Laura, a South Island mother with a corporate job, knew she needed help. She went to her GP who prescribed a class of anti-depressants known as SSRIs that increase levels of the mood-regulating hormone, serotonin, in the brain.

Laura had tried taking them previously while suffering post-natal depression and the drugs hadn't agreed with her. Still, she didn't think there was another option.

"Then, after I started taking them, I couldn't get out of bed for a month," she says.

So her doctor took her off the anti-depressants and Laura made the decision to leave her stressful job and study psychology. That was when she started learning about the healing potential of psychedelic drugs. Laura was most interested in the idea of microdosing.

"I did a lot of reading and got information on how to go about it," she says. "I was lucky there was someone I knew and trusted who had access to LSD and they sold me some."

The first time she tried it, Laura microdosed for a week and there was a real impact on her anxiety. "Suddenly I wanted to go out of the house again. I had conversations where I didn't feel awkward. Probably the biggest thing I noticed was that I wasn't ruminating about the past or feeling anxious about the future."

The beneficial effect lasted for five weeks. Since then, Laura has tried microdosing twice more and says her panic attacks are now a thing of the past. "It's made a huge difference to my life," she says.

LSD is a class A drug and possession can result in six months' imprisonment, a $1000 fine, or both. "Still, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again," Laura admits.

Even if the University of Auckland study does find solid evidence of benefits from healthy men taking microdoses of LSD, the research will need to be repeated with women, and then mental health patients, to see how it is going to affect the wider community.

"With science you've got to do it one step at a time," he says.

Currently, a third of people with serious depression are unable to find a drug that eases their symptoms. Dr Suresh believes that for mental health disorders, a variety of different treatments is required, as patients tend to respond to one and not another.

Some day microdosing may be among the options. In the meantime, it worries Dr Suresh that people out there are taking the risks of self-medicating, when there is no real evidence yet that it works and his own trial might not find any benefits.

"Still, we have to chase the knowledge and find out," he says. "We'll never know unless we do an effective study."

Wellington's Rebekah Senanayake is willing to talk openly about having tried microdosing. She is planning to study for her master's in the traditional cultural uses of psychedelics and has a part-time job looking after the social media for an organisation called the Chacruna Institute which researches and educates around psychedelic plant medicines.

Rebekah was travelling in South America when she had her first experiences with ayahuasca. "It helps you think of things in a completely different way," she says. "Afterwards, I felt a lot clearer in my mind and body, my interactions with other people were better and I could think more deeply."

But ayahuasca is also not without risks. In 2015, New Zealander Matthew Dawson-Carke died while taking it on a retreat in Peru.

Rebekah spent 10 days in the jungle going through a guided ritual with a shaman that involved clean-eating before drinking it several times and says she never had any sort of bad experience.

Since then Rebekah, who is in her mid-twenties, has microdosed with huachuma (or San Pedro), a cactus that originally comes from Peru and has been used for thousands of years in sacred ceremonies.

"I took a tiny, tiny dose every morning for about three months," she says. "That was really interesting because you don't go fully into the experience, you just feel some of the effects. You're still in control, you can do everything you normally do, it's just at a different level. You think about one thing at a time," she says.

Convinced of the potential of these plant medicines to help people when used in the right way, Rebekah hopes her future career path will involve psychedelics. But there is still a long way to go before they are likely to be accepted by mainstream medicine.

See the rest here:

Microdosing: taking illegal psychedelic drugs as a form of therapy - does it actually work? - Now To Love

Psilocybin is the main psychoactive ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms, also called "magic mushrooms" or "shrooms." There are over 100 species of mushrooms that contain psilocybin.

Although people have been consuming magic mushrooms for thousands of years, the compound wasn't isolated until 1957 and it was produced synthetically a year later. Since 1970, psilocybin and psilocin (a closely related compound) have been listed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Association (DEA) as Schedule I substances the federal government's most restrictive category.

Despite these restrictions, recent clinical trials have found psilocybin to be a promising therapy for treatment-resistant anxiety and depression. Because of this, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated psilocybin as a "breakthrough therapy" an action meant to accelerate the drug development and review process.

There are over 100 species of psilocybin-containing mushrooms with varying potencies, said Matthew Johnson, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore who studies psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin.

Psilocybin mushrooms have long, slender stems topped by caps with dark brown edges, according to the DEA. In the U.S., magic mushrooms are found in the Southeast and Pacific Northwest often growing in pastures on cow dung, Johnson told Live Science. They also grow in Mexico, Central and South America. The most potent species in the world is considered Psilocybe azurescens, which is found mainly in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

In the early 1950s, an American banker and mushroom enthusiast named R. Gordon Wasson came across an indigenous tribe using psychoactive mushrooms when he was on vacation in Mexico, according to Drug Policy Alliance. Wasson sent samples of the mushrooms to Albert Hoffmann, a Swiss chemist known for discovering LSD. Hoffmann isolated psilocybin from the mushroom Psilocybe mexicana in 1957, and he developed a way to produce a synthetic version of the psychedelic compound a year later.

Since 1970, psilocybin and psilocin have been listed by the DEA as Schedule I substances, the federal government's most restrictive category. Drugs in this category are believed to have a "high potential for abuse" as well as "no accepted medical use," according to the DEA.

Psilocybin along with other drugs, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and mescaline, are considered "classic psychedelics" because they can induce changes in mood, thought and perception by mimicking neurotransmitters in your brain.

Once it enters the body, psilocybin is broken down into psilocin, a substance that acts like the neurotransmitter serotonin, which regulates mood. Psilocybin is known to activate a specific type of serotonin receptor in the brain that triggers its psychedelic effects, Johnson said.

Its hallucinatory effects can cause a person to see images, hear sounds and feel sensations that seem real but aren't, according to Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. Someone on psilocybin may experience synesthesia, or the mixture of two senses, such as feeling like they can smell colors.

Related: 'Trippy' bacteria engineered to brew 'magic mushroom' hallucinogen

Besides sensory enhancement and visual hallucinations, participants in psilocybin-assisted therapy sessions have described the drug's effects as a life-changing experience where they gain deep insight that shifts the way they think about themselves.

A mystical type of experience has also been linked with the use of psilocybin, Johnson said. People have described feeling at one with humanity, feeling a sense of unity, and feeling a sense of self dissolve after consuming the psychedelic compound, he explained.

Studies have shown that after taking psilocybin, there is a sharp increase in communication between areas of the brain that normally don't talk to each other, which may partly explain the new insights people experience. There's also a quieting of deeply entrenched thought patterns that contribute to addictions, anxiety and depression, Johnson said.

People have been ingesting psilocybin-containing mushrooms for thousands of years as part of religious ceremonies or for healing purposes.

Magic mushrooms can be made into a tea, eaten raw or dried, ground into a powder and put in capsules, or coated in chocolate, to mask their bitter flavor and disguise them as candy, Johnson said. The hallucinogenic effects may begin within 20 to 40 minutes of use and last about 3 to 6 hours, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Studies on the possible medical benefits of psilocybin and other psychedelics began in the 1950s and '60s, immediately after Hoffmann created a way to produce the chemical synthetically.

Although findings showed promise for treating anxiety, depression and addiction, research in the U.S. came to a halt in 1970, when President Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act. This law was viewed as a political response to a growing fear of psychedelic drug use in young people and the spread of the counterculture movement.

Three decades later, Roland Griffiths, a psychopharmacologist at Johns Hopkins, won FDA approval to study psilocybin, ushering in a new era of psychedelics research with more rigorous scientific standards than earlier studies.

When used in current research sessions, participants take a pill containing a high dose of synthetic psilocybin with professionals monitoring them and providing psychological support, Johnson said. They typically receive counseling before and after the psychedelic experience.

The FDA has granted some scientists permission to use psilocybin in research but the recreational use of psilocybin is illegal in the U.S. However, its illicit use has been decriminalized in two cities (Denver and Oakland, California) and other cities are working on similar measures, Johnson said.

Psilocybin has shown promise for treating a variety of difficult-to-treat health conditions.

For example, the results are extremely positive for the use of psilocybin in the treatment of smoking cessation and depression, Johnson said. Recent clinical trials have reported that just one to three doses of psilocybin given in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy have helped patients quit their smoking habit, he said. Afterward, people feel more confident in their ability to change behavior and manage their addictions.

Results are also promising for the use of psilocybin in reducing cancer-related anxiety and treatment-resistant depression two areas where there is a huge need for better treatment options, Johnson said.

Psilocybin along with supportive therapy appears to help people come to grips with problems and learn from these experiences, he said. The treatment may induce insights and novel perspectives that promote mental flexibility and may cause lasting behavior changes six months to a year later.

Small studies of psilocybin have also suggested benefits as a treatment for alcohol addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The most common negative side effect of psilocybin is the potential for a "bad trip," Johnson said. High doses of psilocybin can cause overwhelming feelings of anxiety, fear and confusion that can lead to dangerous behavior if not used under medical supervision.

Psychedelics are very intoxicating substances, and their side effects can be challenging to manage even in the relatively safe framework of a research setting, Johnson said. Researchers reduce these risks by prohibiting people with a history of psychosis from participating in psilocybin studies. Psilocybin can also moderately increase blood pressure, which is why people with heart problems are excluded from studies, he added. Other possible side effects of psilocybin use include nausea, vomiting, headaches and stomach cramps.

For recreational users, misidentification of mushroom species is one of the biggest concerns. Some poisonous varieties of mushrooms in the wild bear a strong resemblance to psilocybin species, according to ProjectKnow. Inexperienced mushroom hunters might not recognize the difference, and could accidentally ingest a poisonous mushroom, which could lead to liver failure or death.

Additional resources:

This article is for informational purposes only, and is not meant to provide medical advice.

Here is the original post:

Psilocybin: The magic ingredient in psychedelic shrooms - Livescience.com

Getty

In 1967, Jimi Hendrixs Are You Experienced? became the anthem for a generation of psychedelic initiates. Over fifty years later, at the recent Economics of Psychedelic Investing conference, the cultural touchstone was Michael Pollans NYT bestseller, How to Change Your Mind. And as Lewis Goldberg, Principal of KCSA Strategic Communications, noted to the 200-plus attendants, it should have already been required reading for everyone in the room.

As the books title suggests, for those with intractable depression, end-of-life anxiety, PTSD and addiction, psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, ibogaine, MDMA, arketamin and LSD can literally change their minds. And it is the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs to treat the profound distress of Western society, and the inherent economic opportunities that entails, that attracted a group of entrepreneurs, investors, potential investors and other psychedelically experienced and curious to the NYC event. Some had leveraged their success in the early cannabis green rush and are already riding the psychedelic third wave. Others were eager not to miss out on what may be the next big opportunity while the industry is still in its infancy.

As Debra Borchardt of Green Market Report, who organized the sold-out event, observed, The fast emergence of companies wanting to be first to market on psilocybin and other psychedelic drugs reminds me of the early days of the cannabis industry. I think the biggest difference here is that the psychedelic industry is more focused on medicinal uses because there isnt a large demand for recreational uses - not at the same level of cannabis.

The parallels between cannabis transition from outlaw drug to mainstream medicine and that of psychedelic drugs was a recurring theme during the half-day conference, as were the differences.

Both involve converting a capricious and infinitely varying botanic medicine into a consistent and replicable pharmaceutical drug that can pass the FDA hurdles to ultimately be covered by insurance. Without that, the costs for psychedelic drug therapies, which can require significant professional involvement pre-, during and post-treatment, would be prohibitive.

Further complicating matters, like cannabis, many of those psychedelic substances are classified under Schedule 1, with all the obstacles to research that entails. Yet as Dr. Terence Kelly, CEO of Perception Neuroscience, noted, the regulatory authorities are very familiar with psychedelic substances and tend to be cooperative regarding their research. Compass Pathways FDA-approved study of synthetic psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, and MAPS study of MDMA for PTSD are two cases in point.

There are other practical matters, like how to scale up growth of a mushroom that is cultivated on manure for large-scale industrial needs. And as Jay Pleckham and Leonard Leher of Back of the Yards Algae Sciences explained, they are already on the job.

Another issue that both cannabis and psychedelics have successfully addressed is how to avoid unwanted psychoactivity. Keynote speaker J.R. Rahn of MindMed described the companys acquisition of 18-MC, a synthetic compound related to ibogaine but stripped of its hallucinogenic properties, that is being developed as a drug for treating addiction. Fortuitously, the previous owners of the drug IP had already cleared initial clinical studies, moving it further along on the regulatory pathway. Another huge advantage in the companys favor is that the drug is not classified under the Controlled Substance Act. But perhaps the most compelling case for the company is the real and pressing need for an effective anti-addiction solution in a country ravaged by the opioid crisis.

Another way that both cannabis and psychedelic drug developers are deriving medical value without unwanted psychoactivity is through microdosing. Interestingly, at very low doses, LSD has been shown to be a potent anti-inflammatory agent. Shlomi Raz of Eleusis described how his company is testing microdoses of LSD initially to treat retinopathy as a proof of concept before addressing the much more formidable chronic-inflammation-related Alzheimers disease.

Both the cannabis and psychedelic industries are being called upon to redress the inequities and consequences of decades of prohibition their businesses are built upon. In the case of psychedelic drugs, Shelby Hartman, co-founder and editor-in-chief of DoubleBlind Magazine, emphasized that the sacred use of psychedelic plants by indigenous peoples must be honored as well.

Other common themes arose, including the question of what is lost when a psychedelic plant is converted into a pharmaceutical drug. Is there an entourage effect that is sacrificed when the natural psychoactive compound is isolated and synthesized? Should access to the medicine be controlled by for-profit companies, or should everyone be free to grow their own? And is it possible to experience true healing without the trip?

Perhaps where psychedelic drugs and cannabis most diverge is in their timeline to market. The need for robust clinical trials entails a significant outlay of time and funding. For potential investors, supporting companies to enable their clinical trials was one suggested way to get involved at this early stage of the game.

But some companies are taking advantage of the ready availability of substances like ketamine, which have been approved for other uses in the case of ketamine, for anesthesia. Along with its other longer-term R&D projects, Canadian therapeutic psychedelic company Field Trip is already establishing psychedelic drug-assisted therapy clinics in Canada, and will soon be opening branches in Los Angeles and New York.

The movement to decriminalize psychedelic drugs for public access is making symbolic headway in places like Oakland, Denver and Oregon. But while masses of cannabis consumers magically appear as soon as new legal markets open up, as they did most recently in Illinois, whether there will be such a voracious market for psychedelic drugs is not so clear. There is a reason why psychedelic drugs are considered to have the lowest potential for abuse. A psychedelic experience can be as daunting as it is life-transforming.

Still, the practice of microdosing psychedelic drugs is well-established in Silicon Valley, where it is considered as a way to support creativity and focus. And as one participant in the conference divulged, there is a significant underground of psychedelic microdosers in New York City as well.

After hearing from companies including Atai Life Sciences, MindMed, Eleusis and others, the excitement among participants in the room was palpable. Something indeed is happening here.

At this point, with the psychedelic movement well into its third wave, investors may want to ask themselves, if they arent experienced, perhaps its time to change their mind?

The rest is here:

Are Investors Ready To Change Their Minds About Psychedelic Drugs? - Forbes

Can the mind-blowing effects of psychedelics help heal our traumas?

The Goop Lab, Gwyneth Paltrows new Netflix mini-series, tackles the topic in their first episode by sending several Goop employees to Jamaica to ingest magic mushrooms under the careful guidance of psychotherapists.

One young woman, traumatized by her fathers suicide, declares she went through years of therapy in about five hours.

What does the scientific community say about the role of psychedelics on our psyche?

Its an increasingly hopeful thumbs up.

Despite the fact that psychedelics are illegal, the last decade has seen an explosion of research, with results so intriguing that governments are greenlighting studies around the world.

Scientists are busily exploring the role of hallucinogens on treatment-resistant depression, post traumatic stress disorder, cancer-related anxiety, addictions, and even anorexia.

But this is not the first time science became giddy over the potential benefits of psychedelics. That story began nearly a century ago.

It was 1938 when Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman inadvertently synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, while trying to create a treatment for bleeding disorders. He shelved the compound for other research, then accidentally absorbed a small dose a few years later.

Intrigued by the feeling of euphoria, Hoffman tried it again, later realizing he had given himself five times the effective dose.

The faces of those around me appeared as grotesque, colored masks, Hoffmanwrotein a first person account. I sometimes observed, in the manner of an independent, neutral observer, that I shouted half insanely or babbled incoherent words. Occasionally I felt as if I were out of my body.

Hoffman was tripping.

Word spread quickly through the scientific community and soon researchers around the world began analyzing, then experimenting with LSD, both on themselves and their patients.

Their methods may not be considered state-of-the-art science today, but that didnt stop the research. Science began to tackle other age-old hallucinogens: an extract from Mexican sacred mushrooms called psilocybin, and a naturally occurring psychoactive found in the peyote cactus called mescaline.

After all, these plant-based psychedelics have been in use by indigenous peoples and ancient cultures for hundreds, possibly thousands of years.

In the 1950s UK psychiatristDr. Humphry Osmondbegan giving LSD to treatment-resistent alcoholics: 40% to 45% of those who took LSD were still sober after a year. Other researchersduplicated his results.

Eager to label the effect of LSD on the mind, Osmond put together the Greek words psyche (mind) and deloun (show). The word psychedelic was born.

During the 40s and early 50stens of thousands of patientstook LSD and other psychotropics tostudy their effectson cancer anxiety, alcoholism, opioid use disorder, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder or PTSD. Researchers began to see psychedelics as possible new tools for shortening psychotherapy.

Outside the control of a lab, people began touse psychedelics for their mind-bending effects, swearing the drugs improved creativity and made them happier long past the bliss of the high.

Celebrities helped spread the word: Cary Grant used LSD over 100 times in the late 50s, according to the documentary film, Becoming Cary Grant, claiming it made him a better actor.

Grant was so taken with the drug that he decided to go public with his experience in the September 1, 1959, issue of Look magazine.Vanity Fair wroteabout the article, entitled The Curious Story Behind the New Cary Grant, which was a glowing account of how LSD therapy had improved Grants life: At last, I am close to happiness.

Influential writer Aldous Huxley, best known for his 1932 novel Brave New World, took LSD during the last third of his life. In 1960 he told The Paris Review: While one is under the drug one has penetrating insights into the people around one, and also into ones own life. Many people get tremendous recalls of buried material. A process which may take six years of psychoanalysis happens in an hour and considerably cheaper!

When Harvard psychologists Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert decided to open theHarvard Psilocybin Projectin 1960, research on psychedelics was still in its golden era. That would soon change.

Leary and Alpert were fired in 1962 and their research shut down when Harvard discovered they had been giving LSD to their students. Alpert changed his name toBaba Ram Dassand became a best selling author and New Age guru. Leary began to speak out publicly, encouraging young people to take LSD recreationally. He quickly became the face of the drug counterculture movement with his signature message, Turn on, tune in, drop out.

Drop out of school, because school education today is the worst narcotic drug of all,Leary said.Dont politic, dont vote, these are old mens games.

No longer administered in the relative safety of a lab or psychiatrists office, horror stories of bad acid trips at colleges and concerts shared headlines with images of anti-Vietnam protests and unclothed Woodstock attendees.

In 1966, LSD was declared illegal in the United States and research projects were closed or forced underground.

In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act into law. It classified hallucinogenics asSchedule I drugs the most restrictive category reserved for substances with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

Twenty five years passed. Then in the mid-90s, a few scientists inGermany,Switzerlandand theUSagain began to explore the mental and physical impact of psilocybin, mescaline, and a new player in the space: N-dimethyltryptamine or DMT. Its the active ingredient in an ancient sludge-like brew called ayahuasca, which is used by spiritual healers in the Amazon.

Small, with very few participants and no randomization or other controls, the research was similar to safety and tolerability studies designed to prove no harm.

Trying to study illegal substances created challenges for researchers, but many persevered. As the years passed, the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Drug Enforcement Administration began to say yes more often than no.

Studies on psilocybin, DMT, and mescaline were approved, as were studies of the synthetic drug MDMA, more commonly known as Molly or Ecstasy.

Research on LSD, which had the worst reputation in the publics eye, lagged behind until 2008. Thats when theMultidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, or MAPS, received FDA approval to study LSD-assisted psychotherapy on end-of-life anxiety.MAPS called the approvala transformative moment.

The study found positive trends in the reduction of anxiety after two sessions of LSD administered under the guidance of a psychotherapist.

Fears of any permanent damage from psychedelics were eased by a large2015 studyof 130,000 American adults, comparing users to non-users. The study found no link between the use of LSD, psilocybin or mescaline and suicidal behavior or mental health problems.

However, studies show aminority of peopledo experience bad trips, fueling speculation that the chance of negative experiences maydiffer depending on the type of hallucinogenic, the dose, even the type of mental disorder. In addition, research shows people who have used anti-depressants for a long time fail to respond well to some psychedelics, leading to concern about theiruse in chronic anti-depressant users.

To avoid negative experiences, MAPS and other organizations say having trained therapists on hand to guide one through the experience is key, along with a supportive setting, appropriate expectations and proper dosage.

Today there is a true renaissance of research on the role of psychedelics on mental health.

Gold-standard double blind randomized trials have shownrapid, marked, and enduring anti-anxiety and depression effects, researchers say, in people with cancer-related and treatment-resistant depression after a single dose of psilocybin. Treatment with psilocybin has also improvedobsessive compulsive disordersymptoms andalcohol dependence.

Dosage has become a focus of interest. Micro-doses of shrooms and other psychedelics is a recent trend; users claim tiny, daily doses can improve mood and concentration without the commitment to a hours-long high. Research on micro-dosing is in the early stages.

MAPS is in thefinal phaseof a gold-standard study administering MDMA [Ecstasy] to 300 people with severe PTSD from any cause. Results of the second phase showed 68% of the people no longer met the criteria for PTSD at a 12-month follow-up; before the study they had suffered from treatment-resistant PTSD for an average of 17.8 years.

The results are so positive that in January the FDA declared MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD a Breakthrough Therapy. MAPS hopes to turn the therapy into a FDA-approved prescription treatment by the end of 2021 to treat sexual assault, war, violent crime, and other traumas.

We also sponsored completed studies of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for autistic adults with social anxiety, and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety related to life-threatening illnesses, the group says.

Ayahuascahas been shown to significantly improvedepressionand appears to be helpful in treating alcohol, tobacco and cocaineaddiction.

LSD has been shown to helpanxiety, and studies find it provides a blissful state for the majority of users. Study participants report greater perceptiveness, insight, feelings of closeness to others,happiness, and openness. Some even say they experience long-term, positive restructuring of their moods and attitudes.

But somestudieshave found unpleasant effects from LSD, both during the high and after. People with negativereactionscan have difficulty concentrating, dizziness, lack of appetite, dry mouth, nausea and/or imbalance for up to 10 to 14 hours after taking LSD; headaches and exhaustion can last up to72 hours.

In the end, its too early for science to provide psychedelics a full seal of approval. One of the caveats of this research is that the drugs are administered with psychological support. When that is removed,studiesfound the benefits were minimal, and in rare cases, may even worsen mental health symptoms.

Psychedelics amplify painful memories and emotions, said MAPS trained psychiatrist Dr. Will Siu in the Goop episode. Taking these drugs in unsupported settings, he said, can be incredibly destabilizing, and you can actually feel worse in the short term.

Long term, it appears research into psychedelics is here to stay. Perhaps one day soon a trip to the therapist will include a trip into your mind, and hopefully, a quicker path to healing.

Read this article:

What ongoing research suggests about psychedelics ability to improve mental health - FOX 59 Indianapolis

In recent years there has been a resurgent scientific interest in the psychological effects of psychedelic drugs. Consider the example of recent trials in which psilocybin was administered to people diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression. Those involved reported significantly positive responses even six months later.

Such studies point with increasing confidence to the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for treating depression, addiction, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and enhancing palliative care.

Amidst this psychedelic renaissance, there is one recent study in particular that has grabbed my attention. This study, published in a reputable, peer-reviewed international journal, makes even bolder claims about the potential of psychedelics not only for improving mental health, but also, remarkably, as a key to overcoming inaction in the face of the climate crisis.

On what grounds? The authors justify their claim by zooming in on one explanation for their apparently positive effect on well-being, established in previous research. As well as resetting key brain circuitry and enhancing emotional responsiveness, psychedelics commonly increase peoples positive feelings of connectedness to ones self and others, and to the natural world.

Connection to nature is something Im interested in and have researched with colleagues, especially in relation to mental health. Nature-connectedness is now considered a research topic in its own right in the field of psychology, an individual quality that can be measured. It refers not just to the extent of an individuals contact with natural settings, but the extent to which they report feeling connected to and part of the natural world.

Using established measures of nature connectedness with more than 600 participants before and after one or more psychedelic experiences, the researchers found that psychedelic drug use enhanced participants sense of being connected to nature, an effect that deepened when that experience took place in natural settings. Perhaps this isnt that surprising. It is what they argue on the basis of these results that is especially interesting.

They cite evidence suggesting direct experiences of nature and a sense of nature connectedness underpin enhanced environmental awareness and a desire to care for nature, therefore reducing peoples environmentally destructive behaviour. This is nothing new. What is new is their claim that if psychedelic interventions significantly deepen a sense of connection, they might also have a role in contributing to both mental and planetary health.

Could this be true? What is happening, psychologically speaking, during psychedelic experiences of connectedness? Accounts point to feelings of self-transcendence, whereby the boundaries between ones self and others, or the self and the natural world, are temporarily dissolved. This is not so much an experience of one being connecting to another, as a temporary collapse of the very distinction between the self and nature.

On taking psychedelics, one can be momentarily absorbed in a state of oneness or oceanic boundlessness. This reminds me of a participants response in another study, published in 2017, exploring psychedelic treatments for depression:

Before I enjoyed nature, now I feel part of it. Before I was looking at it as a thing, like TV or a painting. [But] youre part of it, theres no separation or distinction, you are it.

The authors claim that such experiences, in which the self seems to have extended into nature, deeply impress an affiliation with nature that motivates us to care and protect. They argue that this cannot but engender an increased sense of environmental responsibility. As a result, they suggest that administering controlled amounts of psychedelic drugs to people while they are immersed in natural environments could hold potential for fostering greater environmental awareness and the motivation to act in more environmentally responsible ways.

You may or not be convinced by their argument, and the potential of psychedelics for provoking environmental awareness, behaviour change and activism is still to be seen. There is certainly no magic pill that can mobilise environmental responsibility on a mass scale, psychedelic or otherwise.

And as a critical psychologist engaging with the climate crisis, I can see the danger here in focusing on individual behaviour change, when part of the problem is that our energies are not directed at structural change and those wielding the greatest power, which the authors of this study acknowledge. Workable solutions to the climate crisis require more than shifts in individual perspective, however radical or profound.

Nonetheless, for me at least, seriously considering the physical, psychological, social and even environmental value of psychedelic drugs is in itself a welcome challenge to the deeply held, and often hypocritical, cultural assumptions we have about drugs and their prohibition.

To be clear, I am not advocating an unregulated psychedelic free for all. The trials mentioned here consist of carefully controlled doses, with participants supported by professional therapists.

But there is value in considering how profound experiences, not necessarily unchallenging ones, might have transformative power. For a start, psychedelic experiences of connectedness might help get beyond feelings of futility and isolation in the face of the climate crisis, when we think of ourselves only as helpless individuals, helping us to forge connections and see wider patterns.

Powerful experiences of nature might be especially significant today too. We increasingly live in an age of extinction. Nature is in retreat, urbanism and everyday alienation from nature is establishing itself as the norm, and we are confronting loss on a scale we find difficult to acknowledge and process.

In such unprecedented times, we can find ourselves trapped in dissociative psychological states, knowing about environmental crisis while doing all we can to stop that knowledge affecting us. This is true at an individual level but also in familiar social settings of shared silence and discomfort.

When we lack direct experiences of nature, are we missing a vital component of what is needed to really care for and take action on behalf of the environment of which we are an integral part? Maybe, just maybe, the profound experiential connectedness arising from psychedelic experiences in nature is analogous to the application of a defibrillator following cardiac arrest. Perhaps psychedelics could give us the shock that is needed to restart the beating heart of ecological awareness before it is too late.

More here:

Could psychedelics help us resolve the climate crisis? - The Conversation UK

Over the next several months, people may encounter local volunteers asking for signatures to get a statewide initiative on the ballot to legalize the therapeutic uses of psilocybin, or psychedelic mushrooms.

Becca Recker, the volunteer coordinator for the PSI 2020 Initiative, said people have shown interest in volunteering. More than 20 people attended a volunteer training held at Fort George Brewery on Friday.

Psilocybin mushrooms are seen in a grow room at a farm in the Netherlands.

Astoria is known as a psilocybin destination, Recker said. There is a lot of psychedelic underground work here where people have been guiding psilocybin sessions for people for decades.

The area is also known for Psilocybe azurescens, the most potent psychedelic mushroom, which was identified near Astoria by mycologist Paul Stamets.

If the initiative is approved by voters, it will allow psilocybin to be administered in licensed therapeutic environments and supervised by trained facilitators. It would require the Oregon Health Authority to establish the program.

Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration designated psilocybin therapy as a breakthrough therapy, and Johns Hopkins University is researching psilocybin to treat depression and addiction, among other things.

However, psilocybin is still classified as a Schedule I drug under federal law.

Recker said many people still associate psychedelics with media and imagery from the 1960s.

That imagery just took over and if you talked to someone who had a therapeutic psilocybin session its much different, she said.

Oscar Nelson, part-owner of Sweet Relief and the Astoria CBD Co., attended the volunteer training and is helping to facilitate a drop-off location for the signatures collected.

Psychedelics have been a part of my personal, spiritual path and then also something that has brought me out of depression and addiction and has given me a quality of life that I dont see how I would have gotten any other way, he said.

However, Nelson doesnt believe the drug is for everybody and should be available in a safe setting. He said psilocybin helps push people beyond their day-to-day perspective and see themselves from a new vantage point.

I hope that as these things progress that it can be more above ground and more open, he said.

The goal is to get this on the ballot, and then the Oregonians can choose. But if it doesnt get on the ballot, then people dont even have the option to say yes or no, Nelson said.

Recker described the initiative as one of many layers in drug policy reform.

She said the initiative works hand in hand with the decriminalization of drugs and advocating for using marijuana tax money to pay for more addiction and recovery services.

Our mission ... is to create a therapeutic program for Oregon with the understanding that that is only one tributary towards this larger river of creating more access to people who need more options for mental health, Recker said.

The more information people have about the measure, the more they are in support of it, and thats not just our opinion, thats what the polling has shown us, she said.

Continue reading here:

Volunteers push to legalize the therapeutic uses of psychedelic mushrooms - Daily Astorian

One of the more compelling areas of research currently being investigated in the world of psychedelic science is psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to improve emotional well-being in patients with life-threatening cancer. A new study is offering the first long-term insights into the efficacy of the treatment, revealing a single dose of psilocybin, in conjunction with psychotherapy, is still offering persistently positive effects up to five years later.

Dealing with the profound existential distress of a life-threatening cancer diagnosis is a major challenge for most patients. As many as 40 percent of cancer patients are known to develop clinically significant signs of depression or anxiety, and these mental health issues have been linked to worse treatment outcomes or, in some instances, suicide.

Some of the earliest psychedelic studies in the 1950s and 60s explored the effects of LSD on depression and anxiety in cancer patients before research in the area froze for several decades due to societal prohibitions. But post-2000 saw a thawing of regulations, and some of the most comprehensive trials to date have been investigating the potential for psychedelics in treating patients with life-threatening illness suffering existential distress.

The acute results from these studies have been incredibly promising but so far there has been little investigation into the long-term efficacy of these psychedelic interventions. In terms of psychedelic psychotherapy for patients with life-threatening illnesses, the longest follow-up study to date has been 12 months.

A newly published study in the Journal of Pharmacology is offering some of the best long-term insights into psychedelic psychotherapy to date. The study follows a previously published investigation into a single moderate dose of psilocybin, in conjunction with psychotherapy, for patients with cancer-related existential distress.

The 2016 double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study recruited 29 patients. By the six-and-a-half-month follow-up point, between 60 and 80 percent of the patients displayed clinically significant improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms.

The new study reports on two further long-term follow-up points investigating whether the effects of the psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy persisted for several years. Only 16 of the original 29 patients were still alive for the follow-up study, one of whom declined to participate and a second who died before the final follow-up date. This left 14 subjects to evaluate with an average final follow-up of four and a half years.

The long-term results were strikingly positive, recalling similar efficacy to the originally published study. Between 60 and 80 percent of the remaining subjects still fitted the criteria for clinically significant anxiolytic or antidepressant responses and the vast majority of the subjects ranked the single psilocybin treatment as one of the most meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives.

It may be fair to suggest that it is unsurprising the long-term effects are so positive considering around 70 percent of the surviving cohort were in partial, or complete, remission at the final long-term follow-up point. However, the persistent meaningful experiences reported by the cohort in relation to the single psilocybin dose suggests long-term positive psychological effects can be attributed to the treatment.

So, not only does it seem the psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy helps patients move through the acute months following a major cancer diagnosis, but the experience may be aiding the surviving patients in positively contextualizing the traumatic experience years later.

Theres a reckoning, which came with cancer, and this reckoning was enhanced by the psilocybin experience, writes one of the patients five years later as part of the long-term follow-up questionnaire. I have a greater appreciation and sense of gratitude for being alive.

Another patient quoted in the new study offers a compelling sense that the psychedelic experience fundamentally changed their approach to the world. Again, this impression was nearly five years after the single psilocybin treatment.

The psilocybin experience changed my thoughts about myself in the world. I see myself in a less limited way. I am more open to life. It has taken me out from under a big load of feelings and past issues in my life that I was carrying around.

Gabby Agin-Liebes, lead author on the new study and co-author on the original 2016 study, keenly notes that these positive results seem to be due to the larger treatment regime of nine psychotherapy sessions in conjunction with the single psilocybin dose. Agin-Liebes does not believe these positive results can occur from a single psychedelic experience divorced from the broader treatment method and suggests the controlled therapeutic process is vital to the efficacy of this kind of psychedelic treatment.

Psychedelic experiences are uniquely influenced by context in which they occur, Agin-Liebes tells New Atlas in an email. The importance of context can not be overemphasized. Psychedelics are different from other psychiatric medications in that their benefits seem to be very dependent upon the context in which they are ingested. In more traditional medications (e.g., antidepressants), the persistent presence of the drug in the body affects biological process, which lead to psychological and behavioral effects independent of the contexts in which medication is taken.

Exactly how a single dose of psilocybin, in conjunction with psychotherapy, confers such profound and enduring effects up to five years later is still unclear. Agin-Liebes points to a recent paper from Imperial College London's Robin Carhart-Harris and Karl Friston as the most compelling holistic exploration of the mechanisms underpinning these persistent positive effects.

The most compelling and scientifically grounded theory relates to psilocybin's potential for inducing a flexible brain state, particularly people who experience more rigid brain states, explains Agin-Liebes. Psychedelics appear to relax the brain's biased patterns of information processing and beliefs and allow for more "bottom-up" information to enter into one's consciousness.

A number of larger clinical trials are currently ongoing, exploring the potential for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to address major depression and various addiction issues, as well as further validating the treatment for existential distress related to life-threatening illness.

The new study was published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

Originally posted here:

Psychedelic therapy benefits persist five years after treatment - New Atlas

A synthetic psychedelic substance known as 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) reduces alcohol consumption in mice, according to new research published in Psychopharmacology. The findings could potentially lead to new treatment options for alcoholism.

Alcohol use disorder is one of the most devastating psychiatric diseases. It is responsible for untold human suffering and costs society billions of dollars. There is increasing hope that specialized therapy conducted with psychedelic drugs, under controlled and carefully designed conditions, may help people abstain from alcohol and provide meaningful remission rates, explained study author Kevin S. Murnane, an assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Mercer University.

In the study, male mice were exposed to alcohol and then split into a high drinking group and a low drinking group based on their consumption habits. The mice were then injected with a single dose of DOI or a placebo solution.

The researchers found that the psychedelic drug led to reductions in alcohol consumption in high alcohol drinking subjects. Mice injected with DOI also showed reductions in alcohol-induced place conditioning, a common measure of drug reward in animals. But DOI had no effect on overall fluid intake.

The results show that a psychedelic drug was effective in reducing alcohol drinking in laboratory animals. This supports the idea that psychedelics may be effective in humans suffering from alcohol use disorder, Murnane told PsyPost.

The researchers also found that the effects of DOI on alcohol consumption were largely reversed when mice were given another drug that selectively blocks serotonin A2 receptors.

While preclinical animal models are an important starting point, there is still much to learn about the relationship between psychedelic drugs and alcohol consumption.

We must temper our enthusiasm because much additional research needs to be conducted. In particular, studies should be conducted that determine the mechanisms by which psychedelics reduce alcohol drinking. Understanding these mechanisms will allow scientists and clinicians to make psychedelics therapy as safe and effective as possible, Murnane said.

The study, Effects of the synthetic psychedelic 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) on ethanol consumption and place conditioning in male mice, was authored by Aboagyewaah Oppong-Damoah, Kristen E. Curry, Bruce E. Blough, Kenner C. Rice, and Kevin S. Murnane.

View original post here:

Synthetic psychedelic drug effective in reducing alcohol intake in a rodent model of addiction - PsyPost

After my third cup of magic truffle tea I lay in bed, put on my blindfold and waited for the psychedelics to take hold. I was a passenger now, at the mercy of a mercurial hallucinogen that was about to send me on a profound journey into my subconscious.

Id flirted with psychedelics before, recreationally, but this was different; this time I was taking them on a guided retreat and the idea wasnt to get out of my head, but to go in, hence the blindfold.

The retreat was organised by the Psychedelic Society of London, a non-profit organisation that believes the conscious use of psychedelics can create a more compassionate and joyful world. The societycampaigns for public access to hallucinogens, which have been taken by humans for millennia, but were made illegal in many countries as part of the controversial war on drugs (its currently a class-A drug, meaning those caught in possession in the UK can be arrested and charged).

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

The rest is here:

What it's like to take part in a psychedelic retreat - The Independent