When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional, Hunter S. Thompson used to say. They also drop acid, according to a new study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Researchers found that past-year LSD use jumped 56.4% between 2015 and 2018, mainly due to the 2016 presidential election, which caused a fractious split in American politics and culture, as well as the microdosing trend.

LSD is used primarily to escape. And given that the worlds on fire, people might be using it as a therapeutic mechanism, Andrew Yockey, the studys lead author, told Scientific American. Now that COVIDs hit, Id guess that use has probably tripled.

RELATED: Should FDA Fast-Track Psychedelic Treatment Under Coronavirus Pandemic?

Yockeys team utilized data collected by the annual National Survey on Drug use and Health, a nationally representative survey and analyzed responses from more than 168,000 American adults.

Photo by Isi Parente via Unsplash

Millennials and those with college degrees accounted for the most dramatic rises in LSD use. Acid consumption increased 70% among those with a college degree, about 59% for the 26-34 age group, 223% among the 35-49 age group, and 45% for people age 50 and older. Gen Z, however, did not follow this trend. People between the ages 18 to 25 saw a 24% drop in past-year LSD use.

RELATED: Psychedelics Help You Become Emotionally Adaptable, Study Finds

Researchers do believe the 2016 presidential election and current political climate did contribute to these rising trends. Music festivals and microdosing could also contribute to more people using LSD, however, researchers dont expect another drug-fueled counterculture revolution like the 1960s and 70s to happen. Less than 1% of Americans use LSD in a given year, despite the new rising trends.

LSD is a lot less popular today than it was in the late 1960s and 1970s, Joseph Palamar, a drug researcher at NYU Langone Health, told Scientific American. He explained that newer drugs available, like the psychedelic 2C-B, also factored into this national decline, but that LSD is perhaps the most popular psychedelic of all time, and its never going away.

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More Americans Are Using LSD To Escape Reality - The Fresh Toast

Curious investors were able to hear firsthand about the burgeoning psychedelics industry during the first Prohibition Partners LIVE event.

At the inaugural Prohibition Partners LIVE event, psychedelic drugs made a big splash.

Prohibition Partners is a research group that publishes reports on the latest developments in the cannabis industry. And while cannabis dominated the online forum, the business potential of psychedelics created conversations around this new space.

Adele Byrne, senior analyst with Prohibition Partners, kicked off the discussion around psychedelics by confirming the groups interest in the market with upcoming studies dedicated exclusively to the space.

Those will follow the groups initial March report examining the psychedelics industry, and Byrne said the team will continue to work on their market analysis for the sector.

The talks at the event included some of the established early leaders in the psychedelics market one of the biggest guests was Bruce Linton, former CEO of Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC,TSX:WEED). He is now an advisor for Mind Medicine (MindMed) (NEO:MMED) and an investor in the psychedelics sector.

Linton has been a vocal supporter of the psychedelic drug industry, and is a larger figure commanding attention from investors given his role in the augmentation of the Canadian cannabis public markets.

Its always an allocation game, and I think being an investor in the market right now is a very good idea I think that its a good time to be an investor, but its not a good time to put all your investments in today, you need to be able to follow up with some, Linton said.

The ex-cannabis executive said hes interested in the psychedelics industry given its potential to provide alternative treatments for health issues that arent being met with appropriate relief.

One of the most unique organizations in the psychedelics industry is the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a non-profit group that is responsible for putting together one of the most advanced studies in the entire sector.

Rick Doblin, founder and executive director of MAPS, explained the US Food and Drug Administration is open to engaging with the psychedelic drug maker industry given the medical potential these drugs have.

Doblin said the federal agency is willing to put science over politics when it comes to psychedelics, which is evidenced by the medical authoritys engagement with clinical studies.

JR Rahn, founder and CEO of MindMed, spoke at length with Stephen Murphy, group managing director with Prohibition Partners, about his involvement with the industry and the transition process he underwent originally coming from a tech investing background.

As one of the first big debuts in the capital markets, MindMed launched on the NEO Exchange in March, and Rahn pointed to the key benefits that going public has brought to his company.

When asked about the path for the adoption of psychedelic medicines once trials are successful, Rahn said that theres a long educational process ahead for both patients and doctors to combat the stigma associated with psychedelic drugs.

In a panel conversation, Doblin explained that it will be important to train and prepare medical workers so that they are ready for psychedelic drug demand.

Kevin OLeary, a Canadian investor and a judge on the business show Shark Tank, signed up as an early stage backer of MindMed and has pointed to the medical-only approach the company is taking as the key reason it obtained his money.

The decision to go public was motivated by MindMeds plan to build out a robust portfolio of clinical trials investigating the medical benefits of psychedelic drugs, Rahn said.

Going public, to me, was not even a question, the MindMed executive said. We needed to do it, we needed to build a platform that could develop these medicines and get them to patients.

As part of the conversation around public listings, Champignon Brands (CSE:SHRM,OTCQB:SHRMF) CEO Dr. Roger McIntyre said investors need to be ready for a rush of company pitches and available deals. He warned there will be shady players attempting to pass off as experts on the industry, and investors need to be aware not to fall for just any opportunity.

Market participants often point to the medical benefits of psychedelic drugs as a top reason why supporting this industry will be valuable. But for one executive its also a personal effort.

Rahn was candid about the path that led him to the industry during a panel at the online event. He told the audience about his own struggles with addiction and mental health and how these challenges were the foundation that eventually took him to launch MindMed.

There needed to be a company that could take this broader approach to how we look at mental health and not just look at a single mental illness like depression or anxiety as a one-off.

How do we look at creating a new paradigm and a new approach to how we deal with these issues? Thats really what motivates me, looking at the interconnectedness of mental health solutions and how we get those and deliver those to the world.

Dont forget to follow@INN_LifeSciencefor real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Psychedelics Make an Impression at Prohibition Partners LIVE | INN - Investing News Network

As a group of terminally ill patients in Canada awaits word from the minister of health on whether they can legally access psychedelic mushrooms for end-of-life care, their team of clinicians has tacked on an additional request: The therapists want to be able to dose themselves, too.

The group behind the request, Victoria, B.C.based TheraPsil, a nonprofit that aims to expand access to psilocybin-based psychotherapy in Canada, says the additional step of providing safe access for therapists will ensure they gain firsthand experience into the psilocybins effects and its applications to psychotherapy.

The fundamental reason to expose therapists to their own experiences with psychedelics is that, unless you have visited these realms, you are unlikely to understand their importance.

Part of ensuring a very high-quality psychedelic treatment for patients is to ensure high-quality training for therapists, Spencer Hawkswell, TheraPsils executive director, told Marijuana Moment in an interview. Its greatly beneficial if therapists have had psychedelic therapy themselves.

Few people, he offered by analogy, would advise going to a sex therapist whos never had sex before.

TheraPsil, founded by clinical psychologist and psychotherapist Bruce Tobin, has been fighting for expanded access to psilocybin end-of-life care for years. In 2017, the group first filed a petition to exempt patients with certain terminal conditions from Canadas ban on psilocybin. It was reportedly the first time a therapist had asked the Canadian government for such an exemption.

It wasnt until this past January that TheraPsil finally heard back, Hawkswell said. After three years of back-and-forth, they got back to us and said, Were going to be rejecting this application. The agency said there was no obvious medical necessity for the psychedelics.

TheraPsil was undaunted. They say theres no necessity, Hawkswell said. Maybe its because they havent met that person yet.

In April, the group helped four more people with terminal illnesses file petitions with Health Canada and Health Minister Patty Hajdu seeking exemptions that will allow them to access psilocybin. In an interview with Marijuana Moment, Hawkswell said patients had gone months so far without a word from Hajdu, who with a stroke of a pen could allow the patients to access the drug.

What we are working on right now is ramping up our messaging, Hawkswell said. We are going to try everything we can to get to the minister to make sure she sees these patients and responds to them.

Efforts to allow TheraPsils clinicians to use psilocybin themselves are more recent. Dr. Sean OSullivan, an emergency room physician and psychotherapist who serves on TheraPsils board of directors, said the exemptions are necessary so that therapists can be better trained and more familiar with how psychedelics work in a therapeutic setting.

The fundamental reason to expose therapists to their own experiences with psychedelics is that, unless you have visited these realms, you are unlikely to understand their importance, OSullivan told Marijuana Moment. The point is to allow therapists to understand the field theyre plowing in.

Therapists need to be alert and able to recognize how psychedelic experiences manifest themselves in therapy, OSullivan said. Patients might bring up material having to do with their own birth, a traumatic experience or interactions with otherworldly beings. If youre not attuned to this possibility, not aware of this possibility, then its just going to slide by you, he said.

Its a bit like describing Beethovens Fifth, OSullivan added. You can describe it all you like, but at some point you have to play the music.

As psychedelic therapy is more widely sought by patients, OSullivan said, demand for qualified therapists is likely to go up. We are expecting that as we get more permission for patients to access psilocybin at the end of life, he said, that there will be an increase in demand for therapists that have had that psychedelic experience.

Public opinion in Canada generally supports allowing access to psilocybin therapy for the terminally ill, TheraPsil says. A poll released by the group last month found that 59 percent of Canadians support legal access. Including respondents who said they were ambivalent, TheraPsil said, acceptance increased to 78 percent.

Whats unreasonable is the political decision to deny patients access to psilocybin, Hawkswell argued. Its not a scientific one, its not a democratic one. Its political.

Patients facing their imminent death often experience feelings and fears that psychedelics can help to ease, he said. Among them are demoralization, anxiety and depression. Existing treatment includes pharmaceuticals, talk therapy and occasionally inpatient treatment.

Psychedelics play a role in treatment by inducing what Hawkswell and others refer to as a mystical experiencea collection of psychoactive and sometimes spiritual events that accompany a psychedelic journey. The experience can reorient a persons way of thinking, dissolving barriers between an individual and the world around them.For end-of-life patients, he explained, it can help them embrace that death is naturaljust as natural as being born.

Practitioners note that psychedelic therapy doesnt work the same way as many other pharmaceutical drugs, such as antidepressants or even medical marijuana. Patients usually take those substances under their own supervision and allow them to work in the background. With therapeutic use of psilocybin and other psychedelics, patients typically take the drug and undergo guided psychotherapy. Psychedelics unusual, sometimes disorienting effects are believed to allow patients to better approach and engage obstacles, then emerge with a fresh perspective.

Another psychedelic therapy group, Field Trip, which uses ketamine in therapy, describes the treatment on their website as a way to press reset on your mental health.

The emerging promise of psychedelics in recent years have caught the attention of academics, public policy reformers and even the U.S. government. Last month, the University of North Carolina (UNC) announced a $27 million project funded by the department of defense to research and develop psychedelics-inspired drugs.

That projects researchers seem to believe they can separate psychedelics from what they describe as disorienting side effects, despite what Hawkswell and others say about the importance of a mystical experience.

Although drugs like ketamine and potentially psilocybin have rapid antidepressant actions, their hallucinogenic, addictive, and disorienting side effects make their clinical use limited, said Bryan L. Roth, a professor of pharmacology at UNC School of Medicine and the research teams leader. The government partnership, UNC said, aims to create new medications to effectively and rapidly treat depression, anxiety, and substance abuse without major side effects.

In September of last year, Johns Hopkins University announced the launch of the nations first-ever psychedelic research center, a $17-million project to study the use of psychedelics to treat conditions such as opioid use disorder, Alzheimers disease, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Meanwhile, activists in the United States have advocated for state- and local-level reforms to research, decriminalize and in some cases even legalize psychedelics themselves.

At the municipal level, Denver became the first U.S. city to enact such a reform, with voters in May 2019 approving a measure to effectively decriminalize possession of psilocybin mushrooms. Soon after, officials in Oakland, California, decriminalized possession of all plant- and fungi-based psychedelics. In January of this year, Oakland activists unveiled plans to allow go further and legalize the commercial sale of natural entheogenic substances. That same month in nearby Santa Cruz, the City Council effectively decriminalized psychedelics by voting to make the enforcement of laws against them among the citys lowest enforcement priorities.

Reformers are now pushing for similar changes in other jurisdictions. In Washington, D.C. this month, Decriminalize Nature D.C. submitted signatures to qualify a measure for Novembers ballot that would decriminalize all natural psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin, ayahuasca and ibogaine.

Other reform efforts are ongoing in Oregon, where voters later this year will decide whether to legalize psilocybin therapythe very therapy TheraPsils patients are pushing Canadian Health Minister Hajdu to allow. Oregon voters will also see a separate measure to decriminalize the possession of all drugs and expand access to treatment for problem use on their November ballot.

Lawmakers in Hawaii earlier this year approved a plan to study psilocybin mushrooms medical applications with the goal of eventually legalizing access.

In Canada, for now, psilocybin remains illegal. Hawkswell of TheraPsil, however, believes a constellation of other national policiesincluding medical marijuana, safe injection sites, and physician-assisted dyingsupport extending psilocybin access to patients in palliative care. And Canada already permits certain religious groups to use ayahuasca as religious sacrament, Hawkswell noted.

At this point psilocybin is a reasonable medical choice for these individuals, he told Marijuana Moment. This is about the minister being compassionate and using her ministerial abilities to help give patients access to something thats going to help them.

Patients waiting to hear back from Hajdus office, he said, dont have time to wait for lengthy, bureaucratic processes. Were not just going to keep waiting, he told Marijuana Moment. We do have a legal team prepared, but thats all Ill say.

Psychedelics Decrim Activists Mark First Anniversary Of Denvers Historic Psilocybin Mushroom Vote

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia/Workman

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Psychedelic Therapists Petition Government For Permission To Dose Themselves In Order To Better Treat Patients - Marijuana Moment

MagicMeds Psybrary is a molecular derivatives library designed to be a key platform for the psychedelics industry to develop new patented products

said Monday it is planning to raise up to C$1.5 million to fund development of its portfolio of psychedelic derivative molecules.

The private company is working with Mackie Research Capital Corporation in the offering, which will consist of up to 6 million shares priced at C$0.25 each.

MagicMeds Psybrary is a molecular derivatives library designed to be a key platform for the psychedelics industry to develop new patented products.

The Psybrary will initially focus on psilocybin, but MagicMed expects to expand its scope to other psychedelics like MDMA, ketamine, Ibogaine, Mescaline, and Ayahuasca on an opportunistic basis. MagicMeds approach is to partner with pharmaceutical and other companies who can use thePsybrary as a building block to develop new patented products.

Under the term sheet, MagicMed will pay Mackie a cash commission equal to 8% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the offering in addition to a work fee and certain expenses.

A portion of the proceeds will also be used to expand MagicMeds scientific team, according to a statement, with additional funds earmarked for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The Calgary-based company recently filed a provisional patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) related to the composition of matter, drug formation and the process of preparation for novel psilocybin derivatives, the first in a series of applications that together are designed to protect the Psybrary.

The offering is expected to close by August 14.

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MagicMed Industries unveils C$1.5 million offering to expand its molecular psychedelic derivatives portfolio - Proactive Investors USA & Canada

After his father disappeared to a forced labor camp in 1942, when George Sarlo was just 4 years old, it left a traumatic wound that would not heal for the next 70 years.

Then, when he was in his 70s, Sarlo had a life-changing experience. After ingesting a psychedelic native plant in a Mexican fishing village, Sarlo says he had an encounter with his dead father, who finally provided an answer to the question that had plagued his son for so many years: why hed left without saying goodbye.

That experience eight years ago has today made Sarlo, a successful San Francisco venture capitalist and philanthropist, an unlikely advocate for the use of psychedelic drugs to treat trauma, addiction, and the fear and anxiety that can accompany a diagnosis of terminal illness.

Sarlo, 82, shared his story last November at Congregation Emanu-El, explaining how his father leaving without saying goodbye had haunted him for 70 years nearly his entire life. Many of those listening were brought to tears.

Born in 1938 in Budapest, Sarlo was one of two children; his sister was seven years older. When the Hungarian government began passing anti-Jewish laws, Sarlos father lost his job as a clerk in a textile mill. Friends allowed him to buy remnants of fabric from the mill, and he and Sarlos mother, a talented seamstress, began sewing womens lingerie that his father would sell to dealers. They earned a decent living, until his father had to report for deportation to a labor camp. He left early one morning and never returned.

For the next three years the family moved around, living in fear and dread that the Nazis could deport them something that happened to their entire extended family, none of whom survived.

To make sure the same did not happen to her small family, Sarlos sister risked her life, sneaking out of the house to the Spanish Consulate, where she obtained lifesaving documents. Issued Spanish passports and papers, they spent the last three months of the war in a Budapest apartment with some two dozen others under the official protection of the Spanish government. Sarlo calls his sister the hero of the family.

When the war ended, Sarlo remembers a box arriving with warm clothing, Hersheys chocolate and chewing gum. It came from the Joint Distribution Committee.

My mother could not believe that somebody who didnt even know us sent us all this, said Sarlo. The idea of philanthropy was never explained to us. Being the beneficiary of such philanthropy at a pivotal point in his life would have great influence years later, when he was in the position to give back himself.

After liberation, Sarlos family stayed in Hungary and Sarlo entered the Technical University of Budapest in 1956, the year of the short-lived Hungarian revolution against Soviet control. Sarlo took part in the conflict, putting himself and his family in danger. His mother advised him to flee the country with his sister, his sisters husband and their 2-year-old son. She had remarried another survivor and they would stay in Hungary.

Its the bravest thing Ive ever heard. She said go, he said.

Sarlo carried his 2-year-old nephew during much of the escape. His backpack and a scarf from his mother that he wore while sneaking through a minefield and around electric-charged fences are now in an exhibit on refugees at the Smithsonian Museum.

They made it to Vienna, where they hired someone to smuggle Sarlos mother and husband out of Hungary, and eventually the whole family made it to America, where they were received by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. Sarlo was 18, and the very next day he was working as a draftsman at an engineering firm.

Sarlos trajectory is a real immigrant success story. He attended the University of Arizona on a full scholarship and then went to Harvard Business School. He made his first million dollars within three years, working on Wall Street. He was a founder of the first venture capital firm investing in Silicon Valley and in 1973 founded his own firm, Walden Venture Capital.

It was good timing. My whole life was good timing, he said.

His first foray into philanthropy was with the International Refugee Committee, as Sarlo identified strongly with the plight of refugees, having been one himself. He also remembered the JDC box his family received in Hungary, and he eventually joined its board as well.

There are some difficult times coming, and Im not even sure that the species can survive without some change.

For many years Sarlo remained distant from his Judaism, but the connections began to build.

In the early 1990s, he accepted an invitation from local philanthropist Warren Hellman to join a Torah study group.

In 1992, he founded the George Sarlo Foundation and asked Phyllis Cook, then endowment director of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund at the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation, to sit on his board. In time, she asked him to start a fund with the Federation.

The George Sarlo Foundation primarily funds mental health initiatives, with a major focus on addiction and early childhood trauma. Another focus, on psychedelics, brought Sarlo some notoriety after he was featured in an article in the New York Times last fall talking about funding research of psilocybin and MDMA. Given his own experiences, he has come to believe that even one guided experience with psychedelics as an adult can heal trauma or PTSD.

It was that 2012 trip to Mexico that convinced him of the healing power of psychedelics. At the recommendation of a fellow Hungarian Holocaust survivor and therapist friend, Sarlo went there specifically to take ayahuasca, a plant-medicine commonly used for rituals and healing by Indigenous people in Peru and other South American countries.

It was not a decision he made easily You want me to go where and do what? was his first response. But his friend, who had been using psychedelic therapy to treat addiction and trauma, made a persuasive argument.

In the second of two journeys with the substance, which is taken in a sacred ceremony led by a shaman, Sarlo says he had a conversation with his long-dead father, who told him that the reason he didnt say goodbye was because he thought he was clever enough to get out of any situation, and that hed return home by the time his son woke up.

Its a simple explanation and it fit, said Sarlo. Slowly, the low-grade depression I had experienced for most of my life lifted and never came back. And I decided I wanted to help give this incredible gift to as many people as I can manage.

Sarlo credits psychedelics with more than curing his depression. They also played a role in bringing him back to his Judaism.

During another psychedelic exploration, this time on psilocybin mushrooms, he had what he describes as a confrontation with God. In this particular vision, he saw God as male (though hes seen her as female too). God asked Sarlo why he had turned away, and Sarlo pointed to the Holocaust and the loss of his extended family.

The greatest gift I gave to humanity is free will, he says God told him. But then along comes Hitler. What was I supposed to do? Drown him? What about the runaway car about to hit a child? Am I supposed to save them all? You cant have it both ways.

Now thats an explanation I had heard before, but it didnt register, Sarlo said. This time, it registered.

Sarlo married and divorced twice and had two daughters. Neither wife was Jewish; he believes he subconsciously chose to marry non-Jewish women so his children wouldnt be Jewish and therefore would be safe though of course in the Holocaust that wouldnt have mattered.

In the end, both of his daughters married Jewish men. Two of his grandchildren had bnai mitzvahs and the third had a Jewish rite-of-passage ceremony.

Its hilarious, because it shows God has a sense of humor, is how Sarlo explains it.

George Sarlo had experienced this big healing within himself, a tikkun, said Rabbi Sydney Mintz, who moderated the conversation last fall at Emanu-El. He could have just done this and thought Its my own thing and Im healed, and that would have been acceptable, but he wants to share this with people; its transformed him into a teacher.

Sarlo has been working on a book to be published this summer with MAPS, the Santa Cruz-based Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, but the pandemic and the presidency of Donald Trump has made him feel a level of fear he had hoped never to feel again, he said. Hes now revising the original manuscript.

There are some difficult times coming, he said, and Im not even sure that the species can survive without some change.

But he seems to have found peace within himself. I think that because of my experiences, both in Judaism and with psychedelics, Im a much better father, he said. Im a much better grandfather and better friend. And Im better to myself.

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Profound psychedelic journeys brought peace to this Holocaust survivor - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Unlike the problems found in an early morning SAT booklet, you dont need to eat a good breakfast to comprehend the ones currently facing this country. Ignited by a global pandemic; a mental health crisis; and severe political, economic and social divisions not to mention everything else America has never been seen quite like this before. Scientists can scramble to concoct a vaccine that will combat the deadly new coronavirus, but it wont fix some of the other massive problems America faces, problems that, to be solved, will likely require people to actively change the way they think about the world and others living in it. Humans havent created a pill to cease violence or diminish economic inequality and probably never will. However, there is something that could help: psychedelic drugs.

Psychedelic drugs have a mechanism that could potentially change the way people fundamentally perceive their role in society in as few as six hoursand with the same effort it takes to dissolve a cough drop on your tongue.

Common psychedelic drugs used for recreational use, called classic hallucinogens, include LSD (acid), psilocybin (magical mushrooms), mescaline (peyote) and DMT (ayahuasca). Depending on the type of drug, psychedelics can either be smoked, eaten, brewed into teas or dissolved in the mouth. The effects these drugs have depend on a variety of factors, including the person using them as well as their setting and intentions.

Psychedelic drugs create bizarre sensations referred to as trips that users wouldnt experience in a normal state of consciousness or on any other drug. Reality becomes completely altered as time slows down, colors appear more vivid, nature and objects personify and poor judgement kicks in. To someone not on a trip, the state of the world would seem nonsensical.

As someone who has never done any form of recreational drug, let alone a hallucinogen that makes trees talk and turns reality into a kaleidoscope, Ive never quite understood the appeal of psychedelics. The closest thing Ive ever had to an LSD trip happened at age eleven, when my family and I went toYellowstone National Park and saw a few colorful hot springs and a family of bison crossing the road.

Ive always found it difficult to fully conceptualize what a trip on acid looks or feels like, or why people would choose to travel to a world resembling that of The Wiggles.

However, Netflixs new documentary, Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics, does just this, explaining the intangible psychedelic trip experience to non-users. Released in May, the documentary interviews celebrities about their experimentation with psychedelic drugs, shining a light on people who you know, love and wont believe took acid, like Ben Stiller.

Not only does Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics allow viewers to hear about wacky psychedelic trips through the narration of beloved actors and artists, it also brings their stories to life via mystical animation and campy reenactments.

One animation depicts comedian Sarah Silverman in the form of a colorful cartoon as she takes LSD for the first time, an experience that includes staring at breathing hot chocolate and hugging homeless men in a park.

Psychedelic drugs create sensations unlike anything humans have the capability of experiencing during a normal state of mind. However, the most profound thing about them is their ability to numb the ego, allowing users to feel connected to the earth and the people living on it in a way they never have before.

In the documentary Neurons to Nirvana, scientists discuss how psychedelic drugs create a deep understanding of oneself and the surrounding world, as a result of linking the lower part of the brain responsible for regulating information with its middle region. This creates an emotional interpretation based on the gathered information. The process mimics the chemical serotonin, except it overflows the brain, creating intense hallucinations, deep personal insights and the feeling of merging with the outside world.

This idea is also touched upon in The Mind, Explained, a Netflix series that unravels the complex features and abilities of the brain, which devotes a whole episode to exploring psychedelics and the impact they have on the mind. Researchers, like Dr. Roland Griffiths, say psychedelic drugs cause users to reflect inwardly, creating an effect similar to that of meditation.

Meditation is the tried and true course to investigation of nature of the mind and psychedelics is the crash course, Dr. Griffiths said. Most people will rate this experience a year afterwards as being among the most personally meaningful or spiritually significant experiences of their entire lifetime.

Spiritual awakenings resulting from psychedelic drugs have the capacity to fundamentally change the way people not only view their own life, but their contribution to the surrounding world. In Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics, esteemed chef Anthony Bourdain credits psychedelic drugs for expanding his mindset.

I think it enabled me early on to imagine another point of view, another perspective, Bourdain said about taking psychedelic drugs. It made me a better person, both creatively and every other way.

Not only can psychedelic drugs lead to spiritual growth and understanding, but researchers have started looking into how they could be used as medical treatments for mental illness and addiction. Psychedelics like LSD have the ability to create new neural pathways, a process that could shake up a snow globe and help break cycles of depression and addiction.

A study conducted at Johns Hopkins University administered magic mushrooms to 15 people looking to quit smoking. Six months later, the experiment had a success rate of 80%, an astronomical statistic when compared to other smoking cessation drugs that are only 35% effective.

Despite the positive outlook psychedelic drugs give to the future of medical treatment, and their ability to encourage humans to live more symbiotically with the environment, one roadblock stands in the way: the law. Classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, psychedelics consist of some of the most highly regulated substances in the United States.

Due to government control, not much research on psychedelic drugs exists. Stigmatized for decades, people have claimed psychedelics fall into the realm of extremely dangerous and addictive drugs. While they can certainly be abused, no substantial evidence links psychedelics with addiction or severe long-term health effects.

Users can experience bad trips, which often include disturbing hallucinations as well as panic attacks, although these will only last for about 12 hours or until the drug wears off, and can be mitigated if in the right environment. Some cases of flashbacks or prolonged psychosis due to the use of psychedelics have been reported, but these instances are rare.

My introduction to psychedelic drugs took place in the 11th grade, when a friend asked me if I would try LSD with her. As a proud graduate of the D.A.R.E. program in elementary school, my prompt answer rolled incredulously off my tongue with a hint of judgment: No.

With the exception of Mike Pence, Im just about as strait-laced as they come, the type of person who wears pants year round even in the sweltering heat. In high school, I wrote articles about how kids should swap their vape pens for less addictive highs, like studying for biology.

In Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics, comedian David Cross toys with the idea of widespread psychedelic use.

The first couple times I tripped, I really did believe the planet would be a better planet if everybody took acid once, Cross said.

The thought of legalizing psychedelics and allowing people to freely roam about public parks high off their minds on acid is, to me, about as heartwarming as the thought of zombies terrorizing my childhood home. Crosss idea is radical, uncomfortable and, much like the information surrounding psychedelic drugs, uncertain.

But even an avid rule follower like myself cant overlook the potential benefits these drugs could have, not just on individuals, but on society as a whole. Dont we all know someone who could benefit by having their ego knocked down a few pegs?

Recognizing the potential benefits of highly stigmatized drugs like psychedelics requires the suspension of judgment, the ability to hear a different opinion and a willingness to question a believed narrative and learn something new something that, ironically, could be catalyzed with a trip on acid.

Though, even if psychedelic drug use did become widespread, it would be ridiculous to say it could mend all of Americas problems. At least, in Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics, famed musician Sting seems to think so.

I dont think psychedelics are the answers to the worlds problems, but they could be a start, said Sting.

A cure to violence doesnt exist because, to put it frankly, its just not that simple. In a country divided by Republicans and Democrats, those who wear masks and those who dont, I often find myself looking for the correct answer, usually out of only two possible options. But as a country, perhaps we need to start offering choices that embrace complexity and favor the in-between.

Maybe Stings assertion holds true. Maybe psychedelic drugs could be the start to finding lasting change in our country and our world. Maybe for some, this means taking psychedelics, and for others, just changing the way they think about them.

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New Voices Say Psychedelic Drugs Could Make the World a Better Place - Study Breaks

Science-led Drugs Charity Invites AWAKN to Join Its Working Group on Psychedelics

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 16, 2020) - AWAKN Life Sciences Inc ("AWAKN"), the psychedelic healthcare company focused on the UK and European markets, announced the new partnership to coincide with Drug Science's inaugural Psychedelics Working Group meeting that took place this week on 14th July 2020.

Founded in 2010 by Professor David Nutt, Drug Science works to provide evidence for widespread application of psychedelic drugs within public health models. Its aim is to break the barriers of 50 years of medical censorship by creating a rational and enlightened approach to psychedelic research and clinical treatment.

AWAKN's Chief Medical Officer, Psychedelic Psychiatrist Dr. Ben Sessa will be the representative for the company alongside patient representatives, policy makers, scientists and healthcare professionals. The group shall be designing campaigns that will ultimately lead to the rescheduling of all psychedelic drugs for research and medical purposes.

Dr. Ben Sessa said of the new partnership, "A systematic overhaul of the current scheduling of psychedelic compounds is required so these medicines can be used to heal, not harm. We must reverse the nonsensical censorship of psychedelics so that life changing medicines and medical pathways can be realised. Working with Drug Science will exponentially assist progress."

The invite to join Drug Science comes following the recent appointment of Drug Science founder, Professor David Nutt, as chairman of AWAKN's Scientific Advisory Board.

About AWAKN Life Sciences Inc

AWAKN is a UK and European focused company that is dedicated to integrating psychedelics into mental healthcare. We work across three business lines of clinical research, therapeutic clinics and practitioner training.

More Information:

Anthony Tennyson | CEOanthony@awaknlifesciences.comawaknlifesciences.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/59911

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AWAKN Life Sciences Partners with Drug Science in the UK - Yahoo Finance

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Millennials and Gen Z alike have grown up hearing about the trippin hippies of the 1960s. For many, drugs like LSD remain a tie-dyed, kaleidoscope-filled idea most commonly associated with the decade. However, psychedelics arent as stuck in the 60s as one might think. There are still countless people experimenting with psychedelics today, and with a number of qualified experts and investigators engaging in extensive research on various hallucinogenic drugs, it is likely that it will only become that much more common.

Surprised? Intrigued? Scared? The good news is that you dont need to be a qualified scientist or even come within a 10-mile radius of the drug to learn about LSD. The 2020 Netflix documentary, Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics is a one hour and 25-minute film dedicated to exploring the world of hallucinogenic drugs. Written and directed by Donick Cary, the documentary provides its audience with a wide variety of anecdotes, opinions, tips, facts and myths about psychedelics.

With a resemblance to Bill Nye the Science Guy, the documentary successfully balances both humor and knowledge. While the use of hallucinogens is controversial (and not to mention illegal in many places around the world), Have a Good Trip attempts to give viewers unbiased information to assess the pros and cons of getting high, or tripping, on hallucinogenic drugs.

Perhaps the most alluring aspect of the documentary is the impressive array of celebrities willing to share their experiences with psychedelics. With names like Sting, Sarah Silverman, Carrie Fisher, Nick Kroll, Anthony Bourdain and A$AP Rocky, Have a Good Trip becomes engaging, personable and modern. Each star gives a personal anecdote, along with some hard-learned lessons they feel are important to pass on.

From the start of the film, it becomes apparent that there are a variety of ways that people might experience tripping. Some stories are hilarious. For example, writer and actor Nick Kroll joins the cast to recount the day he took magic mushrooms at the beach with his buddies. He explains that he knew the drugs had kicked in when his friends covered him in seaweed and he didnt care. As a matter of fact, he loved it.

I became The Kelp Monster. I couldnt even fathom wanting to remove this fing detritus from the sea, said Kroll. The next day I woke up covered in red welts because I had been covered in sea kelp for 45 minutes. Krolls story is interrupted by his own laughter and intentional self-deprecation.

The tone shifts in an interview with singer and songwriter Sting, who seems to have had a much more spiritual experience.

Sting recalls a time when he took peyote (a small species of cactus with hallucinogenic properties and a rich history of spiritual and medicinal usage) and found himself in a barn near his house assisting a pregnant cow in giving birth.

When we finally got the steer out, his mother breathed a sigh of relief, and for me, the entire universe had cracked open. It was like the meaning of life, Sting explained. I think what the psychedelic experience does is it takes the me out of me and it. You realize that everything [] is connected.

While most of the interviewees in Have a Good Trip seem to feel enlightened by, or at the very least, have enjoyed psychedelics, there is a noticeable effort to show both sides of the coin. Most of the celebrities have a metaphorical asterisk attached to their stories and the documentary makes sure to emphasize these addendums with viewers safety in mind.

For example, comedian Sarah Silverman thinks its an important rule to never drive while tripping. While this may seem obvious, she and many others give specific details of how dangerous it can be.

Silverman confesses about a time when her friend drove her home while the pair tripped on acid. We get to a stoplight [] and he has forgotten how to drive. We were thinking, How do cars work? We know how cars work?

Although there is a consistent comedic edge to the majority of the interviews, it is pieces of advice like Silvermans that provide sincerity and thoughtfulness to the film. Some tips might be as small as to never look in a mirror while tripping, while others might be as big as to never experiment with psychedelics at all.

Actor Ben Stiller describes his bad experience with LSD. Unlike Sting, Kroll and many others, Stillers piece of advice is to forgo hallucinogenic drugs altogether.

I was hoping for some sort of psychedelic revelation [] with some amazing imagery and some sort of opening into some other form of consciousness, says Stiller. It was not that at all. It was just fear and anxiety being amplified. Who needs that?

Stillers warning proves that, while viewers can certainly learn a lot by listening to the films interviewees, there isnt one consistent experience that all people have while tripping.

Along with the opinions of various stars, there are also a handful of qualified experts to give their two cents. Most notably is Dr. Charles Grob, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA. Grob is an investigator of hallucinogens as medicine and focuses much of his research on the way that psychedelic drugs can treat mental illness.

With published work, including an FDA-approved experiment helping cancer patients with reactive anxiety, Grob is one of the many scientists working to understand the way certain stigmatized drugs if used correctly may actually open a world of healing opportunities.

I think it was a shame that the prior generation of psychedelic investigators were abruptly stopped in their tracks because they were onto some very important discoveries, said Grob. He and many others hope for a future with an increase in safe and approved research of psychedelic drugs.

Whether or not you want the same future as Grob is up to you. In the meantime, Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics is the perfect documentary for those interested in learning about the world of psychedelics from a distance.

Without officially approving of those who choose to experiment with hallucinogens, the film offers an unbiased insight into psychedelic drug use. The only clear stance made by the people of the film is this whether high on acid or on life, they want you to have a good trip.

Read more here:

Netflix's 'Have a Good Trip' Takes an Unbiased Look Into Drug Use - Study Breaks

In the years leading up to the roaring 2020s, young people were once again dropping acid. Onetime Harvard psychologist Timothy Leary died almost 25 years ago, after which some of his ashes were launched into space. But from 2015 to 2018, the rate of turning on and tuning in with LSD, to paraphrase Leary, increased by more than 50 percent in the U.S.a rise perhaps fueled by a need for chemical escapism. Those results were published in the July issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence. The authors of the study suspect that many users may be self-medicating with the illegal substance to find relief from depression, anxiety and general stress over the state of the world.

LSD is used primarily to escape. And given that the worlds on fire, people might be using it as a therapeutic mechanism, says Andrew Yockey, a doctoral candidate in health education at the University of Cincinnati and lead author of the paper. Now that COVIDs hit, Id guess that use has probably tripled.

To arrive at their findings, Yockey and his colleagues turned to data collected from more than 168,000 American adults by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual, nationally representative questionnaire. They analyzed trends since 2015, partly because of the timing of the 2016 presidential election.

The researchers found that past-year LSD use increased by 56 percent over three years. The rise was especially pronounced in certain user groups, including people with college degrees (who saw a 70 percent increase) and people aged 26 to 34 (59 percent), 35 to 49 (223 percent) and 50 or older (45 percent). Younger people aged 18 to 25, on the other hand, decreased their use by 24 percent.

A 1960s-level drug-fueled counterculture revolution probably will not be sweeping the nation anytime soon; the number of Americans using LSD in a given year still remains less than 1 percent of the total adult population. LSD is a lot less popular today than it was in the late 1960s and 1970s, says Joseph Palamar, a drug researcher at NYU Langone Health, who was not involved in the new study. In the late 1970s, for example, Palamar says, 10 percent of high school seniors reported ever using LSD, compared with 6 percent today.

Palamar says the drop in use over that longer period was not necessarily driven by declining interest in psychedelics. Rather it likely occurred because there are newer drugs available, such as the psychedelic 2C-B, that have displaced LSD. However, LSD is perhaps the most popular psychedelic of all time, and its never going away, he adds.

Similar to psilocybin (the active compound in magic mushrooms), recreational LSD users may turn to the drug not only to escape but also to understand the full capacity of their minds and to improve their well-being, says David Nutt, a neuropsychopharmacologist at Imperial College London, who was not involved in the new study. LSD is often easier to acquire than psilocybin, thoughand it is also easier to carry around than a bag of dried mushrooms, he notes.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health does not ask users why they took LSD or how large of a dose they consumed. Nutt suspects that the rising popularity of microdosing could explain the overall increase in LSD use. Microdosing involves taking amounts ranging from less than one tenth to half of a trip dose of a psychedelic drugusually in an attempt to sharpen the mind, increase creativity or reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Palamar, on the other hand, hypothesizes that an uptick in LSD use is more likely related to growing participation in the dance festival scene. In a study published in April, he and his co-author found that past-year LSD used increased from 10 to 17 percent among attendees of electronic dance music parties in New York City between 2016 and 2019.

Yockey points out that the increase in LSD use does not have to be attributed to either microdosing or partying alone; both could be playing a role. Maybe people are going to a Phish concert and taking a full dose of LSD, or theyre going to work and microdosing, he says. And some may also be encouraged to use the drug after reading about studies exploring the therapeutic use of psychedelic substances. Most of this research centers around shorter-acting psilocybin, which is in current or planned clinical trials for treating depression, anxiety, anorexia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, certain severe headaches, and addiction to smoking, cocaine and alcohol. Studies involving LSD are more limited, not because the substance lacks potential as a therapeutic agent, Nutt says, but because research on it is virtually impossible in most countries. And in turn, the drug appears to carry more stigma as a result of having less research associated with its therapeutic use.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration classifies LSD as a Schedule I drug, or one defined as having a serious risk of abuse and no accepted medical value. Significant research shows that the substance is not physically addictive, however, and that LSD overdoses are generally not considered life-threatening and subside within 72 hours. In some cases, people who accidentally overdose on the drug have even reported long-term improvements, according to a study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. In 2015, for example, a 49-year old woman reportedly took 550 times the normal recreational dose of LSD because she mistook it for a line of cocaine. According to CNN, after being incapacitated for about a day, the woman said that chronic pain she had suffered in her feet and ankles, caused by Lyme disease, had significantly improved. It just shows that LSD is not that harmful drug that everyone makes it out to be, Yockey says. Of course, there are well-publicized exceptions: for example, the drug can worsen symptoms of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

Of the handful of studies that have been conducted on LSDs effects and therapeutic potential, many findings are encouraging. A 2014 paper concluded that LSD administered in a medical setting is safe and can bring lasting benefits. Meanwhile a 2015 study observed that the drug enhanced the emotion evoked from listening to musican effect the authors believed could be useful for psychedelic-assisted therapy. And a 2017 paper found that LSD, when taken in a controlled setting, increased sociability, trust and feelings of openness. The authors also reported that it reduced anxiety for two months in patients with life-threatening diseases and did not cause complications in a medical context. Similar to psilocybin, other evidence indicates that LSD could be used to alleviate depression and anxiety, treat alcohol dependence and reduce symptoms of autism.

LSD might be a panacea to anxiety and other psychological disorders, Yockey says. But as a Schedule I drug, theres just so much red tape behind that that some researchers Ive talked to who want to do LSD research say its not even worth it.

Yockey calls for a depoliticizing of LSD, which would make studies of its therapeutic potential and its effects on recreational users possible. At the same time, he says, efforts to reduce drug use should focus on more harmful substances such as methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanylall of which also seem to be on the rise. These drugs can kill you, LSD cannot, Yockey says. We need to rectify our messaging.

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Americans Increase LSD Use--and a Bleak Outlook for the World May Be to Blame - Scientific American

In 2012, I had my first psychedelic experiences, as a subject in a clinical trial at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicines Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit. I was given two doses of psilocybin spaced a month apart to treat my cancer-related depression.

During one session, deep within the world the drug evoked, I found myself inside a steel industrial space. Women were bent over long tables, working. I became aware of my animosity towards my two living siblings. A woman seated at the end of a table wearing a net cap and white clothes, turned and handed me a tall Dixie cup.

You can put that in here, she said. The cup filled itself with my bilious, sibling-directed feelings. Well put it over there. She turned and placed the cup matter-of-factly on a table at the back of the room. Then she went back to her tasks.

Whenever I speak with her, Mary Cosimano, the director of guide/facilitator services at Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, mentions the women in the chamber and the cup. My experience struck a chord. For me, the women in the chamber have become a transcendent metaphor for emotional healing.

Ive thought about having a necklace made, with the cup, as a momento, she said the last time I saw her at a conference. Have you thought about it?

Prior to their 1971 prohibition, psilocybin and LSD were administered to approximately 40,000 patients, among them people with terminal cancer, alcoholics and those suffering from depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The results of the early clinical studies were promising, and more recent research has been as well.

The treatment certainly helped me. Eight years after my sessions, researchers continue to prove the same point again and again in an ongoing effort to turn psychedelic drug therapy into FDA-sanctioned medical treatment. This cant happen soon enough.

Psychopharmacology as a field had stalled. Many patients dont respond to conventional treatment with SSRIs, says Charles Grob, M.D., professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral Sciences at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and the first modern clinical researcher to treat advanced-stage cancer patients suffering from depression and anxiety with psychedelics.

There is little hard evidence to show that long-term psychotherapy is effective in treating mental illness, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And theres the cost, which fewer and fewer insurers underwrite and ordinary people cant afford.

The failure of the psychotherapeutic process is located at its epicenter: the power disparity in the therapeutic dyad. Merely walking through the consulting room door, the patient subordinates herself to the therapist, who, by virtue of a title, is presumed to know more about her than she does herself. Transference and countertransferanceoffspring of Freudian psychoanalysisare cogs in the same moribund engine. The field will not change until the therapeutic relationship as it has been structured since the 19th century disappears.

Psychedelic drug therapy subverts the timeworn patriarchal hierarchy by creating an atmosphere of cooperation and trust rather than competition and domination. Or, to state it more bluntly, what women do in structured settings rather than what men do; women create cooperatives, men create hierarchies.

The treatment space is furnished like a lounge, with couches, chairs and table lamps. A music track plays. Two trained guides, one male, one female, are seated close by, ready to help if the emotional path becomes difficult. Guides are not therapists; instead they serve as trusted companions along a perilous, transformative spiritual journey. The sessions are led by the subject herself, by her feelings and perceptions throughout the experience and the way she processes them afterward.

The drug is a skeleton key which unlocks an interior door to places we dont generally have access to, says psychologist William A. Richards, one of the researchers who successfully treated patients with hallucinogens in the 1960s and early 1970s. Its a therapeutic accelerant.

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is rapidly proving effective in treating PTSD. MDMA is an entactogen: it touches within in a way talking does not. Michael Mithoefer, a psychiatrist in Charleston, S.C., who has worked with military personnel and first responders, conducted a phase II clinical trial using MDMA to treat PTSD.

[Treatment is] not just revisiting the traumatic experiences, he said. Its a process of affirming a different experience on all levels, including in the body.

During MDMA sessions, subjects become more emotionally flexible and able to stay the course while exploring difficult memories. Many experience an enduring change in their response to emotional triggers. Clinicians hope to see MDMA approved by the FDA for PTSD treatment as early as 2022.

Treatment with psychedelic drugs represents a paradigm shift in the approach to mental health. For me, the change in the field is embodied by the presence of the busy women along my journey. The women treated my feelings as matters of fact, not to be avoided, reviled or fled from, but so obvious and ordinary they could be poured into a Dixie cup and set aside.

The success of the cancer studies has led to investigational treatment for patients suffering from intractable depression, early-stage Alzheimers, anorexia nervosa and smoking addiction. Within a few years, the patriarchal therapeutic model could be a thing of the past, supplanted by short-term guided treatment with psychoactive drugs.

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The Power of Psychedelics - Scientific American

The acclaimed author Aldous Huxley once wrote of the use of psychedelics: "It's a very salutary thing to realize that the rather dull universe in which most of us spend most of our time is not the only universe there is. I think it's healthy that people should have this experience."

Humans have used psychoactive substances in an effort to enhance their minds for thousands of years. In recent years, a trend of entrepreneurs turning to natural psychedelic substances in small doses, known as a microdose, came to prominence. The practice of small-dose consumption is said to produce benefits like increased concentration, creativity, and mood without the psychoactive "trip" often associated with such substances.

The trend has sustained lately, with some entrepreneurs embracing larger doses to improve their job performance. But many remain in the dark on such substances and their effects.

Cannaclusive cofounder Mary Pryor says she believes the public is mostly unaware of the depth of the psychedelics space.

Mary Pryor. Mary Pryor

"We all need different things to support us," said Pryor, who provides marketing and social strategy to many ventures, including McCann and Tonic CBD. Pryor said the discussion is steeped in stigma and fears of dangers of the substance, which she said isn't helping anyone. "That's unfair, and it's not accurate," she said.

While the use of psychedelics is becoming less taboo, it remains a concern to some. Such an acknowledgement was made by Iowa Rep. Jarad Klein in 2019 when he introduced a decriminalization bill in his state. The bill was defeated in a floor vote in June.

Pryor advocates for frank discussions surrounding measured, calculated psychedelic use. Deliberate use includes Pryor's microdosing of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin ("magic mushrooms"), N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and ketamine.

Her regimen includes a microdose of LSD about every two weeks and mushrooms once a month on the weekend. DMT and ketamine can be more challenging to obtain, so using them on a schedule is difficult, she said. Pryor explored ketamine treatments but had to pause them as facilitators shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. DMT, which Pryor said was more difficult to source, is something she'll use when the opportunity presents itself, she said.

Pryor said mushrooms helped her relax, while LSD takes the pressure off and provides a jolt of energy. However, she said she didn't feel the "trip" often associated with larger-dose consumption, so she's able to get through her to-do list.

She said microdosing has also helped her cope with the loss of several family members and friends during the pandemic.

"It's helped me cope through mass grief," Pryor said of her dosing routine. She added, "It's been an extra level of comfort, to a degree."

Allison Krongard, a co-CEO and cofounder of the cannabis accessory line Her Highness, recently began microdosing using mushroom-infused chocolates. The daily regimen lasted eight weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Krongard feeling a boost in creativity and helping "unlock answers to problems," she said. She said she expected to resume the process again soon, this time combining mushrooms with her morning coffee.

Allison Krongard, left, and Laura Eisman. Allison Krongard

A fan of the results so far, Krongard acknowledged the outcome has not been what she anticipated.

"I expected boosted creativity but find myself drawn to analyzing problems when [the psilocybin] kicks in," she said.

Not everyone is on board with regimented dosing. Some, like Emojibator cofounder and CEO Joe Vela, instead prefer to use LSD and mushrooms when needed or as he said, "At least once a year, or whenever I feel it could help."

Joe Vela. Joe Vela

Vela also said he believed psychedelics improved his energy and creative levels. "Even a microdose can flip the prospect of a long, boring task into one that is exhilarating," he said.

Vela said he used various dosages of the two psychedelics to kick-start his ideation and lift any creative blocks he encountered. His first breakthrough came while he was touring the country with his band, Tweed, which coincided with the development of his company concept.

When he consumes a more substantial dosage, the pleasure-tech cofounder and musician typically takes one or two hits of LSD, or between one and three grams of psilocybin, he said. When microdosing, he combines "a finely grinded fingernail size" dose of mushrooms into his coffee, he said. Aside from those loose parameters, Vela doesn't follow a routine but hopes to have one in place at some point. That said, he's found results from varied dosages, he said.

Vela explained how his LSD and mushroom trips have left him feeling humble and connected to the earth. On one occasion, he recalled seeing what he described as an infinite feedback loop that connected all living things. "I think this has encouraged me to consider my impact on the world with business and personal decisions, for example, creating free platforms for education, like Masturbation Month," Vela said.

Like with any illegal substance, it's best to receive any psychedelics from reliable sources, be it a seller or cultivator. Doing so provides buyers with the best chances of securing quality substances.

Consumers are advised not to dive in headfirst once they've obtained their psychedelics. Instead, proponents like Her Highness' Krongard suggest the "start low; go slow" method that's been applied to consuming various drugs, both medicinal and recreational. Krongard likes the slow approach because "it's easy to get your bearings" when gradually consuming, she said.

Regardless of the approach, Vela encourages people to lose their expectations for the trip. "If you put too much pressure on generating a good business idea, it's not going to happen." Vela said. "Creativity happens most when you are relaxed and you are listening without judgment."

Emojibator's founder suggested taking the focus off of the final goal. "Instead of worrying about the finish line on a project or idea, consider asking yourself, and the people joining you, open-ended questions," he said. Some of Vela's favorites include: "How can we do this bigger?" and "What will leave a lasting impression?"

Above all else, the artist and entrepreneur implores people to stay in the moment. From there, each person must find what works best for them, he said.

"Everyone's body is different, so it might take a different combination of timing and dosage to get your desired effects," he added.

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How entrepreneurs microdose on psychedelics to spur new ...

Pure Extract Technologies Inc. (Pure Extracts) represents a differentiated growth opportunity that has attractive leverage to both the cannabis extraction and the psychedelics markets. We have a favorable outlook on how the business is approaching each of these markets and find this to be significant.

While most companies are focused on the cultivation and sale of cannabis and psychedelic products, Pure Extracts is focused on extracting the most valuable molecules from each substance. The margins that are associated with this facet of the business are high which we view as an attractive aspect of the story.

Pure Extracts has plans to submit its Dealers License application to Health Canada. The granting of the license would allow the Company to extract psilocybin for businesses that need the extract to conduct clinical trials. The current market price of extracted psilocybin is massive and it is not expected to decline anytime soon.

A Differentiated Growth Story to be Aware of

Another of the reasons we are excited about Pure Extracts is the diversity of the business. From cannabis vapes, tinctures and edibles to psilocybin, the Company is focused on extracting and selling key THC and CBD input products to other businesses. Pure Extracts is also immersed in the functional mushroom market and has positioned itself to become the premier commercialization and manufacturing partner for both functional and psychedelic firms.

During the last decade, there has been a substantial rise in demand for functional mushroom products and the industry has benefited from an increase in the number of people that are focused on the natural health market. Most functional mushroom products are powdered, and this format limits the amount of active ingredients that can be consumed. Through the extraction process, Pure Extracts can create a concentrated dose of active ingredients that can be accurately measured and consistently manufactured, which will open-up new markets with new consumers. By offering a differentiated process, the Company will be able to stand out from the competition and we expect this to play an important role in the success of the product.

Forms Strategic Relationship to Support Growth

One of the most exciting aspects of the Pure Extracts story is related to the consulting agreement that it has with Dr. Alexander MacGregor, Founder & CEO of Transpharm Canada Inc., the parent company of the Toronto Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology. Through the relationship, Pure Extracts has access to Transpharms fully compliant Health Canada licensed GMP manufacturing and testing facility.

The agreement accelerates Pure Extracts ability to formulate and develop new psychedelic therapies and thereby serve as the commercialization engine for extracting psychedelics for its partner companies. We believe that this will be a key driver of shareholder value over the long term.

As the Company works on obtaining a Dealers License from Health Canada, Pure Extracts will initially sell functional mushroom products and is applying to Health Canada for a Natural Health Products (NHP) site licence. Once the Company is granted the license, it will be able to buy, sell, test and produce psychedelics within an EU Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) environment. The management team has been highly focused on forming strategic partnerships prior to its being granted a Dealers License and has signed several NDAs with functional product firms to explore joint development strategies.

In the Middle of a Major Transition

Pure Extracts is in the middle of a major transition and the expansion into the psychedelic market is an extension of its extraction capabilities. Going forward, the Company will continue to be laser focused on rapidly scaling its hemp and cannabis extraction business and we will monitor how the management team is able to execute on this.

So far, Pure Extracts has been contacted by several functional and psychedelic mushroom companies to formulate and commercialize biomass for them. We believe that there will be strong initial demand for the Companys services and will monitor how this side of the business is able to ramp up.

One of the additional reasons we are excited about Pure Extracts is due to the expectations that are associated with their operations. The Company expects the functional mushroom extraction business to ramp up later this year. The functional mushroom business will help Pure Extracts learn more about the different types of mushroom species and allow it to more accurately formulate them into other compounds that will ultimately make the psychedelics more effective.

An Opportunity that is on our Radar

Pure Extracts will be able to generate revenue on the cannabis side of the business as it continues to execute on the psychedelic and functional mushroom vertical. Over the long term, we expect the business to find substantial synergies between the cannabis and the psychedelic and functional mushroom divisions.

Later this Fall, Pure Extracts plans to complete a go-public transaction and this is an opportunity that we are closely following. When compared to other businesses that are focused on the psychedelic market, we believe that Pure Extracts represents a differentiated opportunity that has substantial potential catalysts for growth.

If you are interested in learning more about how Pure Extracts plans to disrupt the psychedelic industry, please send an email to support@mushroomstocks.com to be added to our distribution list.

Authored ByAnthony Varrell

Anthony Varrell is Managing Director of StoneBridge Partners LLC. SBP continues to drive market awareness for leading firms in the cannabis industry throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Continued here:

Pure Extracts Has Significant Leverage To Both The Cannabis and Psychedelic Sectors - Technical420 - Technical420

Ashraf Khalil, The Associated Press Published 1:30 p.m. ET July 13, 2020

Denver voters decriminalized "magic mushrooms" in a historic vote. USA TODAY

WASHINGTON The posters started blanketing light posts just a few weeks after the city entered what would be a monthslong stay-at-home order. Vividly colored and bearing a three-headed mushroom, they asked Washingtonians to "reform laws for plant and fungi medicines"by making natural psychedelics "the lowest level police enforcement priority."

It was the start of an underdog campaign that just managed a truly improbable political feat: a successful grassroots petition drive conducted entirely under pandemic lockdown conditions.

Last week, activists presented more than 36,000 signatures to the Board of Elections. If the signatures hold up through the verification process, voters in the nations capital will face a November ballot initiative that would decriminalize psilocybin "magic"mushrooms and other natural psychedelics like mescaline.

Magic mushrooms for better health?: Psychedelic drugs are having a moment across US

If passed, it would be the first of its kind for an Eastern city; Denver becamethe first U.S. city to pass such an initiativein May 2019, with the California cities of Oakland and Santa Cruz following suit. It would also likely face efforts in Congress to overturn or block its implementation.

Activists are deemphasizing the recreational aspects of the drugs, focusing on the therapeutic and medical benefits as treatment for depression, trauma and addiction.

D.C. could really lead the way on this, said campaign manager Melissa Lavasani. You shouldnt bear the repercussions of the drug war while you are healing yourself.

Just getting on the ballot required an innovative change in normal grassroots signature-gathering tactics and an assist from the D.C. Council. Activists had planned to launch their campaign in March with traditional door-to-door canvassing and street-corner volunteers. But they decided to hold off asthe coronavirusmade inroads and the local infection numbers climbed. By April, it became clear the lockdown would last months and they decided to proceed anyway.

They briefly tried some door-to-door in the Capitol Hill neighborhood but found families under virus lockdown werent receptive to a stranger at the door with a clipboard. So they shifted tactics and appealed to the D.C. Council for help. The council, as part of a larger coronavirus relief package, approved a landmark set of changes allowing residents to download a copy of the petition, sign it and submit a picture of the signed paper.

Volunteers set up signature booths outside grocery stores, at polling stations on the day of Washingtons primary election and even at the site of the citys ongoingprotests over systemic racism and police brutality.

Organizers also mailed copies of the petition and detailed packages centering around Lavasanis family and her story to about 220,000 households. A D.C. government employee and a mother of two, she says she successfully treated post-partum depression that included suicidal thoughts with controlled doses of psilocybin mushrooms and another natural psychedelic called ayahuasca.

"I started micro-dosing with psilocybin and within a matter of days I felt like myself again,"she said. "It was really scary to know that if anybody found out I was doing this, I would lose everything."

Its a message that Lavasani believes will resonate in a nation reeling under the psychological burdens of an ongoing pandemic, nationwide protests over racial injustice and what promises to be the most divisive presidential election in living memory.

Psychedelic drug decriminalization: Oakland in California decriminalizes magic mushrooms and peyote

"Were going to be in rough shape when we get through this, and were going to need all the help we can get,"she said.

Its also a message that had gained a foothold within mainstream scientific circles. A growing body of work is looking at the effects of natural psychedelics to treat depression, trauma and addiction. Last year, Johns Hopkins University opened theCenter for Psychedelic and Consciousness Researchwith plans to study the effects of psychedelics on ailments including anorexia and Alzheimers disease.

In an article, center director Roland Griffiths called natural psychedelics "a fascinating class of compounds"that can "produce a unique and profound change of consciousness over the course of just several hours."

The proposed D.C. ballot initiative would apply to psilocybin mushrooms, iboga, mescaline and ayuhuasca but not to peyote or to human-made psychedelics like LSD. It would instruct the Metropolitan Police Department to treat such substances as a low priority. If successful, Lavasani said she envisions patients being able to consume such substances in controlled circumstances and in consultation with doctors or therapists.

But even if it passes, Lavasani acknowledges it will probably be blocked by Congress, which retains the right to alter or even overturn D.C. laws. When a 2014 ballot initiative approved legalizing marijuana use, Congress stepped in and prohibited the district government from spending any funds or resources on developing a regulatory or taxation system for marijuana sales. The result has been athriving gift-economy gray marketwhere customers and dealers maintain the thin pretense theyre buying something else like a T-shirt and receiving the marijuana as a gift.

Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris, who sponsored the budget rider that blocked the 2014 marijuana initiative, has indicated he plans to do the same if this new initiative passes. A spokesman for Harris declined to comment further on the issue. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washingtons nonvoting delegate in the House of Representatives, has vowed to oppose any such effort.

"We will continue to fight any and all attempts to overturn D.C. laws, regardless of the policy, as D.C. has a right to self-government,"Norton, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Lavasani said she would rather not see such psychedelics simply added to that gray-market mix. Shes hoping for an upcoming "blue wave"in November elections that would shift the Senate to Democratic hands and smooth the path of Washingtons quest for statehood. The Democratic-controlled House approveda landmark D.C. statehood billin June, but it faces insurmountable opposition in the Republican-held Senate.

For now, Lavasani said she plans a citywide educational initiative before the November vote. Shes counting on the idea that ordinary voters, far from the psychedelic heyday of the 1960s, no longer regard natural psychedelics with the kind of stigma attached to marijuana and other drugs.

"Theres more of a blank slate compared to cannabis,"she said. "A lot of people have a real issue with weed."

South Carolina: A teen ate mushrooms and went 'wild' before being shot by friend's father, witnesses say

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4 Penny Stocks To Watch Right Now

Theres a lot of excitement in the stock market today and penny stocks are falling into place. On Tuesday, investors got behind big vaccine news from Moderna. The companys experimental vaccine for COVID-19 showed it was safe and provoked immune responses in all healthy volunteers. This is in an ongoing early-stage study which translated to bullish sentiment after the close on July 14th.

This is an essential building block that is needed to move forward with the trials that could actually determine whether the vaccine does protect against infection, said Dr. Lisa Jackson of the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle. She led the study.

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What will unfold is yet to be seen and Phase 1, though early in development is an obvious good first step. Weve come to learn from penny stocks that later phases are the make or break. Over the last year alone, countless penny stocks have fallen victim to missing late-stage endpoints.

Hopefully, that wont be the case for Moderna and of course, the sentiment around this big development. In light of the recent bullishness in the stock market, there are a few cheap stocks making bigger moves this month. Will they be on your watch list this week?

New Wave Holdings Corp. (CSE: SPOR) has begun seeing a bit more activity this month. The company is focused on the emerging psychedelics sector. Now, this industry has been closely compared to the emergence of cannabis. In light of that, there could be volatility ahead. Regardless of that fact, new science is targeting psychedelic treatment and even micro-dosing as a means to address certain nervous system issues.

New Wave is building a globally focused, diversified business to take first-mover status in the blooming psychedelics & mind medicine industry. The company has positioned itself to benefit from current legal psychedelics use as well as creating functional mushroom products for addressing the growing interest in nutritional supplements. Last month, the company announced that it will support the Delos Psyche Research Group.

The group is conducting a study designed to determine the impact of ingesting small amounts of hallucinogenic or psychedelic substances for medicinal or therapeutic purposes. New Wave has further positioned itself to benefit from current legal psychedelics use as well as creating functional mushroom products for addressing the growing interest in nutritional supplements. In light of this, the company also brought on Dr. Carolyn Myers, Ph.D. as VP Of Commerical Development. Why could this be important for the company?

Aside from stints at leading biotech companies or organizations acquired by leading biotechs, Myers has also led the launch of over 20 brand products. Under Dr. Myers leadership, New Wave will continue to advance our R&D portfolio with the goal of developing industry partnerships as well as developing and commercializing therapies using psychedelic compounds such as ketamine, psilocybin and MDMA, said Trumbull Fisher, President of New Wave.

Shares of cannabis stocks are taking off this week. More positive news has come out from the industry recently pointing to potential cannabis legalization. Senator Ed Markey, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts explained that if his party takes the Senate majority this year, they will move very quickly to legalize weed.

[Read More] Penny Stocks To Watch If EdTech Is Your Focus In July

And I know [Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)] has moved in that direction, hell be the majority leader in January. I think well have votes to just move it, and the science has moved there, Markey explained in a Young Turks podcast.

So it makes sense that some marijuana penny stocks have started to come back to life. One of the companies weve followed recently has been Hexo Corp (HEXO Stock Report). The company has made headlines this month already by expanding its global sales footprint.

Hexo announced the launch of medical cannabis products in Israel. This is through a 24-month agreement with Israeli medical cannabis company, Breath of Life International Ltd. According to the company, HEXO completed the first shipment of 493 kilograms even amid coronavirus restrictions, internationally.

Immutep Limited(IMMP Stock Report) got off to a running start on Wednesday. IMMP stock started to climb after hours on Tuesday following its latest update. The company received a patent for its IMP701 antibody. This new US patent regards embodiments of LAG525, a humanized form of Immuteps IMP701 antibody. It was out-licensed to Novartis AG.

LAG525is being evaluated in 5 Phase 1 and/or Phase 2 trials with Novartis spartalizumab to treat certain cancers. While it isnt COVID News, it is something to consider when the world gets back to focusing on other biotech indications. Other things to keep in mind with Immutep are its current trials.

Late last month the company announced the completion of recruitment for Part A of its Phase 2 TACTI-002 study. TACTI-002 is being conducted in collaboration with Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ and is evaluating the combination of Immuteps lead product candidate, IMP321 with MSDs KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab). Aside from this recent news, Wednesday marked the first time IMMP stock broke above a major technical level.

During early morning trading, shares reached highs of $1.80. Considering the fact that IMMP closed at $1.10, that was a big jump. The risk here is that theres a pullback in the market due to profit-taking off of a more than 50% gap up. So if IMMP is on your list of penny stocks right now, this is something to keep in mind. Can shares hold support at the 200 Day Moving average or is another slide in the works?

In actual COVID news today, Genetic Technologies (GENE Stock Report) came out with a late-breaking update on Wednesday. The company aims to produce, at scale, a COVID test that could predict whether a person is at risk of severe COVID-19 if infected.

The company said it completed the design and request for the initial production of the SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) panel. That allows for the processing of the polygenic risk test portion of the COVID-19 Severity Risk Test. Genetic Technologies order this from Thermo Fisher Scientific and has confirmed with major manufacturers that the COVID-19 Severity Risk Test is capable of being rolled out on a large scale.

We see ourselves playing a very important part in responding to COVID-19 and were moving quickly to mobilise our partners to develop the right tools and technology to manage this pandemic, said Genetic Technologies Chief Executive Officer Dr George Muchnicki . We believe that the COVID-19 Severity Risk Test has the potential to play a critical role in how companies, governments and entire countries understand and manage preventative protocols moving forward.

Similar to IMMP, GENE stock has jumped big on Wednesday. But with less than 15 million shares outstanding, it will be interesting to see if shares manage to keep the current trend. Obviously lower float penny stocks can become increasingly volatile. However, considering this recent move, it is worth mentioning the action from earlier in the year. At that time GENE jumped from around $2 to highs of $5.36. That also came during the course of just a few days (before it came crashing back down).

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Can You Make Money With Penny Stocks? 4 To Watch This Week - Penny Stocks

Have you been obsessively cleaning obscure surfaces in your home over and over? How about pacing in circles for hours while muttering to yourself? Or, worst of all, are you doomscrolling until your neck is kinkier than an ex-president on a private island? The pandemic is causing a spike in mental health problems, which is probably no surprise to any of you by now. Isolation, boredom, and fear all create a perfect recipe for folks to go all The Shining. Can psychedelics help people cope?

According to an avalanche of research, the answer seems to be a big yes. While most psychedelics are still illegal, this could change in the next few years. Instead of tripping balls in your buddys basement, youll be able to astral project from the comfort of a luxury spa. And if your trip suddenly takes a dark turn, theres a nice doctor or nurse right there to chill your vibes. We take a look at how the psychedelics can help with the pandemic blues.

If youre feeling stir-crazy like old Jackie here, youre not the only one. The pandemic and the policies required to contain it could lead to a mental health crisis at exactly the time when the medical establishment is least equipped to handle it, according to numerous studies (1,2,3).

Rates of anxiety, depression and suicide have been trending upward in the U.S. for decades, or about since the time reality TV was invented. The pandemic seems to be accelerating these trends and medical professionals worry current treatment options may not be up to the challenge.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs for short, are the most common antidepressant currently. Though they help many, they have lots of super depressing side-effects like no boners and getting fat, plus they dont work at all for many people and take like a whole sporting season to kick in.

Many types of psychedelics are recognized as breakthrough therapies by the FDA for treating anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders. Maybe if the government hadnt banned all human research on psychedelics for half a century then we wouldnt all be quite so messed up in the head.

The active ingredient in magic mushrooms is psilocybin, and even science agrees these little fungi have pretty stupendous healing potential. If you hate treatment-resistant depression, major depressive disorder or anxiety disorders, then you should love all the research showing how much psilocybin can help with these issues.

Its estimated that 88,000 Americans die annually from alcohol-related causes, but strange as it may sound, LSD could help prevent some of these deaths. Research shows that when combined with psychotherapy, LSD is effective at treating alcoholism, and no, were not tripping.

Ayahuasca is a traditional Amazonian psychedelic made by brewing together DMT-rich leaves with vines that amplify the psychedelic chemicals effects. This cup of tea may not taste good the understatement of the century but a growing body of research supports that it is effective at treating substance-abuse disorders when combined with psychotherapy.

MDMA, aka Molly, was as an essential part of every rave bunny's go-bag as candy jewelry, platform shoes, tutus and a good water bottle. The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychic Studies, or MAPS, pioneered modern psychedelic research and has focused its efforts recently on looking into how MDMA-assisted psychotherapy can help treat PTSD, which the FDA has recognized as a breakthrough therapy.

Ketamine isnt a traditional psychedelic like mushrooms or LSD, but it will literally separate your consciousness from your body like in some kind of B-movie. However, its shown to help those suffering from some forms of depression and is the only drug on the list that is currently legal and available for patients in all 50 states.

Psychedelics are powerful substances best taken under the guidance of qualified professionals, especially during times of high stress like right frigging now. Some mental health professionals offer psychedelic integration therapy for ketamine and even other psychedelics under the table, but we recommend trying to enroll in a legit clinical trial or starting with the psychotherapy part of the healing process on its own.

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By Adriana de Barros

Starting his tattoo career in 1993, Mike Cole was surprisingly using only black-and-gray inks and not the bright colors that we have become accustomed to seeing in his current work. From tattooing to painting to 3D printed furniture, Cole is producing mind-blowing alternate-reality (computerized, maze-looking) compositions. Perhaps he is connecting to the isometric universes of aliens. Or possibly looking back to Leonardo da Vincis advanced studies or even further back to the mysterious pyramids of Egypt. If Cole was gifted with immorality there is so much he would explore beyond tattooingmechanical engineering, architecture and, of course, some research uncovering many of the worlds enigmas. Youve seen his tattoos plenty of times, but do you know much about the person behind the art? Probably not. There isnt a lot of information about Cole out in the world, so we tracked him down at the 2020 California Golden State Tattoo Expo to find out a little more.

Mike Cole: A day in the life of me, that can vary depending on what mood Im in. Sometimes, Ill paint non-stop for 18 hours a day until a painting is finished, or Ill be completely focused on my health, fasting and riding my bike. On average, Im an obsessive person with everything I do. So if I want to do something, Im very obsessive with it. I think it speaks in the work.

Yeah, Im an introvert. Mostly introverted, sometimes I can be social but its very draining. I like to be private, the worlds a scary place. People are a bit scary to me at times because everybodys trying to find their way and nobody has got it figured out, so it gets a little scary. I also like to stay focused with my work and my family, therefore I keep to myself.

Yeah, to focus my mind. Its hard in this kind of environment; everything is coming at you a million miles an hour. So when you quiet things down (and youre at home), its easier to focus.

Yeah, aptitude can be genetic. My father was an engineer. I think certain brains have an aptitude for mechanical things, and certain brains are poets, and others are this or that. But my art is definitely very engineered based, I think it has a lot to do with him. I would watch the way he built and designed thingsthe schematics and the tools that I was given when I was a little kidbecause he was often busy doing something in his little mad scientist lab. Hed be enthralled in his work and that action probably influenced me to be the same way. He would give me tools to play with as he was busy with his [own] stuff.

My mom was a numbers lady, she worked for a bank. She was a "her way or the highway type of woman. Disciplined and critical, she gave me my inner critic. I have got to give her credit for that! I have that harsh inner voice that is constantly criticizing myself: You can do it better, you can do it better, you can do it better, yeah. Its not always a good thing because then you can get a bit too obsessed that it affects you, requiring you to bring oneself back [to the realization] that this is good enough. Give yourself a pat on the back. Youve got to give yourself... whats the word?

Yes, a little positive reinforcement. Or else that stuff can drive you crazy. One has to learn how to relax and shut off the mind. Thats my biggest struggle. Shutting my mind down has been one of my life-long struggles, especially after a car accident.

Yeah. I had actual visuals and hallucinations after that [accident], it took a long time to come back down to earth.

I began using Psychedelics about 10 years after the accident, and that was what helped me see that I am not my mind. That is the thing that really cracked the egg and showed me that Im not the chatter-in-the-thoughts, Im the watcher. Thats what psychedelics helped me with.

Doctors were sticking me on Paxil when I had this injury, and my body was sick and I didnt know how to eat correctly. I was all over the place with Paxil. Psychedelics brought me back to the center. Like, Oh, its a completely true medicine. It really changed my life!

As fast as society is, youve got all these legal chemicals that are Starbucks, but all the legal addictive stimulants: salts, sugars... Theyre designed to keep your mind going. Food is drugs. The more pollutants you give it, the more ramped up it is, and the more chatter. Also, exercise has been a huge thing for me.

Lots of cardio, keeping the body moving, stretching, getting the heart rate uppeaceful stuff. You dont have to lift 600 pounds to be up [active].

Yes, I could show the pre-accident and pre-psychedelic period. I have three different distinguishing phases of my work [pre-accident, post-accident and psychedelics]. I analyze myself constantly. If I look back its like, Whoa, thats a big, big jump and I owe it to psychedelics and the accident. When you get slingshot out of your body like that, when you hit a windshield going 50-miles-an-hour and remember seeing your head poke through it and the glass cracking out of the corner of your eye and your shoulder coming out of the socket and hearing all the crunch and crash, and not losing consciousness and then going to sleep for 15 minutes with a major concussion (which seems like four hours). Youre waking up, youre tripping, youre tripping without drugs. Your brain is scrambled.

Yeah, its crazy! We went off the side of a mountain. I was looking up into the sky. My truck was sitting on a tree pointing straight up in the air. My kids screaming and crying because he was in the car with me. And then Im kicking doors open trying to get him out of there. Yelling at the guy, What the F are you doing man? Why are you driving so fast in the snow? And then somebody yelling that, Oh, settle down sir, it was just an accident. Im like, Well, you know this guy. It was his fault, he caused all that pain, which took me 10 years since that day to recover. I had an opioid addiction, most people that are close to me know and Im sure a lot of people in the industry know it, too. And the psychedelics squashed that, because youre trying to medicate, youre trying to... you dont how to function, relationships and things are crumbling around you, your brain is scrambled from this trauma and youre trying to find anything that will ease it: psychologists, psychotherapists and Paxil. I was getting anxiety attacks in public and throwing up. It was rough.

When I decided to try mushrooms, it was one of the most terrifying and freeing experiences I have ever had. It made me realize my ego and the control on my mind; the chaotic state from all that trauma (PTSD), the mind trying to hold on like its almost stuck in a survival phase. Like, Holy crap, we just got hit by a car! Its always in defense mode and it never lets go until you take one of those compounds and it goes, Oh, Im not my mind.

Youre constantly in that state.

Theyre connected to the Isometric stuff. Like I see that stuff in everything still. When I look at a surface, I see it. Its almost like I am in a computer-generated reality and I have to say, Well, okay, so if Ive taken these compounds and things look pixelated and Im seeing these graphs and grids and formulas written over top of everything, [i.e.] I am seeing the projection of things and other people see the same kind of stuff, but not all the time. Then, everything is based on Isometric graphs and Fibonacci sequences, and you can see it.

Leonardo da Vinci had it figured out. M.C. Escher had it figured out. The Egyptians had it figured out. Those pyramids are power stations, [Laughing] theyre not dunes. Those little channels running under the water like the Tesla tower. Teslas electricity is dependent on water veins in the ground to create that crazy generation of power, and the Egyptians were doing the same thing. The Nile used to run way closer and it wasIm probably quoting a documentary hereit makes engineering sense! It makes complete sense. We know how to do free power. We shouldnt be using nuclear stuff and ruining the ozone and creating a crazy climate. The Earth naturally swings, climate change is normal, but were making it worse. We would probably be able to handle that swing, but the way were burning things and wrecking shit, its going to be too hot.

Josh's bodysuit by Mike Cole.

Josh was coming to me for a few years, probably a good three to four years. I worked on him and all his stuff was drawn on, using some stencils that I would draw over the graph, but a lot of it was free-flowing, freehanded with a marker onto his muscles. Josh is into fitness and has distinct anatomy with a defined stomach and nice serratus-lateral muscle, which I could use to just sculpt my separate to it. I love, love, love doing people that are carved up or whatever. If the human body is beautiful in general, like the anatomy is, thats what you want to construct a tattoo around. I think the human body is an amazing piece of work.

Ive heard the Iron Man thing.

Very robotic! Hes getting a suit, a superhuman, alien intelligence suit thats being mapped over his body. Im a nerd! I love all the Aliens movies, Avatar. I love all sci-fi stuff. So thats definitely influenced my work for sure.

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The Accident, Psychedelics and Tattooing - INKED

Theres More To Sin Penny Stocks Than Cigarettes & Beer

Ever hear of vice penny stocks or sin stocks? If you havent, thats ok because Im going to tell you the answer to the question, what are sin stocks? These are shares of companies that are in certain industries that deal with our daily vices. Consider things like alcohol, cannabis, gambling, tobacco, and now, magic mushrooms. As our vices evolve, so does the industry. In light of tech taking a big part of the stock markets recent turnaround, where do sin stocks stack up?

Lets look at one of the popular Sin ETFs, AdvisorShares Vice ETF (ACT Report). Since late-March, the ETF has bounced back from a low of $16.16 to current prices around $23. Not a bad move and one in line with the overall markets breakout move. However, for those less inclined to focus on a broad basket of companies, there are other ways to add a little Sin to your watch list.

[Read More] A Blooming Opportunity For Investors To Cash In On Mushroom Stocks

But how do you know which stocks to watch? Honestly, it starts with simple research. You should also have an understanding of certain industries that your watch list stocks are in. Things like alcohol and tobacco are much more established sectors than cannabis or psychedelics. In light of that, there could be more risk to take into consideration in certain circumstances. With this in mind, lets take a look at some sin penny stocks to watch this month.

New Wave Holdings Corp. (CSE: SPOR) is focused on the emerging psychedelics sector. Not only that, it has taken its understanding of what is known as mycologicals. Much like how the first movers of CBD and non-psychoactive cannabis products established market dominance early on, New Wave is taking up a similar approach. Its Key Business Units include:New Wave Recreational, New Wave Mental Health, and New Wave Natural.

Where early investors in cannabis represented something more closely to the customers buying it, mushroom stocks are seeing a surge of notable investors come in early. Shark Tank investor Mr. Wonderful Kevin OLeary and Canopy Growth Corp. CEO Bruce Linton were some of the early investors in the first mushroom stock IPO. Peter Thiel, the multi-billionaire investor, and Paypal co-founder, put big money bets into the industry. Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz has also been vocal about the psychedelic medicine space.

New Wave is building a globally focused, diversified business to take first-mover status in the blooming psychedelics & mind medicine industry. The company has positioned itself to benefit from current legal psychedelics use as well as creating functional mushroom products for addressing the growing interest in nutritional supplements. Last month, the company announced that it will support the Delos Psyche Research Group.

The group is conducting a study designed to determine the impact of ingesting small amounts of hallucinogenic or psychedelic substances for medicinal or therapeutic purposes. These are things like lysergic acid diethylamide or LSD. Furthermore, the company also brought on Dr.Carolyn Myers, Ph.D as VP Of Commercial Development. She will further the R&D around psychedelic compounds, including psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, and ketamine.

What other vices can you think of? Leisure activities maybe? While these may not necessarily be a Sin, theres something to be said about indulging in leisure activities. Drive Shack Inc. (DS Stock Report)is an owner and operator of golf-related leisure and entertainment businesses. If youre familiar with Top Golf, the model appears similar.

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The company has locations in Orlando, West Palm Beach, Raleigh, and Richmond and caters to the adult crowd. Beer specials, food specials, entertainment specials and the like are part of the companys business model. Shares of DS stock surged in May and continued to new June highs of $3.05.

There hasnt been much of any news to speak of. However, entertainment venues and COVID are pretty closely tied. What I mean by this is that news of the economy reopening could have acted as its own catalyst for companies like Drive Shack. But if you look at the companys Twitter feed, youll see it making updates.

Over the last month or so, Drive Shack tweeted that it reopened multiple locations. These included Raleigh as of 6/26 and new hours at West Palm. The company made another tweet on this location in particular as well: UPDATE: WEST PALM BEACH CURFEW HAS BEEN LIFTED AND OUR NORMAL OPERATING HOURS WILL RESUME.

With this weeks news of a promising vaccine candidate, this could be sentiment related to a broader economic reopening. In a recently filed 13G/A on July 10th, it shows BlackRock, Inc. holding 1,434,617 shares or about 2.1% of the share class.

Shares of Hexo Corp. (HEXO Stock Report) has been one of the slow and steady marijuana penny stocks to watch recently. While thereve been sporadic jumps in the stock, overall, the trend has followed along with HEXO stocks 50 Day Moving Average Line (yellow line on chart).

On Thursday, Hexo Corp was back in rally mode. This came flowing its latest news on the international stage. The company announced the launch of medical cannabis products in Israel. This is through a 24-month agreement with Israeli medical cannabis company, Breath of Life International Ltd. According to the company, HEXO completed the first shipment of 493 kilograms even amid coronavirus restrictions, internationally.

We are proud to introduce HEXOs premium indoor medical cannabis products into the Israeli market, said Hugo Goldman, BOLs CFO and interim CEO. The products are already receiving positive feedback from both patients and retailers, and we are looking forward to continuing to expand our strategic relationship with HEXO in Israel.

Despite a slow move, you cant disagree with the current trend in HEXO stock for right now. Since mid-May, shares have steadily climbed (with a few 1-day jumps) in line with that 50DMA line. Will this remain the case for July or could this latest update make for an interesting month? Drop a comment below and leave your thoughts on HEXO.

Acreage Holdings Inc. (ACRG Stock Report)(ACRGF) is another one of the pot penny stocks to watch right now. Despite lighter volume than we normally see in popular penny stocks, ACRG stock started climbing on Friday. The company is a multi-state operator cultivating, processing, distributing, and retailing cannabis. Its geographic segments include New England, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, West, and South.

This week, Acreage stock gained attention after the companys late-breaking news on July 9th. Acreage announced that the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission granted the company provisional licenses for the retail sale of adult-use cannabis in Worcester and Shrewsbury.

Acreage will add adult-use retail sales to its existing The Botanist dispensary in Worcester, MA. That opened as a medical marijuana treatment center in 2018. It will open a new The Botanist dispensary in Shrewsbury, MA.

[Read More] Esports Penny Stocks Show Immunity To Coronavirus

Similar to Hexo, Acreage has traded around its 50DMA while there hasnt been a clear support/resistance set, ACRG stock continues to gravitate back to that level. Will the news help shed a more positive light on the sin penny stock?

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Are These Penny Stocks Your Vice? 'Sin Stocks' To Watch In July - Penny Stocks

When it to effectiveness and quality of psychedelics products , we have a variety of outstanding and top level list of them. To Begin with , the first experience is typical of vaporizedDMT, while the second is 5-MeO-DMT. Though they share a name and there are some parallels in their brief and very intense effects the two are worlds apart. Even in their chemical structures, 5-MeO-DMT is about as different from DMT aspsilocybinis. In addition, both have been in use in the traditional South American shamanic practices forthousands of years, but in different regions and to different ends. The differences between their subjective effects cant be overstated, so its important to understand what each one offersand which is right for an individual seeking psychedelic treatment.

One of the most common reactions to smoking DMT the first time is utter astonishment, for no amount of experience on the more popular 20th century psychedelics (LSD, Ecstacy, magic mushrooms, etc.) can really prepare one for the magical reality revealed by DMT or 5-MeO-DMT. So powerful is the truth of this altered reality that users can actually sometimes experience a psycho-spirtual death-and-rebirth, and when returned humbled and awe-struck to their bodily form, discover their lives have been irreversibly changed.

Buy LSD online cheap. Apsychedelicexperience (or trip) is a temporary altered state of consciousness induced by the consumption ofpsychedelicdrugs (such as mescaline, LSD, psilocybin, and DMT). For example, the term acid trip refers topsychedelic experiences brought on by the use ofLSD

Buy ebogaine online.The classical serotonergicpsychedelicsLSD, psilocybin, mescaline are not known tocause brain damageand are regarded as non-addictive. Clinical studiesdonot suggest thatpsychedelicscauselong-term mental health problems

Here you are safe toBuy ketamine online. Althoughpsychedelicscan induce temporary confusion and emotional turmoil, hospitalisations and serious injuries are extremely rare. Overallpsychedelicsare not particularlydangerouswhen compared with other common activities.

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Buy Psychedelics Online | Buy Research Chemicals ...

In 2004, Francis Crick, one of the 20th centurys greatest scientific minds, died of colon cancer. Crick was best known for describing the structure of DNA in the 1950s with collaborator James Watson, but over the last couple of decades of his life his research focused on perhaps the biggest scientific question of them all: how does our brain generate what we consider to be consciousness?

The last paper Crick ever penned homed in on a small and still relatively mysterious brain region called the claustrum. Co-authored with Christof Koch, Crick was reportedly still editing the manuscript in hospital the day he died. Subsequently published in 2005, the paper presented a novel hypothesis - the claustrum may be key to our experience of consciousness, unifying and co-ordinating disparate brain areas to help generate our singular experience.

The claustrum is a thin, irregular, sheet-like neuronal structure hidden beneath the inner surface of the neocortex in the general region of the insula, wrote Crick and Koch in the landmark paper. Its function is enigmatic. Its anatomy is quite remarkable in that it receives input from almost all regions of cortex and projects back to almost all regions of cortex.

The extraordinarily unique way the claustrum connects different brain regions fascinated Crick. While some researchers had previously suggested the claustrum could potentially be the brains epicenter of consciousness, Crick and Koch presented a different analogy to describe the role of this mysterious brain region.

We think that a more appropriate analogy for the claustrum is that of a conductor coordinating a group of players in the orchestra, the various cortical regions, the pair wrote. Without the conductor, the players can still play but they fall increasingly out of synchrony with each other. The result is a cacophony of sounds.

A new study, published in the journal Current Biology, is describing in unprecedented detail how the claustrum communicates with other brain regions. The project, an international collaboration between researchers in Sweden and Singapore, somewhat backs up Cricks "consciousness conductor" hypothesis, revealing the claustrum is less like a singular hub for cortical inputs and more like a collection of specialized synaptic pathways connecting specific cortical regions.

We found that the synaptic connectivity between the cortex and claustrum is in fact organized into functional connectivity modules, much like the European route E4 highway or the underground system, says Gilad Silberberg, lead author on the study, from the Karolinska Institutet.

Another recent and even more focused study zoomed in on the claustrums role in coordinating slow-wave brain activity. A team from Japans RIKEN Center for Brain Science generated a transgenic mouse model in which they could artificially activate neurons in the claustrum through optogenetic light stimulation.

Yoshihiro Yoshihara

The research discovered slow-wave activity across a number of brain regions increased in tandem with neural firing in the claustrum. Slow-wave brain activity is most often linked to a key period of sleep associated with memory consolidation and synaptic homeostasis.

We think the claustrum plays a pivotal role in triggering the down states during slow-wave activity, through its widespread inputs to many cortical areas, says Yoshihiro Yoshihara, team leader on the new RIKEN research. The claustrum is a coordinator of global slow-wave activity, and it is so exciting that we are getting closer to linking specific brain connections and actions with the ultimate puzzle of consciousness.

So, if increased claustrum activity seems to orchestrate a kind of synchronized slowing down of brain activity across a number of different cortical regions, what happens when claustrum activity is suppressed?

One hypothesis has suggested dysfunctional claustrum activity could play a role in the subjective effects of psychedelic drugs. One of the fundamental neurophysiological characteristics of a psychedelic experience is widespread dysregulation of cortical activity. Brain networks that dont normally communicate will suddenly spark up connections under the influence of psilocybin or LSD. So a team from Johns Hopkins University set out to investigate exactly how psilocybin influences claustrum activity.

Due to the claustrums location in the brain its activity has traditionally been quite difficult to study in humans. However, a recently developed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique has afforded researchers a new and detailed way to measure claustrum activity. The Johns Hopkins study recruited 15 subjects to measure claustrum activity after either a placebo or a dose of psilocybin.

The study found psilocybin reduced claustrum neural activity between 15 and 30 percent. The overall reductions in claustrum activity also directly correlated with the subjective psychedelic effects of the drug.

More specifically, psilocybin seemed to significantly alter how the claustrum communicated with a number of brain regions fundamentally involved in attentional tasks and sensory processing. For example, under the influence of psilocybin, functional connectivity between the right claustrum and the auditory and default mode networks significantly decreased, while right claustrum connectivity with the fronto-parietal task control network increased.

Our findings move us one step closer to understanding mechanisms underlying how psilocybin works in the brain, says Frederick Barrett, one of the authors on the new study. This will hopefully enable us to better understand why its an effective therapy for certain psychiatric disorders, which might help us tailor therapies to help people more.

As Barrett suggests, this new insight into the effect psilocybin has on claustrum activity may shine a light on how this psychedelic drug generates its beneficial therapeutic effects. Psilocybin in particular has been found to be significantly useful in treating major depression and substance abuse disorders. The Johns Hopkins scientists hypothesize psilocybins action on the claustrum may play a key role in both the subjective effects of this psychedelic drug, and its beneficial therapeutic outcomes.

Further research is certainly necessary to verify this hypothesis, and the next step for the Johns Hopkins team will be to use this new claustrum imaging technique to investigate the brain region in subjects with a variety of psychiatric disorders. Fifteen years on from Francis Cricks passing his final work is still inspiring new research. The new wave of psychedelic science, in tandem with novel neuroimaging techniques, brings us closer and closer to understanding how our brains create consciousness.

The new study was published in the journal Neuroimage.

Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine

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The effects of psychedelics on the brain's "consciousness conductor" - New Atlas

The company is filing an Investigational New Drug application with the FDA for the Phase 3 confirmatory clinical trial of Bucillamine

Revive Therapeutics Ltd (CSE:RVV) (OTCMKTS:RVVTF) has come a long way in just six months under the stewardship ofCEOMichael Frank.That much is apparent from a casual glance at the share price for the year to date.

However, there is an argument to be made that suggests this may just be the start of the journey for this US and Canadian-listed life sciences innovator. For not only does Revive have a (coronavirus) COVID-19possible treatment headedtowards phase III clinical trials, but it also has some unique and interesting intellectual property (IP) that taps into the emerging area of psychedelics.

Also part of the story, but taking a back-seat for now, is its research around the potential uses of cannabidiol (CBD) to treat auto-immune hepatitis, ischemia and reperfusion injury from organ transplantation.

READ:Revive Therapeutics holds pre-CTA meeting with Health Canada for Bucillamine to treat COVID-19 patients

Revivehas a history of repurposing drugs and IP such asBucillamine,a cysteine derivativeanti-inflammatory that has been used for more than 30 years to treatrheumatoid arthritisin Japan and South Korea.

With an impeccable track record for safety, the companys researchers were assessingthe data fromits potential deployment in acute gout flareswhere ithad successfully completed a phase IIUS Food and Drug Administration (FDA)clinical trial.

Thats when more thoughts were given to the use of Bucillamine to treat lung inflammation.

The drug works by helping restore and enhance an antioxidant called glutathione. Revives team soon realized the same anti-inflammatory action that worked in gout and arthritis could possibly be deployed in people suffering lung inflammation as a result of seasonal flu, H1N1, SARS and, crucially, COVID-19.

In April, it applied to the US regulator to carry out a phase II trial in COVID-19and was surprised by the response.

BasedonBucillamines composition, efficacy, safety and history, as well as a previous, successful interaction with the FDA, the drugs watchdog asked Revive to prepare anInvestigational New Drug (IND) submissionfor a phase IIIconfirmatory trialin COVID-19.

Thats a very large milestone and a major study, says Frank.It gives the company a great deal of credibility.

The company is currently incorporating guidance provided by the US regulator intoits INDpackage, which should beready and submittedby the end of the month,Frank adds.

Another development that is exciting investors is the companys move into psychedelics, which appears incredibly well-timed.

Last year the FDA approvedesketamine to treat depression, making it the first-ever psychedelic drug to receive the regulatory green light in the US, with UK authorities giving their approval for the ketamine-like drug a few months later.

MDMA, meanwhile, has been given breakthrough therapy designation by the US regulator for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as has psilocybin, the psychoactive found in mushrooms, which is being developed as an alternative to traditional antidepressants.

In March, Revive announcedit was acquiring Psilocin Pharma Corp in an all-paper deal worth $2.75 million. Its focus is psilocybin-based treatments forvariousmedical needs, which includes rare and orphan indications.

Reviveis working with the University of Wisconsin on some new delivery technology that could add another dimension to the research and discoveries to date.

We want to build a better product, with more favorable onset and delivery of psilocybin and then move it down the clinical path, says Frank.

And thats crucial, because like many others in this new and flourishing area of drug discovery, the plan is to formally follow the highly regulated route to market.

In doing so the potential reward could be significant. The psychedelics industry itself is big enough to pique the interest of Big Pharma, with investment bank Canaccord Genuity, in a recent market report,estimating the total market size for all indications under investigation to be as much as $100 billion.

However, the smaller, more innovative players such as Revive, are likely toset the pace and make an impact.

Psychedelics have shown promising efficacy across a broad range of both mental and substance abuse disorders, said Canaccord inits report. Together, the targeted indications affect over one-billion people globally.

Frankstated:I think we have only scratched the surfacein a number of areas, and our team looks forward to educating the market more.

Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at[emailprotected]

Follow her onTwitter:@UttaraProactive

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Revive Therapeutics betting on psychedelics and potential COVID-19 treatment Bucillamine - Proactive Investors USA & Canada