If you are interested in learning more about psychedelics, and their context in 2018, I'd recommend UC Berkeley Professor Michael Pollan's latest book "How to Change Your Mind". It is a really nice, easy to read primer on the topic, and his experience with psychedelics. He approaches the topic with a scientific yet accessible tone, and he asks and answers lots of good questions. Pollan interviews many of the people mentioned in this New York Times article.<p>Go put your name on the list at your local library!<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Mind-Consciousness-Transcendence/dp/1594204225" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Mind-Consciousness-Transc...</a>
Psychedelic mushrooms are powerful medicine. They have a psychoactive effect which alters brain chemistry and helps neurological disorder. We can see that in the paper. But then so do anti-depressants.<p>I believe the key difference between plant medicines like mushrooms, Peyote, Ayahuasca and others and clinical mood altering medicine is within the ecstatic experience. It is one to thing to have a pill lead you to an empirically more "healthy" brain. It is quite another to embark on a deep, introspective vision which provides a narrative to match the chemical benefit.<p>I volunteer as a guide within Ayahuasca ceremonies in Peru. Many turn to Ayahuasca as a last resort for depression, PTSD, sexual trauma, and much more. I have seen people in ceremony live through what they interpret as a hellish exorcism, an active exploration of their lineage, or a direct confrontation and resolution of their deepest emotional and spiritual trauma. These people often undergo significant positive transformation after the experiences.<p>These profoundly "real" experiences appear to be essential to the healing process.<p>We are creatures of story and psychedelics can help write a _most radical_ chapter of recovery.
Psilocybin and LSD are on their way to legalization, but the enormous host of compounds in their phenethylamine family might not be so lucky due to a systematic problem with U.S. drug scheduling policy. This family shows enormous potential for treating some of our trickiest mental health / public health problems (addiction, depression, anxiety, OCD, and the list goes on) but the policy for newly discovered phenethylamines and tryptamines seems to be "Schedule first, worry about it later." This slows scientific research down dramatically, research that we need in order to even know in the first place whether a compound might have "high potential for abuse and no known medical potential." If there is medical potential (and in these families at least there usually is), what took days to Schedule will take millions of dollars and years or even decades to reschedule...per compound.<p>So, while I celebrate the progress being made for a couple of promising compounds with a relatively large base of recognition and support, I'm hoping that I see a more sane approach to drug policy within my lifetime (Portugal seems to be the fashionable example these days).<p>I'll also second /u/jrowley 's recommendation of Michael Pollan's recent book "How to Change Your Mind" as a good primer, and would recommend the TV show "Hamilton's Pharmacopeia" as another fascinating dive into the subject.
Warning: anecdotes ahead.<p>I would like to add some counterpoint to the otherwise seemingly endless supply of HN enthusiasm for psychedelics.<p>Personally, I like psychedelics. I have an annual(ish) tradition of tripping somewhere really pretty. I think that the personal growth and emotional... trip is fun and worthwhile.<p>However, my girlfriend had a bad trip and was scared of large trees for months. And I'd rate my girlfriend as one of the most mentally stable people I have ever met. I am unconvinced that throwing psychedelics at mentally unstable (unhealthy) people is a good idea. We need a lot more research before we start recommending them as medicine.<p>To that end, I do believe that we should allow researchers greater flexibility to experiment with them because it would be worthwhile to understand more about why psychedelics do what they do.
I don't know how the government can claim with a straight face that these substances have no known medical use, and are harmful. That's the criteria I think for Schedule 1, but there are clearly known uses for them, and the harm is relatively low.<p>I really don't like thinking, "the government just wants to ban dangerous thoughts" but mushrooms - really? Compared to alcohol they are so incredibly safe.
Zooming out a bit, the legislation designed to stamp out the 60s and 70s counterculture is slowly being dismantled, brick by brick.<p><a href="https://harpers.org/archive/2016/04/legalize-it-all/" rel="nofollow">https://harpers.org/archive/2016/04/legalize-it-all/</a>
I have a friend who used to be quite involved in the ayahuasca church. He now knows five people from the church who have committed suicide. The fifth just hung himself last weekend. He was 25, and was the son of one of the priestesses in the church. Spent his childhood in the church, being fed ayahuasca regularly.<p>One of them was also a friend of mine. By the time he killed himself he was clinically insane and should have been hospitalized, sadly the services didn't get to him in time.<p>I realise this is about psylocibin, but I think its still appropriate here. Psychedelics are no joke.
If you dig up the actual paper, you can see cool graphs about rhesus monkeys self administering psychedelics in test environments. (fig 1)<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028390818302296?via%3Dihub" rel="nofollow">https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002839081...</a>
I recommend “Food of the Gods” <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolutio...</a>
to anyone that’s interested in what role magic mushrooms may have played in the evolution of humans. It also does an interesting job in talking about what drugs are legal and what drugs are illegal (and the somewhat arbitrary demarcation line between what’s socially acceptable (alcohol, caffeine, sugar, tobacco) and what is not and will put you behind bars).<p>Take it w/ a grain of salt but it’s definitely thought provoking.<p>Also keep in mind that it was written in 1993 but does a pretty good job of anticipating the legalization of marijuana and the eventual decriminalization of moslty all drugs on Schedule I that were put there without any kind of research or backing data (psilocybin, DMT and friends)
I have a question about mushrooms that I don't often see get addressed. Psychedelic mushrooms nearly always are touted as medicinal tools and powerful substances for curing PTSD or depression.
However, in my own life, I don't suffer from any of these things. I am healthy, don't suffer from depression in any way, and am pretty satisfied with life.
I am mainly interested in psychedlic mushrooms out of curiosity. I have never had any experience similar to that, and it all sounds fascinating to me. Is it a good idea for a healthy person to try these "mind altering" substances strictly out of curiosity?
A kind of a problem with "LSD-like" psychedelics (seemingly doesn't apply to "meth-like" MDMA) as well as with the weed is the experience with them depends hugely on your pre-existing vision, what do you actually want and where do you drive yourself during the trip. If you are a kind and loving person by nature (even if depressed and confused at the moment) sensations of beauty, joy and love will probably overwhelm you and you'll end up happy and kind but if you're a psycho like Manson you end up even more psycho. If you consciously stick to the positive emotions and vision during the trip the trip is going to be amazing and may have a profound positive therapeutic effect, but if you stumble upon fear or sorrow inside you and don't know you can and should consciously choose positive emotions it can be nightmarish. I only know of one tryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) and one rare Hungarian mushroom (can't even remember the species name now, perhaps I'll add it later) that seem to always yield positive experience, with all the others one should never forget to "use the steering wheel" during their trip. One can rely on the setting and the sitter instead but I believe this is less reliable and people should really learn basic compassion meditation and being mindful about their feelings before trying psychedelics).
I generally dislike mushrooms but I was pretty moved by Joe Rogan's podcast #1035 with Paul Stamets. Despite being over 2 hours long I suggested it to and watched it in it's entirety with several different people and each time we end up discussing the content off and on for weeks or months afterwards. Highly recommended.<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPqWstVnRjQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPqWstVnRjQ</a>
Is the idea of cognitive liberty going to ever make a comeback? <a href="http://www.cognitiveliberty.org" rel="nofollow">http://www.cognitiveliberty.org</a>
Is anyone else concerned about capitalism getting their hands on these sorts of things? I'm all for decriminalization, but I'm really not excited for the patents, potentially heavy modifications to the organism for the purpose of higher yields, potency, etc.
The fact that things like mushrooms are illegal is a great example of government programs that are ill-conceived, purely destructive, and take decades to kill.