Category Archives: Psychedelics

Jaden Smith Recalls His Experience With Psychedelic Mushrooms (Photo Credit: Instagram)

Actor Jaden Smith thought everything was so beautiful when he took psychedelic mushrooms in a park with his friends.

Smith said: I was with people who I really loved dearly. We go to a park, which was the best decision that we could have ever made. Everything just becomes so beautiful.

We look at the sky and everybody starts feeling like they want to cry, but no one says anything. We were running in the park. Were sprinting. Were talking fast. We decided to hug a tree and felt like we actually went inside of the tree, Jaden Smith said.

He added, I saw the inner workings of the tree and it looked like a rainbow. I could tell in that moment that trees were alive, but more alive than anyone could ever think. As alive as humans are.

The Karate Kid actors experience with psychedelics has influenced his latest clothing collection, Trippy Summer, and he explained how the collection has taken advantage of what happens when people are in an altered state, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Jaden Smith told Mr Porter journal: I believe that mushrooms are going to help us expand consciousness. The collection is not just clothes to sell.

Its loaded with spiritual experiences and mystical states. Were just making clothes that can go along with peoples journeys.

When youre in that sensitive space, the wrong shirt can ruin things. Whether the shirt says, Oh, f*** you, you f****** f***, or, Go to hell and die, it might scare somebody Were taking advantage of the certain visual cues that happen when youre on mushrooms. Things slightly move, Jaden Smith said.

He then concluded by saying, If you give something the feeling of motion, when youre on mushrooms and you look at it, your brain will finish the work and put it in motion so that youre like, Holy f***! His pants are moving.

Must Read: When Chris Evans First Tweet After Leaking His Own N*des Proved How Hes A Real Captain At Handling Any Situation

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Jaden Smith Recalls His Experience With Psychedelic Mushrooms: Everything Just Becomes So Beautiful - Koimoi

Activists submitted language for a proposed ballot measure to legalize natural psychedelics in Michigan last week, launching a statewide effort that has seen significant progress at the local level.

The initiative proposal was submitted to state officials on February 1 by the Michigan Initiative for Community Healing, a ballot committee made up of drug policy reform groups including Decriminalize Nature and Students for Sensible Drug Policy, as well as organizers of local psychedelics decriminalization efforts in Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

We are thrilled to have filed our language with the State of Michigan and we look forward to approval by the State Board of Canvassers and hitting the ground with petitions, said Myc Williams, co-director ofDecriminalize Natures Michigan chapter.

If passed by voters, the proposed ballot measure would decriminalize the possession, use, cultivation and transfer of entheogenic plants and fungi by adults 18 and older. The legislation would apply to natural plants and mushrooms and their active ingredients including psilocybin, psilocyn, mescaline, ibogaine, peyote and dimethyltryptamine. Religious organizations and groups designated by state-certified hospitals would be permitted to cultivate and sell entheogenic plants and fungi.

Its a true decriminalization, Williams said. Everyone over the age of 18 would be allowed to grow, possess, use, cultivate, share, etc.

The proposed ballot measure also includes broader drug policy reform provisions, including easing criminal penalties for simple possession of all Schedule I and II controlled substances. Possession of 1,000 grams or more of any drug would be reduced from a felony with a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment to a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of $1,000. Penalties would get incrementally smaller for possession cases involving lower amounts of controlled substances.

The initiative would also remove testing equipment and supplies from the states legal definition of drug paraphernalia. Organizers said the provision would help protect people from harmful additives including fentanyl.

People who choose to use drugs can be charged with another crime to test their substance to know in fact what they are ingesting, Williams said.

In a time of heavy fentanyl overdoses, its really important for people who do use drugs to know what theyre consuming regardless of their legality from a public safety perspective, Williams explained. The state supports harm reduction in the distribution of Narcan and fentanyl strips, which fentanyl strips are technically illegal. Theres a contradiction there and were just clearing it up.

Psychedelics reform efforts in Michigan have already seen significant progress at the local level. In last Novembers election, voters in Detroit approved a psychedelics decriminalization measure with the support of 61 percent of the electorate. Ann Arbor passed a similar measure in 2020 and at least a dozen other municipalities have passed psychedelic decriminalization proposals or are in the process of doing so.

The effort has also received support from some law enforcement officials, including Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, who made Ann Arbors psychedelics decriminalization measure countywide policy. He noted that the vast majority of people who engage in substance use are able to do so without criminal consequences.

But for an unlucky few, their decision to use substances results in harsh, life-changing penalties. The War on Drugs has thus created a cruel roulette wheel of sorts, Savit wrote in a message of support published on the Decriminalize Nature Michigan website. And its a weighted wheel, as the data clearly shows that Black people and people of color are far more likely to face criminal consequences related to drug use than white people.

For the psychedelics decriminalization initiative to become state law, the summary of the ballot proposal must be approved by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers. Organizers would then have to collect about 340,000 signatures from registered voters for the measure to qualify for the ballot.

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Michigan Activists Submit Psychedelics Decriminalization ...

Over the past several years, we have witnessed a psychedelic renaissance, and a growing body of evidence suggests that several psychedelic compounds hold strong therapeutic potential for a wide array of mental health conditions.

Once dismissed as dangerous and having little therapeutic potential, psychedelic drugs are gaining mainstream acceptance. Research data continue to demonstrate that, on the whole, these medicines are not only safe, but mostly well tolerated. Although more research is needed to better understand safety, especially in the context of at-risk conditions, these favorable safety profiles are enabling deeper exploration of these medicines.

The term psychedelic was coined in the 1950s by psychiatrist Humphry Osmond, MD, and it literally means mind-manifesting. This class of drugs produces changes in perception, thought, and mood with minimal disorientation or confusion. Unlike alcohol, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates, psychedelics do not lead to a slowing of cognitive processes or an acceleration of cognition as seen with stimulants.

Several US states and cities are in the process of legalizing or decriminalizing psychedelics like psilocybin, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and others for therapeutic or recreational purposes. In 2020, the Oregon Ballot Measure 109 was passed,1 allowing licensed service providers to administer psilocybin products to individuals 21 years and older and making Oregon the first state to legalize psilocybin. The drug will not be available commercially or for home-based use, as strict regulations are in place to ensure psilocybin will be used only under the supervision of trained facilitators. This was a major milestone in psychedelic medicine, as it opened the door for more widespread access to psilocybin therapy in a safe and legal manner.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also shown interest in prioritizing the approval of certain psychedelic drugs. Both psilocybin- assisted psychotherapy for major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression,2,3 as well as MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD),4 have received the breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA to fast-track the approval process because of the growing clinical evidence demonstrating substantial improvement over currently available therapies.

Safety Issues and Scaling Up

The growing research results continue to confirm that psychedelic medicines are not only safe, but well tolerated by the majority of recipients. A psilocybin study found that cases of mental health complications following a psychedelic are rare (<0.1%) even in vulnerable populations (<0.2%), and rarer still with proper screening.5 Another study examined the classical psychedelics, LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline. It found no evidence of increased rates of mental health problems; in fact, it demonstrated psychedelic use was associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality.6 Additionally, results of studies examining psychedelic substance use patterns in humans as well as self-administration in animals suggest that classic psychedelics possess little or no abuse liability and may even be antiaddictive.7

Results of other studies suggest psychedelics may have protective effects when it comes to mental illness in general. Pooling more than 190,000 adults, researchers evaluated the relationship of classic psychedelic use and psychological distress and suicidality. They found that lifetime psychedelic use was associated with significantly reduced odds of past-month psychological distress, past-year suicidal thinking, past-year suicidal planning, and past-year suicide attempt.8 This offers new insight into the potential promise of psychedelics in helping to prevent suicide.

More research is still needed to fully understand safety, especially in the context of at-risk conditions and mechanisms of action. However, the favorable safety profiles are opening doors for deeper exploration of these medicines.

MDMA

MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, the psychedelic treatment closest to receiving FDA approval, is currently undergoing phase 3 clinical trials in patients with PTSD.9 The study included 90 patients with severe, chronic PTSD from a variety of different causes (eg, abuse, combat, sexual trauma). It is worth mentioning that this was a treatment-resistant group, meaning patients had suffered with PTSD for an average of 14 years without relief. All participants completed a 12-week treatment program composed of 3 full-day sessions, during which they received either MDMA or a placebo, plus weekly nondrug psychotherapy sessions. No serious adverse effects were detected beyond transient, mild symptoms during drug treatment such as nausea or sweating. No increases in suicide risk or potential for abuse were noted in the MDMA group relative to placebo. Two months after treatment, 67% of the MDMA cohort no longer qualified for PTSD diagnosis, compared with 32% of the placebo group. In addition, 88% of those in the MDMA group experienced a clinically significant reduction in symptoms (Figure 1).9

MDMA is unique in its ability to promote acceptance of and empathy for self and others. In addition to elevating oxytocin levels, MDMA stimulates the release of the monoamines serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, resulting in improved mood and increased sociability.10 Brain imaging after administration of MDMA shows there is decreased amygdala activation and reduced fear response,11,12 allowing the patient to emotionally engage in therapy without becoming overwhelmed by anxiety or difficult emotions. The combination of medication plus psychotherapy represents a new frontier for the FDA, with unique challenges to be addressed such as therapeutic approaches and therapist training.

Psilocybin

Psilocybin, the main psychoactive component of magic mushrooms, is currently in phase 2 clinical trials for MDD. As a classic psychedelic, it is an agonist of serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors in the brain,13 which are particularly abundant in the cortex and regions associated with cognitive functions and social interactions.14 Stimulation of this receptor has been directly linked to cognitive flexibility, enhanced imagination, and creative thinking.15

In pivotal study results, 71% of individuals with MDD who received 2 doses of psilocybin were treatment responders, and half of the participants entered remission (Figure 2).16 Some follow-up studies after therapy, although small, have shown lasting benefits.17,18

Concluding Thoughts

Psychedelic medicine is forging ahead as a promising new treatment paradigm, in which psychedelics, paired with psychotherapy, have the potential to treat various mental health conditions. Preliminary findings show successful results for these treatments, with significant clinical improvements and fewif anyserious adverse effects. The emerging results likely have implications for future psychiatric research, education, and policyand most importantly, they are poised to offer new therapeutic options and improve the lives of those we serve.

Dr Robison is a board-certified psychiatrist and Chief Medical Officer of Novamind. He is the co-founder of Cedar Psychiatry and serves as the Medical Director for the Center for Change, a leading eating disorders center. Dr Robison previously served as a coordinating investigator for the MAPS-sponsored MDMA-assisted psychotherapy study of eating disorders.

References

1. Oregon psilocybin services. Oregon Health Authority. Accessed December 5, 2021. https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PREVENTIONWELLNESS/Pages/Oregon-Psilocybin-Services.aspx

2. COMPASS Pathways receives FDA breakthrough therapy designation for psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression. News release. COMPASS Pathways; October 23, 2018. Accessed December 5, 2021. https://compasspathways.com/compass-pathways-receives-fda-breakthrough-therapy-designation-for-psilocybin-therapy-for-treatment-resistant-depression

3. Brooks M. FDA grants psilocybin second breakthrough therapy designation. News release. Medscape Medical News; November 25, 2019. Accessed December 5, 2021. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/921789

4. FDA grants Breakthrough Therapy designation for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, agrees on special protocol assessment for phase 3 Trials. News release. Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies; August 26, 2017. Accessed December 5, 2021. https://maps.org/news/media/6786-press-release-fda-grants-breakthrough-therapy-designation-for-mdma-assisted-psychotherapy-for-ptsd,-agrees-on-special-protocol-assessment-for-phase-3-trials

5. Studerus E, Kometer M, Hasler F, Vollenweider FX. Acute, subacute and long-term subjective effects of psilocybin in healthy humans: a pooled analysis of experimental studies. J Psychopharmacol. 2011;25(11):1434-1452.

6. Krebs TS, Johansen P. Psychedelics and mental health: a population study.PLoS One. 2013;8(8):e63972.

7. Heal DJ, Gosden J, Smith SL. Evaluating the abuse potential of psychedelic drugs as part of the safety pharmacology assessment for medical use in humans.Neuropharmacology. 2018;142:89-115.

8. Hendricks PS, Thorne CB, Clark CB, et al. Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population.J Psychopharmacol. 2015;29(3):280-288.

9. Mitchell JM, Bogenschutz M, Lilienstein A, et al. MDMA-assisted therapy for severe PTSD: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study.Nat Med. 2021;27(6):1025-1033.

10. Hysek CM, Schmid Y, Simmler LD, et al. MDMA enhances emotional empathy and prosocial behavior.Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2014;9(11):1645-1652.

11. Bedi G, Phan KL, Angstadt M, de Wit H. Effects of MDMA on sociability and neural response to social threat and social reward.Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2009;207(1):73-83.

12. Hake HS, Davis JKP, Wood RR, et al. 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) impairs the extinction and reconsolidation of fear memory in rats.Physiol Behav. 2019;199:343-350.

13. Tyl F, Plenek T, Horek J. Psilocybinsummary of knowledge and new perspectives.Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2014;24(3):342-356.

14. Celada P, Puig M, Amargs-Bosch M, et al. The therapeutic role of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors in depression.J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2004;29(4):252-265.

15. Vollenweider FX, Preller KH. Psychedelic drugs: neurobiology and potential for treatment of psychiatric disorders.Nat Rev Neurosci. 2020;21(11):611-624.

16. Davis AK, Barrett FS, May DG, et al. Effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy on major depressive disorder: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2021;78(5):481-489. Published correction appears in JAMA Psychiatry. 2021;78(5):569.

17. Carhart-Harris RL, Bolstridge M, Day CMJ, et al. Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: six-month follow-up.Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2018;235(2):399-408.

18. Agin-Liebes GI, Malone T, Yalch MM, et al. Long-term follow-up of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for psychiatric and existential distress in patients with life-threatening cancer.J Psychopharmacol. 2020;34(2):155-166.

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Psychedelics and the Future of Psychiatry

In a sign of whats to come for most psychedelic-related names, Mind Cure Health (CSE: MCUR) this morning effectively announced it will be turning itself into a shell. The move follows a strategic review conducted by the company.

The strategic review is said to be done just its initial phases of the process, which included an extensive canvas of various strategic alternatives available. The review however has indicated that the company simply does not have the funds to execute its current strategy, and that the current environment is unlikely to provide the capital required to move forward. In simple terms, tailwinds have exited the psychedelic and psychedelic-adjacent sector, with investors unwilling to provide further capital to support the space.

As a result of the findings, the company has identified that none of the strategic alternatives available to the company necessitated ongoing developmental expenditures.

As such, the company has decided that it needs to cut all expenditures, as a means of preserving the value of the firms assets which appears to largely be a reference to its cash position and public company status rather than anything else. To do so, the board has fired the entire C-Suite, save for its CFO, as well as the entire workforce, save for the VP of engineering and certain admin staff needed to wind down operations.

More specifically, all R&D on its ibogaine program and Desire Project are to be halted, as well as all non-committed expenditures related to iSTRYM.

The company reported that as of yesterday it had $10.57 million in cash on hand, before any liabilities are considered, which may include termination payouts for the staff eliminated as a result of this mornings decision.

With the departure of the C-suite, the firms chairman, Philip Tapley, has been named as interim CEO of the company.

Mind Cure Health last traded at $0.075 on the CSE.

Information for this briefing was found via Sedar and the companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.

As the founder of The Deep Dive, Jay is focused on all aspects of the firm. This includes operations, as well as acting as the primary writer for The Deep Dives stock analysis. In addition to The Deep Dive, Jay performs freelance writing for a number of firms and has been published on Stockhouse.com and CannaInvestor Magazine among others.

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Mind Cure Gives Up On Psychedelics, Fires C-Suite, And Reverts To Shell After Strategic Review - The Deep Dive

I hope we wont be the only ones here not on psychedelics, said the person sitting next to me.

Right away, it instead became clear that we had entered a world of moms and dads reliving The Psychedelic Furs glory years along with their own. On March 13, The Furs performed at the State Theater of Ithaca as part of their Made of Rain tour, celebrating their first new release in 29 years. The Furs energy, connection and rhythm succeeded in transporting the audience back to the 1980s as they rejuvenated classic hits and performed songs from their new album.

The show opened with Royston Langdon, a solo performer who sported a cowboy hat, shades and a rich acoustic guitar. Everything is one big mound of music and love, Langdon said to the audience, which mirrored the effect of his smooth voice and his playing style of heavy downstroke strumming and fingerstyle guitar. Langdon did not pull any punches with his provocative and honest lyrics: his song, Nazi Girlfriend, brought confused laughter out of the audiences open mouths.

The moms in the crowd enjoyed Langdons rich, rolling voice and on-stage charisma, but his choice to step away from the microphone halfway through his set left his vocal effects wanting and audience members straining to hear the lyrics over the amplified guitar. Despite his shortcomings, however, I found Langdon to be the perfect opener for the Furs, as his unexpected persona built anticipation for the main act. He definitely had me laughing with his originals, and he pulled out a crowd-pleaser with his cover of David Bowies Ashes to Ashes.

After Langdons set, a heavy synth changed the shows tone from Langdons acoustic guitar to the Furs classic 80s sound. One might expect the post-punk band to be rusty or low-energy in their old age, but even though their outfits and sound came straight from the 80s, each of the members carried timeless personality and energy onto the stage. A wave of accidental flash photos from fans who didnt know how to use their phones dated the audience, as Richard Butler, the lead vocalist and frontman of the band, danced his way into the center. Butler rocked his signature 80s dance moves with the flair of a young man only his floppy, McCartney-esque hair aged him.

Halfway through the set, the Furs treated the audience to some of their most well-known songs. Even to someone unfamiliar with their discography, it was clear which songs were old hits when fans began to stand up and dance despite signs explicitly prohibiting both. Their performance of 1981 hit Pretty in Pink took sound and energy straight from the 80s, and Butler took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves to really get into the 1982 fanfavorite Love My Way.

The bands incredibly tight rhythm characterized their performance, and the thumping beat from the drums and bass reverberated through the audience. The drummer completely captivated the audiences focus with his tight and dynamic playing; the other instrumentalists moved around and bounced off of one anothers energy. Butlers classic and recognizable voice jumps out from the bands decades-old recordings, and his voice grew into a character of its own through the singers affect and dancing.

Although the riffs and progressions felt more expected and less experimental in the bands older songs, the band also seemed completely at ease, having fun with their hits. Their connection fully shined and captivated the audience when the singer, guitarist and bassist played with their arms around one another.

Certainly, I would have enjoyed the concert more if we had been standing and dancing the entire time, but the space in the State Theater doesnt allow for the high-energy audience experience that the Psychedelic Furs demand. The Furs are not a band to sit and passively enjoy, like the elderly couple to our left who quietly sipped their open cups of beer, watching like they would an opera. During the encore, we experienced a slice of the energy I imagine the Furs would have received in the 80s, with a standing and cheering crowd. Guitarist Rich Good threw his guitar pick into the crowd after the band closed out, another reminder of the energy and reception of the Furs glory days.

Unlike many other bands from the 70s and 80s with decades-lasting drama of love, hatred, break-ups and reunions, The Psychedelic Furs seemed to be genuinely present and enjoying themselves onstage. They can still fill a theater with cheering fans and captivate new listeners, even 45 years after their creation. The Furs are definitely a band that any fan needs to see live their energy, rhythm and sound cannot be truly captured in their records.

Kiki Plowe is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at [emailprotected]

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A Fully-Seated Audience Takes Post-Punk with the Psychedelic Furs - Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun

Editor's note: This article mentions violence, suicidal ideation, and sexual assault.

When Nathan McGee closed his eyes, he felt a wave wash over him. He felt like a curious child.

"It was like pulling back curtains and exploring different avenues or aspects of what was going on inside my head," McGee told Insider.

He'd taken MDMA, a drug that distorts perception and creates feelings of euphoria, as a participant of a clinical trial studying the drug as a therapeutic treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

McGee, now 44 and living in Colorado, applied for the trial after a doctor diagnosed him with PTSD when he was 40.

Throughout his life, McGee felt overwhelmed, sometimes debilitated, by his emotions. He also experienced depression , anxiety, and suicidal ideation.

"I would be there physically, but mentally I was looking at the world as if I didn't really belong," McGee said.

After three MDMA sessions throughout the trial, McGee said he no longer experiences PTSD symptoms like flashbacks, paralyzing emotions, and disassociation.

A mounting body of research suggests psychedelics like MDMA, psilocybin, DMT, and 5-MeO-DMT have the ability to rewire the brain and relieve anxiety, depression, and other mental health symptoms.

Insider interviewed five people, including McGee, who were diagnosed with or experiencing symptoms of PTSD and had used psychedelic drugs as treatments for their conditions. Psychedelic treatments for PTSD aren't yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but there's growing interest among patients and healthcare providers in using psychedelics as an alternative or last-resort treatment option for their illnesses.

Many of the people Insider spoke to found that after using the substances, they no longer felt PTSD symptoms that had affected their daily lives for years. Those who said they still had symptoms said the experience had improved their lives and mental health.

For this story, Insider reached out to two nonprofit organizations that work with patients with PTSD: the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which is developing MDMA-based treatments for PTSD, and Heroic Hearts, which works to connect veterans to ayahuasca and psilocybin ceremonies in countries like Mexico, where the practices aren't explicitly illegal.

Three of our five interviewees were veterans, a group that experiences PTSD at extremely high levels compared to civilians, according to data by the US Department of Veteran Affairs.

Some interviewees reported microdosing or otherwise partaking in unsupervised psychedelic experiences. Researchers studying these compounds for medical purposes say that self-medicating with powerful mind-inducing compounds is not without risk.

People tend to underestimate the challenging experiences psychedelics bring to the surface, said Marcela Ot'alora, a principal investigator for MDMA-assisted-therapy research at MAPS.

Ot'alora, who was a co-therapist in the first Spanish government-approved MDMA-assisted therapy study in Madrid, said she's worked with patients who came to her after having harmful psychedelic experiences.

"What we hope for, what we do in our research, is keep people safe," Ot'alora said. That, she said, includes understanding their backgrounds, race, and culture, as well as how trauma has impacted their lives.

Even among more structured trials, an increasing number of participants have begun to speak out about the negative experiences they've had related to their psychedelics experiences. Recently aired episodes of "Power Trip," a podcast from New York Magazine and Psymposia, detailed some of these experiences by MAPS clinical-trial participants.

MAPS, a nonprofit that's authorized by the FDA to study psychedelic treatment, is undertaking phase-three clinical trials of the therapy and believes it's close to receiving FDA approval for the treatment.

MAPS's director of communications, Betty Aldworth, pointed Insider to the organization's safety practices on its website and said that there are many inherent challenges to providing therapy treatments to patients with PTSD.

Aldworth added that MAPS has done and is continuing to do the work "to protect participant safety, and that includes training, oversight, participant education, and creating the conditions for culture of safety."

Here are the experiences of people who used psychedelics to treat their PTSD:

Crystal said her psychedelic experiences with psilocybin and MDMA helped her process sexual trauma. Courtesy of Crystal/Insider

Crystal, a 37-year-old living in North Carolina, wanted to heal childhood and sexual trauma from her 16 years in the military as a special-operations sergeant and medic.

"I got to a point where I literally was too depressed to function while I was still on active duty and I was about to deploy," Crystal told Insider. She requested we not use her last name to protect her family's identity. "I knew that I was going to be a liability for my team."

While on leave in 2018, Crystal's doctor diagnosed her with PTSD. Antidepressants had barely any effect, and she went to a rehab facility for alcohol abuse.

Sobriety helped with suicidal ideation and depression, Crystal said, but she wanted an alternative to antidepressants for her PTSD symptoms. When she heard Dr. Gabor Mate mention ayahuasca, a brew made with DMT, on an episode of "The Tim Ferriss Show" about addiction and ADHD, it led Crystal down a rabbit hole of research.

During a Heroic Hearts retreat in Mexico, Crystal took a combination of psilocybin and MDMA.

As she lay among the other retreat participants, all listening to music while wearing eye masks, Crystal said her body began to shake uncontrollably.

But the feeling was pleasant and felt like it was literally warming her heart. She came away from the experience learning to savor those kinds of stirring physical sensations.

"That was so mind-blowing to me, just being in a space where I didn't have to feel guilty or bad or shameful for anything, but just feel connected," Crystal said.

Many of the participants Insider spoke to said that while their experiences with psychedelics had helped them overcome their PTSD or see growth in their mental well-being, it wasn't a one-and-done solution.

Fei Fei Chen, who worked as a paralegal and combat driver in the military between 2001 and 2005, told Insider that when she went on a retreat with Heroic Hearts in the spring of 2021, she and others had to abide by a strict diet that restricted caffeine, sugar, salt, alcohol, nicotine, or any kind of stimulant.

They also prepared for their trip mentally by journaling, talking in groups, and reflecting on what they wanted out of the experience.

"I think without that part, it wouldn't have been complete," she said.

Chen describes her experience during the ayahuasca ceremony as drifting "in and out of consciousness." When she came to, she said she "felt the medicine was moving inside of me."

First it moved up to her throat, and then it traveled down to her stomach and began to swirl around her pelvis.

"I'm telling you, this thing is alive," she said. "It's a consciousness traveling inside of me. And all I had to do was just be open and stay in a space of like appreciation. My mantra was just like, 'Thank you for healing me, thank you for showing me,' for like four hours."

Chen said she doesn't think psychedelics are a cure-all. Before going on the trip, she did talk therapy for around a year and then worked one-on-one with a coach to make sure she felt ready for the experience.

"I think healing should be multidisciplinary," she said."It's like a buffet of things you shouldn't just eat one thing and hope that it will last forever."

Rudy Gonsior said he turned to psychedelics in 2019 to treat his PTSD. Gonsior, left, swimming with his daughter near his home in Maine. Rudy Gonsior

Rudy Gonsior, 36, a special forces operator of 18 years, told Insider that before going on an ayahuasca retreat in 2019, he had never done any illicit drugs.

"I was pretty much straight-edge all the way through, other than some of the classical experiences with alcohol," he said. "An altered state of mind was something that I've never experienced. So it was kind of a turn into a whole different world for me."

But earlier that year, he began to consider psychedelics as a possible treatment for his PTSD, after experiencing the end of his marriage and an emotional breakdown. He began to bury himself in research that had already been done on psychedelics.

"I was desperate," he said. "It was a real Hail Mary move for me. I didn't feel like I had anything else going for me at that point. I had done traditional talk therapy, I had been offered cornucopia of pharmaceuticals from VA, which I turned down because I saw what it had done to good friends of mine."

Gonsior said he was experiencing classic PTSD symptoms that many veterans go through, like waking up from a dream and feeling like he was still in the midst of combat, becoming aggravated at small things that shouldn't matter, and feeling suffocated and anxious in crowded spaces.

One night, he recalled, he found himself standing nude at his front door in the middle of the night, pistol in hand, because he thought someone was trying to break into his home.

"I had this idea in my head that like I was in Iraq and I was trying to protect my teammates and that basically our position was being overran," he said. "I didn't really come to complete consciousness until my wife at the time came to me as I was standing at the door."

Gonsior traveled with Heroic Hearts to experience ayahuasca ceremonies that he said relieved his service-related PTSD.

"Honestly, I feel really great," he said. "It's allowed me to really change a lot of the ways that I process experiences. I guess it's like having a whole new template to experience things."

Gonsior said he still has memories of combat, but he sees them in a different context.

"The things that occurred in the war, I'm OK with them. They are parts of me that I have grown into and I've been able to actually let them go."

Gonsior joked that there are "entire buckets of vomit" that he left at the retreat because they no longer served him.

"I was told I'm a good purger by the shaman," he said. "Apparently I vomit pretty hard core."

Some participants said that one of the more difficult parts of undergoing such intense experiences is coming back home to everyday life, where it becomes all too easy to slip back into familiar routines, which is why support and reintegration is important.

Lori Tipton, 42, was one of the first people to take part in an FDA-cleared clinical trial of MDMA, organized by MAPS.

Tipton had severe and chronic PTSD and depression as a result of a variety of traumas in her life, including her brother's overdose death, a rape by someone she knew, and coming across three bodies after her mother had killed two people and then herself in a murder-suicide.

MDMA administered in three sessions, prefaced by talk therapy and followed by "integration sessions" made it easier for her to talk about her experiences, Tipton said. As she lay in a room with low lightning and soothing music alongside two trained professionals, Tipton says she felt safe as she talked through some of her traumas.

Tipton says her experience with MDMA worked to put her PTSD in remission.

She wrote a blog about her experience and shared it with her closest friends all of whom were supportive. Her therapist was happy for her, too.

"I think in order for it to be as successful as possible, people have to be supported by their community. You can't just take a person that's been significantly traumatized, go through the therapy, and then put them right back into a traumatic lifestyle," she said.

"That's not going to serve them."

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5 people who used psychedelics to treat PTSD describe their trips - Business Insider

Bolt co-founder Ryan Breslow, who stepped down as the e-commerce software startups CEO after publishing a Twitter rant aimed at powerful Silicon Valley institutions, is taking another stab at startup leadership. This time hes planning to develop drugs initially based on nutraceuticals, food-derived substances that have health benefits, to treat sleep and pain problems.

Breslow has founded the startup, Love Health, with JR Rahn, co-founder of MindMed, a publicly traded developer of psychedelic-based medicines, and Ashwath Rajan, who co-founded Stockwell AI, an ill-fatedvending-machine startup formerly known as Bodega.

The Miami-based company plans to perform clinical trials to seek Food and Drug Administration approval for its drugs, which will focus on solutions to the opioid crisis, said Rahn, who is CEO, in an interview with The Information. Love will eventually expand to pharmaceuticals and has no immediate plans to use psychedelics, he said. In the future, the company may issue a cryptocurrency token to participants in its clinical trials.

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Bolt's Breslow Teams With Psychedelics Founder on Crypto Pharma Startup - The Information

So many of the scientists who pioneered research into full doses of psychedelics have started studying whether a microdose might also be beneficial. But evidence is limited, and experts are divided about how microdosing helps people or if it does at all.

Much of the early research into microdosing has been anecdotal, consisting of enthusiastic survey responses from users who experienced enhanced attention and cognition, feelings of well-being and relief from anxiety and depression. Lab studies of psilocybin and LSD microdoses tend to support these claims, showing improvements in mood, attention and creativity. But these studies have generally been small, and they didnt compare a microdose to a placebo.

You probably only participate at this point in a trial in microdosing if you really have a strong belief that this might help you, said Dr. David Erritzoe, clinical director of the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London. And when people expect to benefit from a drug, they typically do.

The two largest placebo-controlled trials of microdosing were published last year, and they both suggest that the benefits people experience are from the placebo effect. In the studies, volunteers used their own drugs to participate and, unknown to them, received either active doses or a placebo packaged in identical capsules. At the end of several weeks, almost everyones mood and well-being had improved, regardless of what they had taken.

I was initially surprised but also a bit disappointed by the results, because when we set up the study we were quite optimistic that microdosing could have an effect beyond a placebo, said Michiel van Elk, an assistant professor of cognitive psychology at Leiden University in the Netherlands who led one of the trials.

Dr. Erritzoe, who ran the other study, found that the drugs efficacy was tied to users expectations. If they took a placebo but thought it was a microdose, they felt better, and if they had an active dose but wrongly guessed it was a placebo, they did not.

A third placebo-controlled trial, published earlier this month from the University of Chicago, tried to get around user expectations by giving participants four microdoses of LSD over the course of two weeks, but without telling them about the purpose of the study or even what they were taking. Once again, there was no difference between the LSD and placebo groups.

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What is Microdosing, and Does it Work? - The New York Times

Enveric Biosciences is partnering with the University of Calgary to study its first-generation psychedelic treatment EVM-101 in patients with cancer-related distress (CRD).

Later this year, the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute, led by Valerie Taylor, the head of its psychiatry department, will work with Enveric to explore the effects of EVM-101 in CRD patients. The study will build on earlier work that suggests psilocybin, the main active ingredient in magic mushrooms, can help people with the condition.

Based on several pilot studies conducted at different academic centers, psilocybin at a dose range of 25-30 mg, in association with support therapy, demonstrated significant benefit in cancer patients with CRD, said Bob Dagher, chief medical officer at Enveric.

A 2018 study found 52% of the 3,724 tested cancer patients had high levels of psychological distress, with fatigue and sleep problems among the most common issues. Other groups have run randomized clinical trials to explore the idea that psilocybin can help alleviate depression and anxiety in cancer patients, generating the data that encouraged Enveric to move its candidate into clinical development.

As in other clinical trials of psychedelic medicines, EVM-101 forms part of a broader therapeutic support package in the study planned by Enveric and the University of Calgary. The psychedelic experience is the centerpiece of a process designed to help patients prepare for and then integrate what happens when they take the therapy.

Cancer participants who enter the EVM101-201 study will receive supportive therapy that includes education on the role of psilocybin on inducing a psychedelic mind-manifesting experience, preparation for the dosing session, support during the dosing day, and post-dose integration therapy to explore the resulting effects on the participant's experience, mental status changes, and symptomatology, said Dagher.

Enveric acquired a library of novel derivative psychedelics molecules last year through its acquisition of MagicMed Industries, a Canadian developer of psychedelic-derived medicinal products. The acquisition followed the spinning off of Enveric from AMERI Holdings.

After spinning off, Enveric initially focused on the use of novel cannabinoid medicines to help patients with the side effects of cancer treatments, later expanding into psilocybin and dimenthyltryptamine with the takeover of MagicMed.

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Enveric, University of Calgary to study psychedelic therapy - OutSourcing-Pharma.com

In Elido Francisco Jr.s home in Reading, his living room was dimly lit, and soft music played. He had cleared time in his evening to delve deeply into an experience he said changed his life.

Through tears, brief moments of frustration and in-the-moment realizations, Francisco detailed the psychedelic experience he said changed his perspective on his childhood trauma and his life.

I felt so much relief of everything that Ive been holdingit was just like, wow, Francisco said. Then in the moment when I was crying, I was outside of my body looking at myself being empathetic. Its okay, let it go.

He recounted moments of mystical wonder, immense anger and otherworldly peace.

Francisco credits the visuals and sensations he experienced to a compound found in the psychedelic drugs such as the South American brew Ayahuasca and psilocybin, or magic mushrooms.

But Francisco emphasizes his experience was transformational not just because of the substances he ingested, but because he was guided through his trauma by trained professionals through two nights of shamanic group therapy.

The use of psychedelics as aids in mental health is gaining momentum in the clinical arena, and some elected officials and advocates in Pennsylvania are pushing for more insight on how powerful drugs can help people heal.

Republican state Rep. Tracy Pennycuick of Montgomery County is an army veteran who has PTSD from three combat tours in the middle east.

Last year, after learning of the positive effects it has had for other veterans, Pennycuick introduced House Bill 1959, which would allow the Department of Health to oversee at least two facilities to grow psilocybin mushrooms in the state for use in the clinical studies.

Why wouldnt we be on the cutting edge of technology here in Pennsylvania? Pennycuick said. That, to me, is an opportunity that I think can be groundbreaking.

It would prioritize studies that focus on veterans, retired first responders and their families.

The bill has bipartisan support with more than 20 co-sponsors, but has sat in the House Health committee. Pennycuick expects the bill to come up for a House vote within the next two months.

We owe it to [veterans] to look for new and innovative treatments for PTSD; we have to do it, Pennycuick said, noting that mushrooms are already a huge industry in the commonwealth.

The use of these sorts of drugs appear to be on the frontiers of mental health treatment in Pennsylvania. But psychedelic assisted healing isnt anything new, especially for the native people that many Latinos hail from, according to therapist Victor Cabral.

Im talking about our indigenous ancestors from the continent of Africa, or from the Caribbean, or from South America, and their use of these medicines over thousands of years, to heal their communities to be in balance with nature, etcetera, Cabral said. Thats usually a good way to start to explain what is the purpose of these medicines, what is their origin, and I think that opens up the conversation a little bit more.

Cabral recently stepped down as deputy director of Gov. Tom Wolfs office of advocacy and reform, where he spent around two years working to make Pennsylvania a state that allows healing centers, among other initiatives.

Cabral is also a social worker and certified in therapies using MDMA and ketamine, which are already permitted in the state.

The therapies do not rely on heavy or even regular use of the drugs. Instead, patients take the drugs around three times over as many months paired with conversation and other sessions with therapists.

Cabral notes there are several barriers in getting Black and Brown men to participate in therapy at all, let alone ones with powerful mind-expanding drugs.

Part of our colonization as Latinos, and even Black and Brown communities, is that we were taught that our ancestral traditions and our cultural traditions and beliefs and spirituality were tied to demonic black magic, evil things, Cabral said. So, anything that doesnt fit the mold of the religions that we were handed by our colonizers usually gets the response of, this is something bad.

He is also working on a documentary about the power and utility of psychedelic therapy.

Cabral has said culturally informed therapy helped him and others overcome specific, nuanced trauma that comes with being a male of color, raised in an urban setting or being burdened with the pressure of becoming a first generation success story in a family of immigrants.

Francisco himself is a social worker who works in a behavioral health hospital with people who are often in the most difficult points of their lives.

He said his psychedelic experience has made him more compassionate and helped him empathize with himself and others.

I have moments like that with these individuals that are so pristine, enlightenment, its beautiful, Francisco said. That also brings healing to myself, if I could connect with individuals that are under a manic state of psychosis.

Francisco said the abuse and neglect he experienced as a child could have manifested in harmful ways. But he said is grateful to have been guided through transformative psychedelic treatment.

A lot of us males need to heal not through savagery but through tears and hugs and love, he said.

And, he said, sometimes you need to pass through dark and intimidating doorways to find resolution and peace.

Read more from our partners, WITF.

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Psychedelic therapy integral to ancient societies may be coming to Pennsylvania - 90.5 WESA