Not in Gandhi’s Name -The Importance of Reading Gandhi as a Philosopher of Dissent – Kashmir Times

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By Paloma Bhattacharjee. Dated: 1/30/2020 1:24:40 PM

"Morality is the fulcrum of Swaraj as he imagined it and the source of the moral order and justice can't lie in the sacrosanct of state institutions be it law or court or police, it lies in the realm of one's experience, one's consciousness and one's own sense of morality and nothing else. Central to his ideas of swaraj is the abomination of submission and obedience that is externally enforced and commanded through fear as a form of rule."

The irony of the ruling party's appropriation of Gandhi comes undone time and again by its antithetical practices. What else captures the irony better than the fact that the government which is celebrating Dandi March across its various cultural organs for his 150th birth centenary is also simultaneously, not only disallowing or overlooking democratic protests but unleashing brutal repression and violence on peaceful protestors incessantly and in ways unprecedented. It is a government that openly threatens- let them protest but we don't care! Of course it's a truism that the politics of contemporary times thrive on tokenism and empty acts of symbolism, but this is too alarming. Amongst most other political thinkers of decolonization, Gandhi despite being the easiest to appropriate for the ambiguity of his doctrines and their assumed simplicity and moderateness, is incommensurable, to say the very least, with the politics of the ruling regime.On the eve of India's independence when the entire country soared in euphoria of being freed Gandhi perhaps was one of the few leading political figures of the time who attended to the inadequacies of the freedom. It was then that he articulated most emphatically that freedom means nothing without justice, and that justice is not the same as retribution or revenge. I have always heard stories of Gandhi spending most of his time in his last days amidst refugee camps, or walking in places burning in communal tension, but I was struck by their extraordinariness only when I thought of them in the light of the recent turn of events. When we collectively celebrate a language of exterminating refugees, when we equate welfare to reducing one's existence to the inviolability of its documentary evidence, and when our conscience has stooped so low that we willingly accept humiliation and robbing one off their dignity and self respect as governance. When I now read of Gandhi, preaching to gatherings, negotiating with them, about the need for the Hindu's in Pakistan and Muslim's In India to remain where they are and the need for their wellbeing, (instead of speaking of them as mere numerical figures that can be aligned or realigned through graphs), it seems like he recognized the pain, alienation and deep humiliation the comes when one suddenly is condemned to be a refugee. As a political leader he saw his duty to offer himself to the services to those whom processes of state making had vanquished. He refused to recognise the refugee either as collateral or as an enemy, or even as people with a one dimensional religious identity. It was then, in his last days that he couldn't reconcile his vision of swaraj with the independence we gained. It was then that his political ideas were put to the severest of tests, and he practiced most pronouncedly his insistence on the force of love and a need for a civilization to be life affirming. And it was then that he was murdered for the same reasons. If he called his life a message then so was his death. He died exemplifying the touchstone of his philosophy -fearlessness on the face of death as the utmost form of freedom.Never before until recently I realized the capacity for carnage and destruction the state machinery upholds and never before I realized the strength of fearlessness which unarmed people whose lives have been rendered precarious by the same state can show on the face of it. Where does such fearlessness arise from? Gandhi emphasized that the strength of fearlessness comes from the realization that the power of a regime of oppression rests in their ability to generate fear, and it only lasts till the fear lasts, the moment you stop fearing it, the moment it's power losses it's ground. This moment of realization is also the moment an awakening of morality.Morality is the fulcrum of Swaraj as he imagined it and the source of the moral order and justice can't lie in the sacrosanct of state institutions be it law or court or police, it lies in the realm of one's experience, one's consciousness and one's own sense of morality and nothing else. Central to his ideas of swaraj is the abomination of submission and obedience that is externally enforced and commanded through fear as a form of rule. "I cannot recall a single occasion when I have obeyed a law of society or state because of the fear of punishment", he writes. He emphasizes time and again the importance of disobeying a law and refusing to be ruled by a government that violates one's sense of self respect, dignity and morality. In a long statement that he read out at the session court in Allahabad in 1922 after his arrest, Gandhi explains his transformed from being a loyalist of a state to a non cooperator. He lists the indiscernible humiliation incurred by the state to its people time and again, the ways protestors were treated in the country, the brutality, the heinous acts of massacres and carnage, the impoverishment of people to the point where they didn't have the ability to deal with a famine, the way law had been put to the service of oppression, and the number of people had been unlawfully convicted. All of these compelled him to agitate against what was assumed by the rulers "as the best system of administration but is an effective system of terrorism and an organized display of force". He felt compelled to agitate against the order of society where mere promotion of dissatisfaction is a crime". He spoke while he himself was convicted under section 12A of Indian Penal Code which he says is designed to suppress liberty.In another instance he writes "we are sunk so low that we fancy that it is our duty and our religion to do what the law lay downto obey laws that are unjust. No (hu)mans tyranny will enslave us and this is the key to self ruleso long as the superstitious (hu)man should obey unjust laws, so long will their slavery exist", he writes in another occasion. He differentiated between a law breaker and a civil resister. A law breaker will disobey a law in secrecy for they harbor a fear of breaking the law, they will not have questioned the emancipatory promise of the law, on the contrary a civil resister "does not obey a law because of fear but because he believed it to be just and when one realizes that the law is unjust rendering obedience to it is a dishonour". The justification of the morality of the vision and action of the civil resister lies in the means they chose- of ahimsa- non violence, which is not a nonviolence of helplessness but an enlightened non violence of resourcefulness, and of tapas- self suffering. Suffering is an integral component of his philosophy- of freedom and of fearlessness. But one could ask how can suffering which is premised on relinquishment of sovereignty can also be a way to empower ourselves? How can relinquishment be the same as resistance? The idea of self-suffering is rooted in a deep self-realization. It is a realization of our own insignificance in the world, experiences as humility and realization of the finitude of our body and infinitude of our consciousness that is embodied. Any form of suffering is only a form of bodily suffering, but not of our embodied consciousness. "There is no bravery greater than a resolute refusal to bend the knee to an earthly power, no matter how great, and that without bitterness of spirit and in fullness of faith that the spirit alone lives, nothing else does."Thereby this suffering which is also a pursuit of truth is not a state of misery but one of cheerfulness and joy. Moreover, the fortitude of suffering is not to be confused with the endurance of injustice, it is rather the opposite. This suffering is the strongest defiance of unjust rule. A will to suffer by oneself takes away from the authority the ability to make them suffer. The self that suffers by itself seizes from the government its jurisdiction over their bodies, its ability to inflict any punishment. This practices of self effacement transformers the self into basic unit of political experience and political action.The locus of this fearlessness and upholding of a just order, the centre of Swaraj is this morally-conscious self- an embodied life and it's techniques of resistance are not exercises of a disciplined body, but that of a heightened consciousness. The ability to offer Satyagraha does not lie with a handful but each and everyone, because the only qualification to become a political actor lies in a visceral abomination of injustice not just towards oneself but all, and a willingness to resist through non violence, because the moment of exercise of violence is also the moment of agreement of principal with the oppressor. The tools of resistance are moreover harnessed through a radicalization of one's inwardness in the process in a scathing critique of an apathetic and alienating vocabulary of modern politics he restores faith in the most intimate expressions of one's being as the most profound forms of political action.The present government and its self-proclaimed historians', who make Gandhi into a sanitized saint, expel from the backdoors of history the Gandhi who was a philosopher of dissent. Being appropriated by such illegitimate claimants isn't just misreading, but a gross violation of his person, his ideas and of history and the times beckon that we mustn't let memory succumb to forgetting. While, on one hand reading Gandhi in such times can offer us precedence and strength to fight an oppressive regime, it is the exemplary women of Shaheen bagh, Khureji, Turkman Gate, the students and all others who have been protesting for over a month in the face of apathy, brutality and optimal dishonor by the state, who have given a new context for critically engaging with Gandhi's political philosophy. In times when the possibility to imagine a course of action within the existing structures seems exhaustive, the ongoing protests and their methods, despite every odd have nourished such philosophies of hope, love and justice with historical examples.Paloma Bhattacharjee, Research Assistant, National Museum Institute, Graduate in History, Delhi University.

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Not in Gandhi's Name -The Importance of Reading Gandhi as a Philosopher of Dissent - Kashmir Times

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

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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.

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

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

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

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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?

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

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

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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.

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

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

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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.

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

Psychedelic therapy benefits persist five years after treatment – New Atlas

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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.

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Psychedelic therapy benefits persist five years after treatment - New Atlas

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

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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.

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

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

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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.

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

What it’s like to take part in a psychedelic retreat – The Independent

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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).

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

Canadian psychedelic drug researcher featured in Paltrows Netflix show The Goop Lab – The Globe and Mail

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Gwyneth Paltrow at this year's Golden Globe Awards. The first interview on her new Netflix series "The Goop Lab" is with Canadian researcher Mark Haden.

MARIO ANZUONI/Reuters

Canadian researcher Mark Haden is quickly getting up to speed on the media circus and skepticism that follows Gwyneth Paltrows juggernaut wellness brand, Goop.

The 65-year-old Vancouver professor is the very first interview in Paltrows new Netflix series The Goop Lab, featured in an episode about the potential healing power of psychedelic drugs.

He says he only learned of Goops many detractors after taping his interview with Paltrow, but he adds that hes faced a few critics of his own as executive director of MAPS Canada, which is the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.

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MAPS mission is to explore the potential psychedelic drugs hold for medical treatment, and so the invitation to appear on a Netflix show helmed by one of Hollywoods biggest stars appealed to Haden, also an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia School of Population and Public Health.

We already have engaged fringy folks of the world and so now our next task is to engage the mainstream. You know, we want to heal cops were targeting cops and veterans, says Haden, whose U.S. counterparts are studying whether MDMA better known as the club drug Ecstasy can treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

We want to appeal to guys in suits and housewives.

To be sure, Goops dedicated following is large and ardent but Haden is now aware that its most famous products are resoundingly fringy among them jade eggs for vaginas and psychic vampire repellent.

Meanwhile its wackier health claims, including coffee enemas and vaginal steaming, have drawn the ire of much of the medical community.

Nevertheless, Haden said he was pleased with the way his episode turned out, deeming it balanced and concerned with real issues.

Judging by the six episodes that rolled out Friday, denouncements by mainstream authorities are a badge of honour for Paltrow and the Goop crew, who seem to revel in declaring the topics they tackle as unproven and out there.

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The trailer certainly highlights a seeming effort to appear cutting-edge with outtakes proclaiming that what youre about to see is dangerous and unregulated.

The six episodes range from 29 to 36 minutes, with each tackling a specific topic: psychedelics, cold therapy, sexual health, reversing biological age, energy fields and psychic ability.

But none of this is cutting edge, says longtime Goop critic Tim Caulfield, who took Paltrow and the Goop ethos to task in his book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong about Everything? and his (no longer airing) Netflix series A Users Guide to Cheating Death.

On the contrary, a lot of these things are regressive in their approach to health, says Caulfield, who blames celebrities including Paltrow, Kim Kardashian West, David and Victoria Beckham and Madonna with spreading a decade of health and wellness misinformation.

Its frustrating that shes given the opportunity to spread not just misinformation about particular therapies, but (also) this idea that we should embrace magical thinking and distrust conventional sources of scientific information. Whether youre talking about the cold therapy, energy therapy, the use of mediums, all of these things have no evidence behind them.

Each episode is prefaced by a disclaimer insisting the content is designed to entertain and inform not provide medical advice.

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And its hard to believe the media-savvy Paltrow would not be hyper-aware of the scrutiny she seems to invite one of Goops more defiant products, a candle named This Smells Like My Vagina, hit the market just before the Netflix premiere.

The show itself includes a lighthearted dig at which Goop staffer is goopier, and a jab at Paltrow for being a princess.

Still, none of that self-awareness gives Paltrow licence to push pseudoscience, says Caulfield.

Especially problematic for him is the fact that The Goop Lab functions as an extended infomercial for Paltrows online and brick-and-mortar retail outlets.

While products are not overtly pitched on the series, the Goop website includes a dedicated section known as The Goop Lab Shop where devotees can buy items associated with themes featured on the show.

Toronto brand consultant Angela Wallace stops short of describing herself as a Goop fan but says she likes the fact it explores non-traditional approaches to wellness, believing a lot of women feel let down by more traditional health-care systems.

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A lot of the criticism does seem like: Arent women silly? Arent they frivolous? Arent they ridiculous for buying a jade egg or doing whatever they want in terms of making themselves happy and feeling well? says Wallace, who has shopped at Goops Yorkville outlet and subscribes to the newsletter.

She feels there is a gender bias in the way women are derided for their choices.

Men have been doing what they want for a really long time and not necessarily receiving the cultural criticism that women have, she says.

Shouldnt we have some agency in whether we decide to do that or not?

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Canadian psychedelic drug researcher featured in Paltrows Netflix show The Goop Lab - The Globe and Mail

5 years after taking one dose of magic mushrooms, a gaggle of most cancers sufferers nonetheless really feel much less despair and nervousness -…

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5 years in the past, Dinah Bazer took a dose of psilocybin, the energetic ingredient in magic mushrooms, as a part of a medical trial at New York College. On the time she had ovarian most cancers, and like 40% of people with cancer, she was battling despair and nervousness.

Six months after taking the only dose, she reported feeling diminished signs of tension and despair. And 5 years on, she feels freed from the fears that gripped her.

Bazer, a Brooklyn-based ice skating teacher, was considered one of 15 most cancers sufferers that participated within the NYU Psilocybin Most cancers Nervousness Examine, 80% of whom are nonetheless feeling the optimistic results from that one dose in 2015, based on a brand new study revealed on Tuesday.

The small however important research, one of many first to supply long run findings on the consequences of psychedelics on the psychological state of most cancers sufferers, might have profound implications on the usage of psychedelics as a medical therapy, particularly for nervousness and despair.

Whats everlasting is that I havent got nervousness about most cancers, Bazer informed NBC News.

That sense of calm stayed along with her, even when she was identified with one other type of most cancers, this time gastrointestinal final March. Bazer mentioned she wasnt anxious about getting testing for her signs, or present process operations.

Previous to this research, the longest follow-up in any trial of psychedelics occurred at 12 months in a trial of LSD, mentioned research writer Gabby Agin-Liebes, a present Ph.D. candidate in medical psychology at Palo Alto College.

That is the primary report of long-term results of psilocybin, she informed Insider. Regardless of the small pattern measurement, theres a sturdy, statistically important suggestion that there are persisting results of psilocybin-facilitated therapy nicely past the time course of acute drug motion.

Ten of the individuals mentioned taking psychedelics was both the only most significant expertise of their lives, or of their prime 5 most significant experiences. The overwhelming majority (96%) rated it as one of the vital spiritually important expertise of their lives. All of the individuals reported a point of optimistic behavioral change because of the psychedelic.

Contributors had been 60% feminine, 93% white, and 6% Asian. Some 41% had been Christian or Jewish, whereas 33% had been atheist or agnostic. Virtually all of the individuals met the Diagnostic and Statistical Handbook of Psychological Issues standards for generalized nervousness dysfunction in addition to cancer-related adjustment dysfunction with depressed options.

Ive all the time been afraid of rejection,one of many volunteers, who most well-liked to stay nameless, mentioned. I skilled such overwhelming love in my psilocybin expertise, that it gave me new confidence. I threw myself a party and invited extra folks than I believed I ever might. They got here!

One other mentioned: I am extra artistic in my work and take extra possibilities. I am again to performing, like I did earlier than.

And one other mentioned: One thing in me softened, and I noticed that everybody is simply making an attempt, largely, to do the most effective theyll.

Whereas scientists nonetheless arent totally certain why psychedelics provide such optimistic advantages, they do have some concepts. One is that psychedelics carry consideration to underused components of the mind, as one researcher described it. One other is that it fundamentally changes the best way the mind processes and receives data.

Psychedelics researcher Robin Carhart-Harris beforehand informed Insider that the sense of lubrication, of freedom, of the cogs being loosened and firing in all types of surprising instructions should not be underestimated.

Theres nonetheless a lot hypothesis, but it surely seems to cut back exercise within the space of the mind that mediates ones sense of self and identification, Agin-Liebes informed Insider. Researchers imagine psilocybin could make the mind extra versatile and receptive to new concepts and thought patterns.

Within the 1950s and 60s, analysis on LSD and different hallucinogens generated over 1000 scientific papers, based on a US Drug Enforcement Administration report.A decade later, with the passing of 1970s Managed Substances Act, testing on psychedelics and hallucinogens halted totally.

However rising charges of despair and nervousness have pushed scientists to look once more on the potential of psychedelics as therapy.

The NYU Psychedelic Analysis Group and the Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Analysis Heart are two massive university-backed facilities devoted solely to the research of psychedelics. Each have carried out the costly, placebo-controlled research wanted to grasp extra concerning the drug.

The shift has additionally pushed adjustments in laws. In recent times, psilocybin has been decriminalized in Denver, Colorado and Oakland, California, with Santa Cruz, California, anticipated to observe within the coming weeks.

Learn extra:

Why psychedelics like magic mushrooms may very well be a therapy for psychological sickness

Folks really feel extra linked to the world round them after a psychedelic journey and it might have profound implications

Researchers went to festivals to check psychedelic medicine and located they left folks feeling pleased and linked hours after the excessive wore off

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5 years after taking one dose of magic mushrooms, a gaggle of most cancers sufferers nonetheless really feel much less despair and nervousness -...

What is Psychedelic Psychotherapy? Does it Really Work? Is The Goop Lab Fake? – The Cinemaholic

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In an episode of Gwyneth Paltrows The Goop Lab, one of the guests aptly states, As a culture, were hungry for something to help us heal. This is precisely what Paltrows lifestyle brand aims to achieve provide alternatives that allow us to heal, emotionally and physically. We soon realize that the illness of our society is inherently to do with our own trauma, anxieties and pain. Therapies dont always help, while pharmaceutical drugs can prove to be risky.

What other alternative do we have? Goop loudly and proudly suggests psychedelic psychotherapy. Of course, right from the moment we read psychedelics, we feel an increasing hesitance. At the same time, were also aware of the growing scientific research in the field. But does psychedelic therapy really work? Are there any concerns and consequences? Were here to help you get to the truth.

All of us have encountered psychedelic trips in pop-culture, especially through films. Psychedelics are a class of drugs that cause these altered state of consciousness. The term is derived from the Greek words psycheand delein which mean soul and to manifest respectively. These drugs trigger psychedelic experiences by activating serotonin receptors that lead to thought, visual and auditory changes. Most common examples of psychedelic drugs include MDMA, LSD, psilocybin (magic mushrooms), and DMT.

Psychedelic trips are supposed to be mystical or spiritual experiences that open ones third-eye. One cant help but think of Hippies talking about peace. Along with this, these trips have usually been seen as cautionary tales. After all, U.S. banned LSD in 1966, followed by several psychedelic drugs being declared illegal under the U.N. Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971. Interestingly, research has shown psychedelics to be the safest of drugs, also stating that they do not lead to addiction. Instead, research reveals therapeutic benefits of these drugs. No wonder then that these drugs are making a comeback in psychotherapy.

At a first glance, psychedelics and poor mental health may sound like a terrible combination and in certain settings and dosage they may be. But the past decades have revealed that they are actually greatly beneficial. Psychedelic psychotherapy is the clinical use of psychedelic drugs to treat certain mental disorders, which include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, existential anxiety, as well as addiction. But of course, these involve using controlled portions, in a clinical setting, with trained psychotherapists.

Different drugs are used for different purposes, with the most recent breakthrough being MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. On January 17, 2020, FDA agreed on an Expanded Access program for this therapy seeing the remarkable results conducted in previous clinical trials. Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) has played a crucial role in this, and at actively working on the medical benefits of psychedelics.

Apart from MDMC, psilocybin has also show great results with patients suffering from anxiety, depression and nicotine addiction. In fact, studies were conducted in both Johns Hopkins University, and NYU on cancer-patients suffering from existential anxiety who were treated with psilocybin. The results both these studies revealed decreased anxiety and depressed mood, alongside increased quality of life and optimism.

Another study revealed that psilocybin psychotherapy helped 60% people quit smoking in 12 months. This is a remarkable feat compared to most leading pharmacotherapy for nicotine cessation which usually have a success rate of 21% at 12 months. Apart from these, LSD and Ibogaine are also used for psychotherapy.

Psychedelic drugs are considered to be least harmful drugs, with psilocybin being the safest, while heroin and cocaine are amongst the most harmful. Another important thing to note is that psychedelic drugs are not chemically addictive. But they may be psychologically addictive. Having said that, these drugs may illicit short-term negative effects. The most common of this is, of course, bad trips. These usually result from inappropriate dosage, inappropriate set, and inappropriate setting.

In psychedelic psychotherapy, efforts are taken to maintain a controlled dose in a safe, clinical setting. One needs to understand this type of psychotherapy is much different than psychedelic being used for recreational purposes. In fact, the psychedelics used in the therapy are different from the ones found on street. Intake of adulterated psychedelics can prove to be harmful. The most common example of this is LSD and MDMA where people have consumed high doses of synthetic hallucinogens, leading to serious effects.

At the same time, it is virtually impossible to die of overdosing on psychedelics. But there have been reports where overdosing did lead to temporary but serious issues including a short coma. Along with these there are certain short-term side effects like dizziness, blurred vision, weakness and tremors. They can also raise the blood pressure, but are almost never life-threatening. However, there was one case where a 34-year-old man with an undiagnosed heart condition. He went into cardiac arrest after taking LSD recreationally and died.

But in psychedelic psychotherapy, the patient is fully prepared beforehand, taught certain coping strategies, and have a trained psychotherapist with them at all times. Psychedelics play a remarkable role in healing individiduals with PTSD and anxiety as they allow the patients to directly face their issues and emotions, something that they may not be able to do otherwise. Particularly MDMA mutes amygdala (the fear response) which helps the patient to deal with their past better. The mystical/spiritual experience caused by psychedelics also deeply help with depression and anxiety. Looking at these, one can suggests that the benefits of psychedelics may outweigh the risks, especially for patients with severe mental illnesses.

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What is Psychedelic Psychotherapy? Does it Really Work? Is The Goop Lab Fake? - The Cinemaholic

3 things you need to know about Birmingham’s proposed Freedom Walk – Bham Now

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Heres a vision that links a number of sites that played key roles in the Civil Rights Movement with different parts of Birmingham into a cohesive whole. Graphic via urbanimpactbirmingham.org

Have you heard about Freedom Walkthe vision to join three parts of Birmingham that were pivotal in the Civil Rights Movement together for a brighter future? Read on for all the details.

According to Urban Impact Birmingham, one of Freedom Walks main organizers, the vision of the project is to create one cohesive growth community where people can live, work, play, learn, shop and experience history.

Here are three main historically significant areas this vision proposes linking economically and culturally:

In case youre not sure what all is included in these three areas, well get to that in a sec.

But one important point is that North Birminghams Smithfield neighborhood and both Northside and Southside communities stand to benefit from the new economic opportunities that are part of this vision.

Did you know Birmingham has its own National Monument ? Similar to a National Park, it was created in 2017 and joins well-known landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming.

The plan is for the National Park Service to set up shop in the west wing of the A.G. Gaston Motel once its $10m renovation is complete in the Winter of 2021. They plan also includes the development of an interpretive space in the building.

Here are a few stories to fill you in on this important part of town:

Not only did the Civil Rights District serve as the setting for many of the events of 1963 that changed the USand ultimately the worldbut it also figures prominently in plans for the citys future.

These include:

Were looking forward to seeing how Freedom Walk develops over time. If you want to follow along, visit http://www.urbanimpactbirmingham.org for updates.

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3 things you need to know about Birmingham's proposed Freedom Walk - Bham Now

The freedom in not knowing – The Boston Globe

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QUITO, Ecuador

During those ancient, golden days of mainstream media dominance (say, 15 years ago), one of the undeniable thrills of being a reporter was knowing. We reporters (and editors, and compositors, and printers) would put a story to bed in the evening and then savor the delicious inside knowledge of murder convictions or campaign poll results or medical breakthroughs hours before our readers. Savvy Boston fans could call the Globe switchboard and learn the Red Sox scores right after the game because we were the people who knew.

Now, of course, there is no exclusive knowledge. News is shared the minute it happens, then further shilled or shamed minutes after that. In fact, the obsessive need to know has become a societal addiction, fed by an endless load of Internet clickbait. We are a nation fairly twitching with the compulsion to check the livestream, and it isnt healthy. So this month I have been experimenting with an even more rare and precious bliss state than knowing: not knowing.

Thirty days ago I made a deliberate choice not to expose myself to the news: not TV, not Twitter, not the Times. I didnt tell most of my friends because I knew the idea would be met with incredulity and scorn: How irresponsible to unplug when the Constitution is being shred to confetti! But I would be living for the month in Quito, Ecuador, 2,700 miles from Washington, and I knew that if ever I could extricate myself from the tangle of talking heads, this would be the time. Some people diet in January or stop drinking; I would try a different kind of cleanse.

The experience has been one of liberation and humility: freedom from the grasping, low-grade anxiety that signifies even mild addiction; sobering to learn how little the yammering madness in El Norte matters to the everyday lives of people here.

I find I most miss the news when I sit down with my morning coffee, the way some of my friends say they still miss having a cigarette when theyre at a bar. But as with most cravings, if I take a deep breath and wait it out, it will pass. Meanwhile the sparrows are trilling, the street vendors are selling mango slices and quail eggs, and the clouds are slipping down over Mt. Pichincha. I am reminded of the Paul Simon lyric: I get all the news I need on the weather report.

Occasionally a fragment of a current event will invade my attention, like the blast from a passing car radio. I thought I had shut off all my alerts, but Lessons from the Trump-Iran news cycle came through in an email from the Columbia Journalism Review (my finger hovers over the keys for a split second before I hit delete). Once I saw the unmistakable visage of Alan Dershowitz on my screen, and I knew the president was assembling his defense team. But did I know, or care, that (Breaking!) Hillary had dissed Bernie somehow, somewhere?

Unknowing is in many ways the natural order of things. We can never know about the truly big questions: When we will die; is there a God; what really happened at the end of The Sopranos?" We cant even know what will happen the moment after this one. Not knowing helps free us, if only a little, from our many assumptions and biases, leaving the door open to possibility. Not to mention the relief from endless speculation and catastrophizing about the future.

Obviously I believe in an informed citizenry, especially in these perilous times. I dont advocate unplugging from the news indefinitely, and Ill be back on the sauce myself by Sunday. But an occasional break say, a weekly screen Sabbath, or a Trumpless Tuesday could be a way to find the balance between ostrich oblivion and the roller-coaster of elation and dread we ride over Every. Tiny. Development. The information we consume is a diet no less than the Atkins plan or Whole 30. And if we are what we eat, many of us have been on a bloating binge of junk for at least the last three years. Happily, we have the power to decide for ourselves when the news is nourishing, and when its just a glut of empty calories.

Rene Loths column appears regularly in the Globe.

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The freedom in not knowing - The Boston Globe

Support school choice and empower families with educational freedom – Washington Examiner

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We the people have lost authority over our schools and desperately need educational freedom. The school system our founders created, designed to be free from government interference, has been hijacked by government intrusion, corrupt, union-controlled politicians, and entrenched special interests. These united forces are enriching themselves and radically transforming our culture through government-run public schools.

For example, disastrous new sex ed curricula, marked by explicit depictions and uber-liberal views of sexuality that sharply contradict the sincerely held values of most parents, have been forced on millions of families in schools.

Thats why hundreds of my fellow Californians and I traveled to Sacramento to force our state to provide parents opt-in protections and transparent, online access to full curricula content. Thousands of letters in support of our bill flooded the legislature, and hundreds voiced their support in person during the bills hearing in the Senate Education Committee on Jan. 15.

But we were shot down by union-controlled Democrats who voted unanimously to ignore parents in favor of the special interests pushing the sexualized content onto our children.

Before defeating our parent-sponsored bill, the committee chairwoman, state Sen. Connie Leyva, a Democrat from San Bernardino, lectured us from her throne. Using prideful and condescending tones, she dismissed our concerns and basically told us were too stupid to make decisions for our own children and too afraid to teach them about sex.

She also stated the law already permitted opt-in rights, even though it specifically denies them, as does Leyvas committees own legislative analysis of our bill. She then threatened to have us removed for instinctively reacting with gasps of horror while personally witnessing communist state-like injustices within the halls of our supposedly free republic.

We stupid parents and teachers are well versed in the entire law and painstakingly fight daily to expose the concealed, horrific, state-imposed materials foisted on our children. We had the facts and the Constitution on our side, but we lost anyway.

This is exactly the sort of state control our founders risked their lives to escape, and its just one example of why they provided safeguards to keep government out of our schools and the will of the people in. It will take us some time to fully remove the entrenched interests degrading our schools, but we must take immediate action to protect children today.

The quickest way to empower Americans is with educational freedom.

According to a recent national school choice poll, the vast majority of the country agrees wholeheartedly. A whopping 82% of Latinos, 68% of African Americans, 71% of millennials, and 82% of Republicans surveyed agreed that people should be permitted to use tax dollars to send their child to the public or private school which best serves their needs.

Its common sense, and its constitutional, but many pundits claim were running afoul of the Constitution if we permit tax dollars to be used at private religious schools or that religious schools must incorporate state-mandated instruction if they receive tax dollars.

Clearly, those pundits dont know the history of our country, nor do they understand the spirit of our constitutional republic.

Education freedom more closely mirrors the intentions of our founders, who never intended for students to be forced into public government-run schools that stomp on the face of parental authority and American values. Our founders knew the only way to keep a free republic is to have a well-educated and moral citizenry that can self-govern.

Thats why they used the Bible as the foundation for learning, in all schools, and empowered parents, church leaders, and educators to labor together to teach the children. Americas schools offered children a well-rounded education including rigorous, fact-based studies, lessons in wisdom and beauty, and moral literature that stirs the soul. We became the envy of the world because our citizens were empowered with moral goodness and deep knowledge.

The Trump administration has a bold and immediate solution that could jump-start our progress toward freedom from government intrusion. Under the leadership of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Trump is proposing education freedom scholarships that states can choose to employ. These scholarships provide simple tax credits for those who choose to donate money for children to receive the education of their parents choice. There are safeguards protecting religious schools from government intrusion, too.

According to that 2020 national school choice poll, 83% of African Americans, 83% of Latinos, 78% of millennials, 67% of Democrats, and 77% of Republicans support education freedom scholarships.

Americans are desperate for the self-governance that springs from moral goodness and educational excellence. Our republic is in crisis thanks to government-run, communist-like, state-controlled education factories that intentionally undermine these values. Lets get back to our roots and, like our founders, lets fight for liberty.

The state may not impose its sexualized anti-morality religion on us, and it may not have our children, either.

Rebecca Friedrichs is the founder of For Kids & Country, the author of Standing Up to Goliath, and a 28-year public school teacher who led the fight against the divisive tactics, politics, and corruption of teachers unions as lead plaintiff in Friedrichs v CTA. Her Supreme Court case paved the way for a precedent-setting ruling that freed all public sector employees from forced unionism.

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Support school choice and empower families with educational freedom - Washington Examiner

Huber, Freedom want one more shot at wrestling in their own gym – lehighvalleylive.com

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The way Connor Huber sees it, if he and his Freedom wrestling teammates are going to work the District 11 3A team tournament, they might as well wrestle.

Our goal is to get to the 5:30 p.m. session (championship/consolation finals) on Saturday, said the Patriot senior 126-pounder. We have to set up the gym and roll out the mats, so it only seems fair we get a chance to wrestle, for the last time for the seniors, at home.

Freedom isnt seeded to be around by 5:30 on Saturday, but the Patriots (14-6), ranked No. 10 in the region by lehighvalleylive, certainly look to have the talent and moxie to upend the seeds.

Freedom is seeded sixth, and will open the tournament against No .11 seed Whitehall (10-5) Thursday at 6 p.m. at Libertys Memorial Gym. The winner will advance to a quarterfinal against No. 3 seed Bethlehem Catholic (9-1) Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and assure at least one consolation match on Saturday where the tournament resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday.

First-round losers do not wrestle back, as Huber and the Pates well know.

Last year was depressing, Huber said. We lost to Emmaus in the first round and we didnt even get to wrestle in our own gym on Saturday.

This time around, the Patriots should at least get to do that, even if they seem disrespected by the seeding.

I was kind of surprised we were seeded sixth, Huber said. I know Becahi is seeded higher, and I know they beat us (62-6 on Jan. 8). I know we can wrestle better and give them a different match.

Freedom is certainly capable of impressive performances, like last weeks 36-28 defeat of archrival Liberty. However, the Pates can also struggle a bit, as on Saturdays EPC championship day when they looked flat in a 45-28 loss to Stroudsburg in the fifth-place match.

When were wrestling well, were very pumped up, ready to go, and we all know what we need to do, Huber said. A lot of our motivation comes from our senior class; we make sure everyone is sure about what has to happen and keep everybody motivated.

Huber, now 22-6 on the season, has looked plenty motivated lately, posting pins of Libertys Ansar Niazi (2:28) and Stroudsburgs Brandon Wiligus (44 seconds) in key spots for the Pates. Freedom head coach Dante Terenzio praised Hubers performance against the Hurricanes, saying that kid (Niazi) just doesnt get pinned.

Huber was one of two Freedom wrestlers to win a match against Becahi in the dual, as he defeated Trey Miletics 4-2. This time, though, Huber is likely to see a tougher foe, such as Matt Mayer (ranked No. 2 at 126 by lehighvalleylive) or Evan Gleason (ranked No. 1 at 132).

I dont care who I wrestle, I feel like I am capable of giving anyone a tough match, Huber said. I just have to be ready to wrestle.

Huber, who has 86 wins on his career, is enjoying his best scholastic season.

Last year I didnt really take many shots, I was always trying to score with a drag by or something like that, Huber said. Now, I have been working on my feet a lot more, and I feel like I can score points on my feet. I have also been working on my defense and on top. We have been drilling a lot of top and it has been working for us.

Part of Hubers improvement can be credited to his practice partner, senior Luis Vargas (27-3), ranked No. 2 at 120 by lehighvalleylive.

Luis is very quick, he stays low, and makes it really hard to get on his legs, Huber said. If I can get in on Luis legs I can get to anybodys. When we wrestle, its like a 50/50, but hes really good. You cant stop moving and you always have to be changing levels.

After the team duals, Huber has eyes on Hershey, where he has never wrestled.

My goal is to place in the top three in District 11, and then in the (Northeast) Regional, and then get to states and see how well I do.

Get Lehigh Valley Wrestling Insider text messages from wrestling beat writer Brad Wilson: Cut through the clutter of social media and communicate directly with Brad. Plus, news, tidbits, analysis and maybe some fun every day. Sign up now.

Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.

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Huber, Freedom want one more shot at wrestling in their own gym - lehighvalleylive.com

Freedom of Speech Doesn’t Mean You Have to Be a Jerk Online – catcountry1073.com

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Just because you have the right to say something and just because it's a free country, doesn't mean you should be a jerk for no reason. Hi trolls, this one is for you. When the Bill of Rights was written, they did not take into account that almost 230 years later people would be jerks just for the sake of being jerks. I bet if they wrote the Bill of Rights in 2020 that might reconsider that one and add a few asterisks.

I love social media, I am the typical millennial that spends way too much time scrolling through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat. I'm not too proud to admit that. What infuriates me more than anything else, is people who say stupid or mean things because they can.

Has social media made us that desperate for attention that we would rather people hate us online rather than not know we exist? Why do we care that Karen from New Zealand knows that you have a bold, probably exaggerated for effect, opinion? Leaning into that shock factor is getting old.

It is such a toddler-like reaction to defend your jerky statement by saying you said it because you can. Are you five? No? Okay, then start acting like an adult and choose your words wisely.

Hiding behind the veil of freedom of speech is a poor excuse. Telling someone to scroll past if they don't like your opinion usually means you made an outlandish opinion just to get someone to notice you.

Real-life is filled with enough negativity, you don't need to add to the pot by being an unkind jerk online.

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Freedom of Speech Doesn't Mean You Have to Be a Jerk Online - catcountry1073.com

No to Trump’s apartheid plan. Yes to freedom and justice for the Palestinians – Haaretz

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The Trump Plan was never about freedom and equality for Palestinians.

Instead, it was always about consolidating Israel's control over Palestinian lives, prolonging the status quo, and legitimizing Israels crimes under international law including colonization and annexation. Its authors are well-known supporters of Israeli illegal colonial settlements, and so this plan has the blessing of extremist Israeli politicians and settlers, as well as other apologists of the systematic denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

Trumps Unreal Deal: No Peace, No Plan, No Palestinians, No Point. Listen to Haaretz's podcast

The Trump administration continues to reward Israel for violating Palestine's right to exist. At the same time, it portrays the recognition of a Palestinian "state" as a hard concession for Israel to make, in spite of the historic compromise by the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1993. For the sake of peace and cognizant of international legitimacy,we recognized Israel on 78 percent of our historic homeland.

The Trump plan serves the interests of the Greater Israel project that wants all the land of historic Palestine while treating the native people as aliens on our land, ultimately eroding international law and the national and human rights of the Palestinian people.

It takes over vital land for the development of the State of Palestine to benefit Israel's illegal colonial enterprise - and revokes Palestine's rights to its natural resources, borders, air-space, and maritime borders. No nation, let alone the dignified nation of Palestine that has been struggling for 100 years, would accept this formula of submission and giving up our rights.

What came out is a reflection of that goal. Perhaps inspired by Moshe Ya'alon - then a member of the Israeli cabinet - who stated dismissively in 2014, "Let them call it the Palestinian empire. It's autonomy." But the facts on the ground in occupied Palestine go beyond that. The one-state reality imposed by Netanyahu and his supporters is not mere autonomy; its a reality of apartheid.

Why apartheid? Because we have one state, Israel, that controls all the land and governs with two different sets of rights: one for those born to a Jewish family and another one for those born to a Palestinian, Christian or Muslim, family. The Trump administration has moved the whole discussion to a different level, where international law and the global order as a whole are irrelevant.

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The international community is therefore obliged to respond with concrete measures; otherwise, it will be sending the Palestinian people a fatefully wrong message. That diplomatic efforts to create conditions for a meaningful peace process have utterly failed and no longer matter.

This is not about any blame game against the Palestinians. It is about the U.S.and Israel rejecting the basic requirements of peace - by implementating international law and the long-overdue UN resolutions. Saying no to the Trump Plan is saying no to apartheid. We can only say yes to freedom, justice, and peace - and not to the perpetuation of the immorality of Israel's control over our lives and the denial of our right to self-determination.

What has been announced by the Trump administration is a flagrant attack against international law and the international system, and the repercussions do not only affect Palestine.

This moment requires the international community tonot only condemn the U.S. and Israeli attempts to confound peace, but requiresaction to save the prospects of a just and lasting peace. The world now has an opportunity to act on its obligations and commitments: End Israels occupation of Palestine, to achieve the just and lasting peace we all deserve.

These international actions are doable, and part and parcel of the responsibility of the international community to peace and an international rules-based order: from the recognition of the State of Palestine, the release of the UN database of companies involved in the Israeli occupation, to imposing sanctions on Israel's colonization efforts.

This is not only about Palestine: it's about the future of the world as a whole.

Husam Zomlot is Palestines ambassador to the United Kingdom. He was the last Palestinian envoy to Washington. Twitter: @hzomlot

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No to Trump's apartheid plan. Yes to freedom and justice for the Palestinians - Haaretz

The True Cost Of Freedom Gas – Yahoo Finance

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The reputation of natural gas as a clean fuel has been repeatedly undermined by unfavorable emissions data. But now, several new studies suggest that the problem could be even bigger than we imagined.

Do these studies paint an accurate picture of LNG, or are they just more anti-fossil fuel hype?

The short answer is: its complicated.

The University of Texas at Austin earlier this month warned that the expansion of oil, gas, and petrochemical infrastructure along the Gulf Coast could add half a billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions to Americas total every year by 2030. This, the UT said, was equivalent to 8 percent of the countrys current total in emissions and would come from new refineries, petrochemical plants and, perhaps a little unexpectedly for the layperson, liquefied natural gas plants.

Touted as freedom gas by the Donald Trump administration, LNG has quickly turned into a major export commodity for U.S. energy companies. Indeed, LNG as a fuel burns a lot more cleanlywith a lot less emissionsthan oil derivatives. But its production turns out to be a different matter.

In early January, the Environmental Integrity Project released a report that, although a little less pessimistic than the UTs, was still concerning. It said oil and gas companies and related businesses have permits or have applied for permits for facilities that would add 227 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.

Only a minority of these additional emissions are to come from new drilling: just 36 million tons. The total additional emissions would be a 30-percent increase on the GHG emissions total of the oil and gas industry for 2018.

Related: As Gas Prices Crash, Will This Shale Giant Survive?

Of this total, the Environmental Integrity Project said, the largest growth would come from LNG plants.

In 2018, there were eight operating LNG export terminals in the United States. These released seven million tons of greenhouse gases during that year. The amount was more than a tenfold increase from 2016. Now, there are 18 new LNG export terminals planned to be built along the Gulf Coast, plus one plant inland, according to the report. These, if all are built, could add 80 million tons of greenhouse gases to total annual emissions from the fossil fuel industry. This, the EIP warns, would be an increase of 100 times over ten years.

The latest to add to the LNG gloom was Bloomberg. In an analysis published last week, the news and intelligence firm said the 11 LNG plants approved by President Trump could add 78 million tons of carbon dioxide to total U.S. emissions, plus quite a lot of sulfur dioxide, and methaneby-products of the liquefaction process that basically cools natural gas to superlow temperatures so it can liquefy.

Then, Bloomberg continues, there are emissions associated with the transportation of the natural gas from the wellhead to the liquefaction train and from there to its destination overseas. Even operating an LNG plant has a carbon footprint comparable to that of a coal plant, with the comparison not too flattering for LNG. The analysis of the data that Bloomberg used showed that the 11 new LNG plants, if built, would emit as much carbon dioxide as 24 coal plants.

Not All Emissions Doom and Gloom

Luckily for the environment, there is a bit of good news. The emissions levels of different LNG plants vary greatly. The Cameron LNG plant, for instance, could release as much 328,000 tons of carbon dioxide per 1 million tons of LNG it exports when it becomes fully operational. Yet the Annova LNG terminal in Texas would emit only 59,000 tons of CO2 for every 1 million tons of LNG it exports.

The differences may have a lot to do with how these facilities cool the gas. Oilprice spoke to an expert from Yamal LNG, Mehdy Touil, who said the main source of greenhouse gases in an LNG train comes from the combustion of gasmethanein the turbines that drive the refrigeration compressors. Methane emissions from LNG trains are negligible because every facility has gas detectors.

CO2 emissions are also generated from other gas processing equipment at the facility. But even with these emissions, Touil noted, LNG plants are a smaller polluter than coal-fired power plants. And those that opt for electric motors instead of gas turbines have an emissions footprint of next to zero.

Story continues

Related: US Oil Rig Count Inches Higher As Production Hits 13 Million Bpd

One terminal operator, Freeport LNG, for example, said it planned to cut its emissions by 90 percent compared with other LNG exporters by switching to electric motors from combustion turbines. Touil called Freeport LNG the first eLNG plant.

Two Canadian projects, LNG Canada and Woodfibre LNG, Touil added, plan to source their energy for refrigeration entirely from hydropower, which would be another way to reduce the dominant source of emissions from the production of LNG.

It seems to also depend on location, too. Cheniere Energy, the largest LNG producer in the U.S, emits less from its Corpus Christi LNG terminal, which draws electricity from the grid, than from its Sabine Pass terminal, which makes its own power.

The Clean Fossil Fuel Myth?

All these studies are making one thing clear yet again: there is no clean fossil fuel. In fact, some would argue that natural gas is even more problematic than oil in that its production and transport is accompanied by methane leaks, and methane is a lot more harmful to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Will all these revelations halt the LNG boom, not just in the United States but across the globe?

Hardly.

The truth is that although it is far from emission-free, liquefied natural gas is less polluting than coal. Bloombergs comparison between an LNG plant and a coal plant is evidence of that. Whats more, the studies warning against LNG terminals emission potential only focus on the production of LNG rather than its use. The reason LNG has become so popular as an alternative to coal is that it does burn a lot more cleanly than coal. Perhaps the emissions produced during the liquefaction process could be offset by the emissions not released by coal plants because they have switched to LNG.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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The long road to freedom – a giraffe is on the lam in Thailand – News965

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We have the case file. We have the suspects. We have the experts. Now we just need you. That is the tagline of the CrimeCon eventCrowdSolve, a convention-style gathering of true crime buffs slated for Feb. 21-23 in Chicago that will investigate the mysterious 1981 death of Kurt Sova, a Newburgh Heights 17-year-old whose body was found in a ravine five days after he vanished from an early Halloween party with friends. Participating in the event will be investigators from the Newburgh Heights Police Department. The NHPD will be participating in this unique event to help bring justice for Kurt Sova,the departments Facebook page reads. Check it out! The event is the latest effort by authorities to bring closure to Sovas loved ones, who have wondered for more than 39 years what took place after that Oct. 23, 1981, Halloween party. VAULT Studios true crime podcast, True Crime Chronicles, this monthdevoted two episodes to the case. In December, cold case investigators also announced they were teaming up with a group of 10 Tiffin University criminal justice students to take another look at the mystery. Crime Stoppers of Cuyahoga County has offered a reward of $5,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case. Our thought process was to incorporate the brightest and best criminal justice and social science students to look at this case with a fresh set of eyes and a clear lens, Michael Lewis, a TU criminal justice professor,told the Advertiser-Tribune in Tiffin last month. It is our hope that the case can finally be solved and the loved ones can have a sense of closure. Sovas brother is expected to be at theChicago CrimeSolve event. Kevin Sova, the only surviving member of the family, said not knowing what happened to his youngest sibling has taken a toll over the decades. When somebody dies, we should know why,he told WKYC in Cleveland earlier this month. The hardest part of this whole case is not knowing why our brother and my moms son is dead (and) gone. According to CrowdSolve, Kurt Sova accompanied a friend to a party at a duplex the night he vanished and his parents and three older brothers never saw him again. The next morning, his mother began calling his friends and his father began searching the neighborhood. His father, Kenneth Sova, told WKYC in the days after his disappearance that he knew immediately something was very wrong. I knew something was wrong with him because it wasnt like him to be away from the house that long without calling or without getting in touch with somebody,Kenneth Sova said in 1981. On Oct. 25, the Sovas reported their son missing. His mother began placing missing posters in store windows, at which point she learned of the party her son had attended. The woman who allegedly hosted the party denied seeing Kurt Sova or even having a party,the case briefing on the CrowdSolve website states. When a pizza delivery man confirmed to the Sovas that there had been a party, the woman relented and admitted the teen had been there. Guests later commented that Kurt had been drinking Everclear, the strongest alcoholic drink on the market at that time,the case summary states. One of Kurts friends later said that hed taken an intoxicated Kurt outdoors for some fresh air, leaving him for a few minutes to run back inside for Kurts jacket. However, when he returned, Kurt was gone. Sovas body was found five days after his disappearance in a ravine about 500 yards from the duplex where the party was held. Though it appeared as though he may have fallen to his death in a drunken state, his autopsy revealed a startling detail: Sova had only been dead between 24 and 36 hours. A classmate of the missing teen also reported seeing him three days after the party, walking toward a van with people he did not recognize. Sova reportedly called out to the boy by name. Unfortunately, the schoolmate did not suspect anything out of the ordinary as he was unaware of Kurts status as a missing person at the time of this occurrence,the CrowdSolve summary states. Further, Sovas father told authorities he had personally searched the ravine where his sons body was found -- two days before three young boys playing there stumbled upon him. He had found nothing out of the ordinary during the search. Sovas cause of death was never determined, though he still had alcohol in his body when he was found. Police could not find any sign of assault and his body revealed no major injuries,the summary states. Police could not locate his right shoe, although his left shoe was found wedged in a pile of rocks nearby. Do we think somebody killed him? Its possible,Newburgh Heights police Chief John Majoy told WKYC. But is it more plausible that he died and his body was later dropped there? Yeah, because that area was searched. Majoy is expected to be one of the experts at CrowdSolve, as is retired U.S. Marshal Art Roderick, who serves as chief investigator for the event.According to WKYC, Roderick suggested Sovas unsolved case to the event organizers, who thought Newburgh Heights 345-mile distance from the event was within the parameters to make the case a suitable one. Kevin Balfe, executive producer for CrowdSolve, told the news station they look at three things when choosing which case to take on: geographical relevance, solvability and support from law enforcement and the victims family. At the first CrowdSolve event,held in October in Seattle, participants took a look at the March 2009 disappearance of Nancy Moyer, who vanished from her Tenino, Washington, home, and the murder of Karen Bodine, 37, who was found strangled to death in January 2007 near a gravel quarry in Thurston County. Its a rare thing to find police departments that are open to what we do,Balfe said. Certainly, Newburgh Heights was. Majoy told WKYC the department is glad for the opportunity. We were also humbled to have this case selected because our thought process was that if we bring enough attention to the case, perhaps someone may come forward with information to help us solve it,the chief told the news station. Balfe said he anticipates between 300 and 400 attendees at next months event. Participants will work in smaller groups to pore over the case file and spitball ideas, and will then reconvene to present Newburgh Heights investigators with their findings. The police chief said he doesnt expect the case to be solved at the convention, but hopes it gets moved in the right direction. He also hopes to give Kevin Sova some peace after all he has lost. Kenneth Sova died in 2001, followed by his wife, Dorothy,in December 2014. A second of the Sova brothers, Keith Sova,died in June 2014 at age 52 and a third, Kenneth,died in 2017 at age 57. We need to let them know their loved one mattered and we want to help solve their case,Majoy told WKYC. All too often, the victims and their families are not given the diligence or attention they deserve. Refocusing this will at least send a message that we do care about them and want to help solve their case.

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The long road to freedom - a giraffe is on the lam in Thailand - News965