Category Archives: Psychedelics

I took two grams of mushrooms before heading out into the forest.

It was around 5:30 a.m. and the cool, morning rains were just starting to fade and transition into the warm blanket of an orange peel sunrise.

The bird songs were oddly melodic, my water jug was full, and it didnt take long for me to start melting into my surroundings.

The fruit of the staghorn sumac was glowing, and I could taste the sun-brewed staghorn tea that Id make this summer. I could even smell the raw wildflower honey and sprigs of mint that I always use to liven up the extract.

If youve never had it before, its very similar to lemonade. But up here in North Country, we dont grow lemons. And staghorn sumac is so hearty, it mocks the harsh winters and wet springs.

Im pretty sure that if an atom bomb landed squarely in the middle of Lake Champlain, the only thing remaining would be roaches and Staghorns.

I actually thought about this quite a bit on my journey.

Propped up against the withered white bark of an old yellow birch tree and gazing at all the beauty God created, I got lost in those Staghorn fruits, hypnotized by the intricacies of their soft, fuzzy clusters and geometric shapes.

And I started thinking about how this particular tree, which is littered all over the Adirondacks, is also common in the Middle East.

Culturally, these worlds couldnt be more different. Yet, here we are two complete universes separated by dirt, water, and politics but feasting upon the same fruit without any thought of physical distance or climatic diversity.

Disconnected by language, culture, and war but completely connected by nature.

Not to get all treehugger on you, but that experience really made me want to share a cup of sumac tea, with some like-minded Persians at a corner cafe in Tehran.

Yes, as you can imagine, it was a pleasant journey.

But these days, magic mushrooms are no longer being sought out solely by folks like me who simply enjoy a pleasant, psychedelic experience. Theyre being used to treat mental illness and with great success.

Last year, you may have seen the segment that 60 Minutes produced, which focused on psychedelic medicines.

During that segment, the world learned about a new treatment for smoking addiction that boasted an 86% success rate.

For the sake of comparison, the most successful pharmaceutical currently on the market enjoys a 35% success rate. If success," is what you want to call it.

The fact is, this country has a very serious mental illness and drug addiction crisis. And its going to get worse.

As reported by the Washington Post, the coronavirus pandemic is pushing America into a mental health crisis:

Nearly half of Americans report the coronavirus crisis is harming their mental health, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll. A federal emergency hotline for people in emotional distress registered a more than 1,000 percent increase in April compared with the same time last year. Last month, roughly 20,000 people texted that hotline, run by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Online therapy company Talkspace reported, a 65% jump in clients since mid-February. Text messages and transcribed therapy sessions collected anonymously by the company show coronavirus-related anxiety dominating patients concerns.

If we dont do something about it now, people are going to be suffering from these mental-health impacts for years to come, said Paul Gionfriddo, president of the advocacy group Mental Health America. That could further harm the economy as stress and anxiety debilitate some workers and further strain the medical system as people go to emergency rooms with panic attacks, overdoses and depression, he said.

Just as the country took drastic steps to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed by infections, experts say, it needs to brace for the coming wave of behavioral health needs.

Not to sound crass, but the reality is that theres never been a better time to bring to market new and potentially better treatments for mental illness. Certainly the FDA thinks so, as it has fast-tracked a number of new psychedelic medicines for clinical trials. And more are coming.

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This is great news for those who do suffer from mental illness and addiction.

And its also great news for investors.

You see, in addition to the hundreds of studies that suggest there are some very real benefits to treating mental illness and addiction with psychedelics

And in addition to new psychedelics decriminalization bills being introduced, debated, and yes, passed

And in addition to an overall loosening of stigmas regarding illegal drugs around the world

Perhaps the most well-known is entrepreneur Peter Thiel, who happens to boast a net worth of $2.3 billion.

Thiel recently ponied up big time to get a piece of ATAI Life Sciences, which is a biotech company developing psychedelic medicines for a variety of mental health issues.

Other stinking-rich investors who have recently put up their own millions in the psychedelics space include former CEO of Canopy Growth Corporation Bruce Linton (who amassed more than $200 million during his time with the company) and Shark Tank celebrity investor Kevin OLeary, who boasts a net worth of about $400 million.

There are more, but those are probably the most well-known and have no problem with people knowing about their investments in the psychedelics space.

Others arent so public, and I know some of them.

From elite family offices to high rollers in Silicon Valley, a lot of cash is starting to pour into this space. And when the rich folks start showing up to these parties, you know something big is about to go down.

Ill have more on this burgeoning opportunity in the coming weeks.

To a new way of life and a new generation of wealth...

Jeff Siegel

@JeffSiegel on Twitter

Jeff is the founder and managing editor of Green Chip Stocks, a private investment community that capitalizes on opportunities in alternative energy, organic food markets, legal cannabis, and socially responsible investing. He has been a featured guest on Fox, CNBC, and Bloomberg Asia, and is the author of the best-selling book, Investing in Renewable Energy: Making Money on Green Chip Stocks. For more on Jeff, go to his editor's page.

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Investing in Psychedelics - Energy and Capital

Psilocybin mushrooms may change the way we look at medicine and significantly help improve the health of millions of people around the world. That may be especially true when it comes to treating obesity, which has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a global epidemic, with at least 2.8 million people dying each year as a result.

At the moment, a number of studies show psychedelic treatments, such as with psilocybin mushrooms can assist with issues such as substance dependency, PTSD, depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and pain. Even Johns Hopkins Medicines Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research is focusing on psychedelics, including psilocybin for the treatment of eating disorders, depression, and PTSD. As the growth story unfolds, some of the companies to keep an eye on include The Yield Growth Corp.(CSE:BOSS)(OTC:BOSQF), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Champignon Brands Inc. (OTC:SHRMF)(CSE:SHRM), Mind Medicine Inc. (OTC:MMEDF), and Revive Therapeutics Ltd. (CSE:RVV)(OTC:RVVTF).

The Yield Growth Corp.(CSE:BOSS)(OTCQB:BOSQF)BREAKING NEWS:The Yield Growth Corp. announced its majority owned subsidiary NeonMind has completed the design of a preclinical study to confirm that psilocybin (found in psychedelic mushrooms) is an effective treatment for weight loss and food craving. NeonMind engaged Translational Life Sciences Inc., a contract research organization, to design the study. The TLS team is composed of physicians and scientists who are recognized thought leaders in the fields of Neurology, Pharmacology, Diabetes, Addiction and Biochemistry and have significant experience in the clinical application of cannabinoid compounds.

The goal of the study is to use preclinical models to confirm that psilocybin is an effective treatment for weight loss and food craving. NeonMind will use models that have been widely adopted by the pharmaceutical industry to identify compounds with therapeutic efficacy. It plans to use results from this study as part of the requirements for a Health Canada clinical trial application to demonstrate potential efficacy and safety for novel compounds.

Obesity has been formally recognized by the World Health Organization as a global epidemic, with at least 2.8 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese. According to the WHO, in 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 650 million were obese. Overweight and obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.

According to the WHO, in its Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, a unique opportunity exists to formulate and implement an effective strategy for substantially reducing deaths and disease worldwide by improving diet and promoting physical activity. The global projected market for weight loss and weight management is estimated at US$245 billion, according to MarketsandMarkets.

NeonMind plans to complete the study in Canada in accordance with all Health Canada rules and regulations. Required permits and exemptions have not been yet applied for, but shall be obtained prior to the study taking place.

Other related developments from around the markets include:

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) will participate in Bernstein's 36thAnnual Strategic Decisions Virtual Conference on Wednesday, May 27th. Alex Gorsky, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer will represent the Company in a session scheduled at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time).

Champignon Brands Inc. (OTC:SHRMF)(CSE:SHRM) announced its placement in an editorial published byNetworkNewsWire. The expansion of the functional food and drinks sector has created a new opportunity. While cannabis and CBD have taken these consumables beyond the traditional active ingredients of alcohol and caffeine, this diversification of the market has opened up consumers to new possibilities. Among those possibilities is the use of natural ingredients found in mushrooms.

Mind Medicine Inc. (OTC:MMEDF) in collaboration with University Hospital Basels Liechti Laboratory, has discovered and filed a patent application in the United States (preserving all worldwide rights) for a neutralizer technology intended to shorten and stop the effects of an LSD trip during a therapy session. This discovery, when further developed, may act as the off-switch to an LSD trip. MindMed is the leading psychedelic pharmaceutical company and the Liechti Laboratory is the leading research center focused on the pharmacology of psychedelic substances. This is the latest discovery based on surprising experimental results from work and collaboration conducted at the lab. The invention may help reduce the acute effects of a psychedelic drug and help shorten the hallucinogenic effects when required by a patient or medical professional. One of the many fears and stigmas associated with psychedelics are rare occurrences of bad trips. MindMed is seeking to equip therapists and other medical professionals with the resources and technology to better control the effects of dosing LSD in a clinical setting to improve the patient experience and patient outcomes. This advancement paves the way for greater therapeutic applications of LSD and shorter-acting psychedelic therapy treatments. MindMed believes this technology, when further developed, may one day be marketed as an added feature to shorten a therapy session and stop a session if the patient is not comfortable.

Revive Therapeutics Ltd. (CSE:RVV)(OTC:RVVTF) will investigate novel oral dosage forms of psilocybin, such as oral dissolvable thin films or tablets, based on the Companys wholly-owned patent-pending psilocybin formulations and its exclusive licensed drug delivery technology from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. We are expanding our psilocybin-based pharmaceutical portfolio with unique oral dosage and drug delivery forms that will target and have the potential to treat diseases and disorders currently not investigated with psychedelic compounds, said Michael Frank, Revives Chief Executive Officer. We are combining our robust intellectual property portfolio in both psychedelic formulations and our drug delivery technology which is unique within the industry, and leveraging our research partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison to establish a specialty portfolio of psilocybin-based pharmaceuticals that we can advance to clinical trials and partnerships with other life sciences companies. Through initial evaluations with the Companys research team, it has been found there are several unique parallels between the Companys intellectual property portfolio of psilocybin-based formulations and delivery mechanism and the drug delivery technology, which is comprised of tannin-chitosan composites that have been studied with cannabidiol in the past. Revive intends to research both delivery mechanisms in parallel as each provides its own unique qualities such as the potential of rapid onset of action and time-release compositions. The future of psilocybin as a medication will come in many forms. The Company believes that the most optimal delivery method to pursue and unlock the potential of psilocybin to treat a broad spectrum of diseases and disorders will be in the form of both an oral dissolvable tablet and an oral thin film strip, commonly recognized as a Breath Strip. The Company is preparing its formulation development plans intending to pursue clinical studies for indications currently not being evaluated with psilocybin. We believe the combination of psilocybin and our tannin-chitosan delivery platform gives us a unique advantage.

Legal Disclaimer/ Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Winning Media which has a partnership with http://www.MarijuanaStox.com is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Winning Media, which has a partnership with http://www.MarijuanaStox.com, is only compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation. Pursuant to an agreement between Winning Media (partners of http://www.MarijuanaStox.com) and The Yield Growth Corp., Winning Media has been paid three thousand five hundred dollars for advertising and marketing services for The Yield Growth Corp. We own ZERO shares of The Yield Growth Corp. Please click here forfull disclaimer.

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Psilocybin May be the Key to Treating a Range of Health Issues, Including Obesity - Baystreet.ca

We can't take trips these days for obvious reasons. But Netflix is offering a trip into the mind with a gentle new documentary about the world of hallucinogens.

Donick Carys Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics uses celebrities recounting their trips on LSD or mushroom to counteract built-up fears about psychotropic drugs even offering tips about how to use them better all against the backdrop of trippy '60s-style cartoons with rainbows and unwinding tongues.

This is a clearly pro-psychedelic film, not too preachy and not too pointed, with lazy science. There are really only two authoritative voices in the film, and they both endorse investigation into hallucinogens the alternative medicine guru Deepak Chopra (Were on a trip right now. Life is a trip, he says) and UCLA psychiatry professor Dr. Charles Grob. There are no dissenting voices.

So if you prefer your drug advice from celebrities, this is the film for you. David Cross, Nick Kroll, Ben Stiller, Natasha Lyonne, A$AP Rocky and Sarah Silverman are among those talking about their trips, both bad and good. Silverman found herself in the passenger seat of a car driven by a man so high hed forgotten how to drive.

That leads to one of the film's several drug tips, made to look like those The More You Know PSA: Dont drive while tripping. Control your setting. Dont ever look in the mirror. (You can see through your skin, Silverman warns.)

We learn that Lewis Black once got so high he forgot his own name and flipped through a dictionary for what seems like hours looking for clues. Rosie Perez tripped so bad once in the late 1980s that she was eventually doing the backstroke on a dance club floor.

These stories are often delightful and enhanced by great cartoons or re-creations acted by many of those interviewed but are we sure we need celebrity insights here? Rob Corddry has played a satirical journalist on The Daily Show, but were not sure hes the guy who should be dispensing advice about how the national scientific community handles testing on acid ("We blew it," he says, minus an expletive).

Two of the best anecdotes are by terrific storytellers who are no longer with us TV host and chef Anthony Bourdain and actress Carrie Fisher, both for whom the film is dedicated. (Which makes you wonder how long this film has been on the shelf).

Bourdain talks about his attempt to mimic Hunter S. Thompson by going on a road trip with a buddy to the Catskills with a pretty dizzying array of controlled substances quaaludes, weed, coke, beer, gin, hash and LSD. They picked up two hitchhiking exotic dancers, and thats when things took a turn.

Fisher confesses she took a lot of LSD over her life, including once in a park where she witnessed a talking acorn who insisted on showing her his choreography. I never saw anything that wasnt there. I just saw things that were there misbehave, she notes, brilliantly.

Some celebrities have clearly thought deeply about their trips, like Sting, who while high on peyote in the English countryside, helped a cow give birth: For me, the entire universe cracked open. And Reggie Watts uses this poetic metaphor for hallucinogens: Its like a stepladder to look over a brick wall thats a little bit too tall for you.

There are intriguing moments when the thread to a better movie is revealed, as when Perez confides that her LSD trip prompted her to seek out therapy to help ease her Roman Catholic guilt. Sting also reveals that some of his trips have helped him write songs. Really? Which ones? More concrete examples of how mushrooms or dropping acid aided life are sorely needed.

And another misfire: Writer and director Cary has decided to lighten the mood by periodically mocking the paranoid anti-drug public service announcements of the 80s with his own extended send-up that gets tiresome.

Adam Scott in a black leather jacket shows up in each, being ultra-serious about the evil of drugs. 'Knock, knock, knock.' Who is it?''Its a deranged drifter who wants to torture you for the next 12 hours, he says in one ad-within-the-film. Thats exactly what youre doing when you open your brain to hallucinogenics.

And the filmmaker has employed another marvelous off-kilter figure in Nick Offerman, pretending to be a scientist. Dont get me wrong, drugs can be dangerous, he tells us. But they can also be hilarious." But Offerman is neither in this film and so he is wasted. Like this film wasted but not in a good way.

Have a Good Trip, a Netflix release out today, is rated TV-MA for drug substances and language.

1 1/2 stars out of 4

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Movie review: Netflix's 'Have a Good Trip' is only a mild high - Eagle-Tribune

Types of psychedelics

Psychedelics have been used since ancient times by various cultures throughout the world for their mystical and spiritual associations. LSD, magic mushrooms, Mescaline and DMT are usually swallowed, smoked or inhaled. Mushrooms are usually eaten fresh, cooked or brewed into a tea.

Occasionally, they may be mixed with tobacco or cannabis and smoked. Mescaline is usually swallowed. Peyote buttons may be ground into a powder and smoked with cannabis or tobacco. The buttons can also be chewed or soaked in water to produce a liquid.

Most forms of NBOMe are inactive if swallowed, and the most common methods of taking them are under the tongue, held in the cheek or snorted.

Generally, people who use psychedelics dont take them on a regular basis, but on occasions that may be weeks or months apart.

There is no safe level of drug use. Use of any drug always carries some risk. Its important to be careful when taking any type of drug.

Psychedelics affect everyone differently, based on:

The effects of psychedelics can last several hours and vary considerably, depending on the specific type of psychedelic. The following may be experienced during this time:

Sometimes you can experience a bad trip, which is frightening and disturbing hallucinations. This can lead to panic and unpredictable behaviour, like running across a road or attempting suicide.

If you take a large amount or have a strong batch, you are likely to experience negative effects of psychedelics.6,7

The most common long-term effect of psychedelic use is the flashback. Flashbacks are a re-experience of the drug and can occur days, weeks, months and even years later.

Flashbacks can be triggered by the use of other drugs or by stress, fatigue or physical exercise. The flashback experience can range from being pleasant to causing severe feelings of anxiety. They are usually visual and last for a minute or two.

The effects of mixing psychedelics with other drugs, including alcohol, prescription medications and over-the-counter medicines, are often unpredictable.

Mixing psychedelics with stimulant drugs increases the stimulant effects and can further increase heart rate and place the body under extreme stress. Stimulants can also increase anxiety which can lead to a negative experience.8

Combing psychedelics with depressant drugs such as alcohol may further reduce coordination and increases the chances of vomiting. Alcohol may also decrease the effects of the psychedelic.8

If you do decide to use them, its important to consider the following.

Use of psychedelics is likely to be more dangerous when:

Most psychedelics produce tolerance rapidly and psychological dependence can occur in some people. The development of physical dependence is not well supported by evidence and there are no withdrawal symptoms even after chronic use.

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Psychedelics - Alcohol and Drug Foundation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amanda Feilding is the founder and director of the Beckley Foundation, which has been pioneering psychedelic research and advocacy to drive evidence-based drug policy reform since 1998.

The organizations scientific exploits, in collaboration with the Imperial Research Programme co-directed by Feilding and Professor David Nutt, have included, for example, a landmark 2016 study of psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression, and the first visualizations of LSDs effects on brain activity that same year.

The Foundations influential advocacy efforts have included the 2019 publication of Roadmaps to Regulation: MDMA, on which Filter reported. Its international reach was illustrated last year by a collaboration with Californias bid to decriminalize or legalize psilocybin mushrooms (haltedfor nowby the coronavirus pandemics restrictions on gathering signatures).

Feilding, who is 77, has led an extraordinary, experimental life, pushing the envelope of consciousness and its place in society. Hailing from an aristocratic background, her official titles include Countess of Wemyss and March and Lady Neidpath. But she is unofficially known as the Queen of Consciousness, a tribute to her bold work over half a century to demystify psychedelics and end their prohibition.

Why is humanity in such a mess? What makes us such neurotic animals?

The offices of the Foundation can be found on the grounds of Beckley Park, Feildings stately family home in Oxfordshire, England. After our interview, she was kind enough to invite me there for tea.

Kiran Sidhu: You were first introduced to psychedelics in the 1960s. What was it about your experience that made you dedicate your life to thembearing in mind you were also once spiked with LSD and spent three months recovering?

Amanda Feilding: I started taking LSD in 1965 without much knowledge of it. My passion has always been mysticism and religions. My experience of it was absolutely wonderful; instead of just reading about mysticism, with LSD, I was actually experiencing it. It was what I had always been looking for. LSD was a revelation; the increased awareness and unity. I thought it was wonderful, but it was like a trip to the funfair, and not a way of life.

I had been taking LSD for about six months before someone spiked my drinkI was spiked with what could have been a thousand trips! I would describe it as a psychic wound or a psychic rape. It was deeply damaging.

I locked myself away recovering in a sweet hut on the grounds of my home in Beckley Park. I absolutely love that hut, it has brambles by the windows and I think its where I will end my life, out there with the birds and nature. I had a friend who came to visit after three months who dragged me to a party in London where Ravi Shankar was playing.

There I met someone who became a great love of my life, a Dutch scientist. He told me his hypothesis of how you can actually control your trip, so you become the rider of the horse, if you like. And I like being in control, especially after my bad experience, so this was very interesting to me. This was something new and interesting to know that one could get high, open the door to a higher consciousness and at the same time navigate yourself. This was a new opening for me.

When I was 22 in the 60s, LSD brought my interest in mysticism into a reality and I thought we could bring this to society. I learnt how we could use the psychedelics and manage them in daily life. It felt like a real stepping stone for humanity. It can broaden our horizons. But thanks to misinformation, societys attitude went another way when it really shouldnt have.

You have been at the forefront of many revealing studies along with Imperial College. In your opinion, what has been the single most important study that you have been involved in so far?

The Beckley/Imperial LSD study [producing images of the brain on LSD] was finally fulfilling a dream Id had for 50 years: to explore the mechanisms underlying the effects of LSD. That opened the door to further research and produced that beautiful image of the connectivity on LSD as compared with everyday life.

Also, the early study on psilocybin [with Professor Franz Vollenweider, in 1998] was very importantdesigned to measure changes in brain blood flow, activity and connectivity induced by psilocybin. Global and regional changes in cerebral blood flow brought about by psilocybin were investigated using brain imaging (ASL and BOLD). We also investigated how psilocybin changes the pattern of connectivity between different brain regions in response to attention-demanding tasks or emotionally significant stimuli. The findings from this study were the first to inform the scientific basis for the use of psilocybin as an aid to psychotherapy. This study also examined the hypothesis that psilocybin enables vivid recall of repressed memories, which is likely to be key in the therapeutic process for mental diseases.

Beckley Park

The offices of the Beckley Foundation are based in your childhood home. You have described Beckley Park as part of my soul, although you called your childhood there very isolated. Do you think your experiences of this place paved the way for your interest in consciousness and psychedelics?

I would definitely say the place and the environment had a strong influence on me. The place is very magical: Its up a long bumpy track, with three moats and three towersan old Tudor hunting lodge. Its very romantic. The house certainly lends itself to introspection.

My family environment was an intellectual one, my fathers mother knew people such as Aldous Huxley and Nietzsche. My father was an artist, so for me, the new lifestyle was a revelation, not a revolution. It was a natural evolution to explore.

We used LSD to get a different level of consciousness in which one could experience more, and hopefully use ones brain better, think better, understand complicated ideas and understand ourselves better. My studies have been about human consciousness and its predicament. Why is humanity in such a mess? What makes us such neurotic animals?

You have led a very experimental life. In the 70s your interest in trepanning, the ancient practice of making a window in the skull to treat health problems, led you to drill a hole in your own head using a dentists drill to achieve a higher state of consciousness. Did your experiment work?

For the last 20 years I have tried not to mix the idea of trepanning and psychedelics too much. Psychedelics are taboo in themselves, and then to throw in trepanation is too much for most people!

I think its very difficult to say with sureness whether things that make a very subtle difference make a difference for sure. But I do feel it did make a difference. But then you get used to the difference, and its something that is then normal, and then how do you tell the difference? But I did notice a difference in all sorts of subtleties. It changed my dreams. I used to be such an anxious person and had anxious dreams. After my trepanation, they became less frequent. Theres a strong physiological hypothesis of how it works to alter consciousness.

Taboo-ness is the hidden force that works against usits the main enemy.

What I would say is that after 50 years, I am still serious about studying it now. I think Ive met a neurologist that I may be able to do that with. The hypothesis is that by making an expansion in the window of the skull, the membrane surrounding the brain can expand on the heartbeat. So that the pulse pressure is restored to what it was in early childhood before the fontanelle, and then the sutures, closed. That in turn restores the ratio of the blood to cerebrospinal fluid to what it was in childhoodie, a little more capillary volume in the brain and a little less cerebrospinal fluid.

All Im saying is that the research for this should be allowed. You can do all sorts of things now, you can get [gender reassignment surgery] on the [National Health Service], but amazingly trepanation, that has been going on for ten thousand years, is still taboo. Taboo-ness is the hidden force that works against usits the main enemy.

You have set up the Beckley Foundations LSD Micro Dosing Research Programme. Can you tell me about it?

Were expanding. I have set up collaborations with universities in Holland, the States and Brazil. I dont even think weve begun to really dig the depth of how psychedelics can help in both physiological and psychological illnesses. Im very interested to see how they help with degenerative illnesses and how useful they can be in lifting mood in palliative care, in pain management and cognitive functioning.

Most of the psychedelic research around the world has focused on large doses and the healing potential of the mystical or peak experience, in which profound shifts in consciousness and perspective can occur. However, a growing body of anecdotal evidence suggests that psychedelics may also exert positive effects on health and wellbeing at much lower doses.

Many microdosing adherents attribute a variety of health and wellbeing benefits to microdosing psychedelics, including enhanced mood, focus and cognition, but there has yet to be more rigorous, placebo-controlled lab-based studies of the practicea gap in the scientific literature that I was determined to fill.

I set up the Beckley Foundation LSD Microdosing Research Programme with the aim to thoroughly evaluate the safety and efficacy of microdosing on a number of cognitive, emotional and physiological parameters, paving the way for research into the therapeutic applications of microdosing under clinical trial conditions.

Psychedelics are having a renaissance; people like Gwyneth Paltrow are championing microdosing. Do you think the recent change in attitude just reflects the amount of research being conducted, or is there something more to it?

Research has given the stepping stones to a hostile society, to enable them to think, maybe we should look at these compounds again, and so the environment has changed.

Just like we had an industrial age, we are now in a digital age. Its rather unnerving in the ways it changes the environmentwe are confused and unhappy and entering an epidemic of mental illness, although seemingly, we have everything. Things like Instagram over-emphasize on image and people think everything they see is realitywhen in reality, the people showing off their beautiful handbags or whatever may be quite depressed. We are in a desperate need of something.

Ive been a fan of microdosing since the 60s. I think its a wonderful little lift.

What comes through with psychedelics is something that one knows through ones soulits not something new. Its loving nature, its loving yourselfits natural. Were part of nature, not apart from nature.

Ive been a fan of microdosing since the 60s. I think its a wonderful little lift. It can be used for humanitys benefit, but we need to move carefully. It needs to be carefully regulated and definitely decriminalized. Ive been fighting for that for 50 years, and I think were moving in that direction now.

Psychedelics and the knowledge that you can alter your consciousness should be part of the fabric of societyits not what the naughty boy does before he commits a crime. Psychedelics do not encourage crime, they increase connectivity with nature, which is good for the environment and your passion for people and openness. These are all good human qualities that should be nurtured with the careful use of psychedelics. Psychedelics used to be called fruit of the gods. They make us more god-like. They make us more ourselvesour better selvesif used well.

The only way we can drag psychedelics out of the naughty box is to prove that they have better efficacy than any other medicine thats being offered to treat psychological illnesses. We did a study of overcoming nicotine addiction using psychedelics with Johns Hopkins, and it had an 80 percent success ratethis was a pilot study a few years ago.

As the Queen of Consciousness, youve been campaigning for half a century. For the most part, youve been swimming against the tide, although the narrative has recently started to change in your favor. Do you feel like youre finally winning?

Yes. Though I dont feel much different. Its like if someone has worked hard to become rich and when they get there they dont feel much different from how they did when they were poor. I am very happy that my work over the last 50 years has had good effect, but disappointingly, I still suffer from a lack of funding to carry out all the wonderful research projects I have ready to go! The Foundation needs fundingplease help if you can. My position is to respect these compounds and be grateful for the potential of how psychedelics can be used to increase ones happiness and health. I thought that back in the 60s, and I think the same way now. And now it is beginning to get recognized, and hopefully it will be able to help humanity as a bigger group, and not just the oddballs.

Whats next for the Beckley Foundation?

I am excited about the next phase of our work which will combine exploratory studies into the underlying mechanisms of a wider range of psychoactive compounds [with] clinical trials investigating their therapeutic efficacy. We are also making steady progress towards the important aim of getting these breakthrough compounds into a regulated market.

We are facing an ever-worsening mental health epidemic.

As I mentioned, we also have an exciting new program of research specifically focusing on LSD microdosing, and first-of-its-kind research into unexplored compounds, such as 5-MeO [a close relative of DMT].

I am also now working on a most exciting new stage, where patients in need can finally get access to these treatments they need, through the development of clinics for psychedelic-assisted therapy. We are facing an ever-worsening mental health epidemic. Sadly, depression, anxiety, PTSD and addiction are on the rise, exerting a vast personal and economic toll.

Psychedelics have already been shownin ours and others researchto be safe and considerably more effective than currently available medications, with both immediate and long-lasting effects. Having joined forces with a number of leading global experts in the field, we are hoping to also play a pioneering role in this area and have started the process of setting up a prototype clinic, more details of which I will give soon.

Photo of Amanda Feilding courtesy of Feilding. Photo of Beckley Park via Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain.

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The Queen of Consciousness Driving Psychedelic Study and Advocacy - Filter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But at least he has those books, I guess.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No lie, a rainbow shot out of my d***.

Thats A$AP Rockys recollection of what happened to him when he did acid.

His story, along with those of other celebrities, are being told in Netflix s new documentary, Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics.

This documentary film is the latest from Netflix, with imagery that wouldnt look out of place in a video by The Beatles from the second half of the 1960s.

These entertaining anecdotes are pitched alongside some science from researchers who suggest such drugs can help with anxiety, depression and addiction.

It lands on Netflix UK on Monday May 11.

A$AP Rocky is not the only famous face in the film as Have a Good Trip features numerous celebrities talking about their experiences on acid.

The likes of Sting, Ben Stiller and Rosie Perez all appear in the documentary talk about what happened to them when they took mind-bending drugs such as LSD and magic mushrooms.

Actors also perform the wild trips recalled by late stars such as Carrie Fisher and Anthony Bourdain.

The trailer, which you can watch at the top of this page, teases some of these journeys.

Sting opens it by saying: I dont think psychedelics are the answer to the worlds problems, but they could be a start.

remembers hearing the grass talk to him while actor Rosie Perez describes her body melting into her mattress when she lay down. Then theres A$AP Rockys rainbow of course.

As well as celebrities talking about their hallucinations, Have a Good Trip looks at the pros and cons of these trippy drugs, as well as looking at their history, future, science and impact on pop culture.

Netflix also says: The film tackles the big questions: Can psychedelics have a powerful role in treating depression, addiction, and helping us confront our own mortality? Are we all made of the same stuff? Is love really all we need?

Originally posted here:

Have a Good Trip: Netflix release and cast as celebrities recall mind-bending experiences - Mirror Online

In the opening of the new Hulu adult animated series, "Solar Opposites," Korvo a snarky blue alien voiced by Justin Roiland explains his family's current predicament: "We crash-landed on Earth, stranding us on an already overpopulated planet. I hate Earth. It's a horrible home and one of these days I'm just going to blow it up and be done with the whole stupid thing, I swear to God."

Stranded with him is his alien family:Terry (Thomas Middleditch), their children/replicants, Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) and Jesse (Mary Mack). And then there's the pupa, a sentient supercomputer that will someday be capable of universal annihilation, but is currently a mewling blob carried by Terry in a Babybjrn.

The framing of "Solar Opposites" isn't revolutionary; think of it as a galactic "Green Acres" where the newcomers have to adapt (or not) to the odd customs of the natives. Cultures clash and laughter ensues. And like other Fox-developed adult animated series, like "Bob's Burgers" or "The Simpsons," "Solar Opposites" is grounded by a family unit that, for all their foibles, is genuinely fond of each other.

It will also lookand feel familiar to fans of "Rick and Morty," as both were created by Roiland and feature the work of former "Rick and Morty" writer and producer Mike McMaha.The animation styles are nearly identical and it almost feels like a natural extension of that series' universe, minus one thing: the overwhelming existential dread.

Whereas "Rick and Morty" is a ragtag exploration of nihilism and feelings of personal insignificance the idea being that if no one belongs anywhere and everyone is going to die, what's the point? "Solar Opposites" has a sunnier, but equally inquisitive, outlook.

Which, in these weird, weird times, will likely be deeply appreciated by viewers.

You see, this alien family has dichotomous views on their new earthly neighbors. Korvo, obviously, isn't a fan. Terry has adapted to life on earth. He bingesTV shows, enjoys checking out the makeup counter at Bloomingdales, and takes the pupa to watch the labradoodles at the dog park.Yumyulack is both disgusted and fascinated by them; he is forever shrinking the people in his life to run tests on them and keep them in a lab maze/terrarium. Meanwhile, Jesse just simply wants to fit in with her new high school peers, and in expressing that desire, she sounds a lot like someone in quarantine talking about The Before.

"I want to eat lunch with friends and see movies with boys," Jesse wails at one point. "I just want to chill at the mall."

Korvo's stony "I hate Earth" facade literallycracks every now and then, like when a new friend abandons them when they go clubbing in favor of some finance bros in the VIP section.In the face of this rejection, Korvo and Terry's bodies begin to bubble and little purple orbs of pus pop out. "Our bodies are not designed for this emotional overload," Korvo says, clawing at his skin. "There is a chance that we will overheat and die."

"I can't die! I have a bucket list," Terry responds. "I haven't touched a dolphin, or been on 'The Price is Right.' I'm supposed to fall in love on a train in India and maybe the woman is a little older than me?"

Again, sounds like a person trapped in quarantine, right? As the series continues, the universe of "Solar Opposites" continues to expand and the general lighthearted nature of the show and an undercurrent of just straight raunchiness is grounded by some of the more contemplative episodes. The sixth episode of the series, for example, delves into Korvo and Terry's relationship.

Up to that point, it's unclear whether the two are simply friends, associates, or romantic partners, but what becomes clear is that gender on their home planet of Shlorp isn't expressed in the same way it is here on Earth. So what does that mean for fitting in in their new home?

And, in a bigger sense, what does "normal" look like for them now?

This is a question a lot of us are probably asking ourselves about our current realities; I know that I've asked it often as my schedule has been upended and it seems that so many things are broken or warped beyond recognition. The world around us now feels deeply alien, which may be why shows like "Solar Opposites" are hitting at exactly the right time. Perhaps we can better parse our feelings about our planet when we look at them through an otherworldly lens.

Another new release that operates in the same orbit though decidedly strikes a more consistently earnest chord is "The Midnight Gospel." Heartfelt and trippy, this Netflix series is based on Duncan Trussell's interview podcast "The Duncan Trussell Family Hour" and is co-created by "Adventure Time" creator Pendleton Ward. The interviews from that podcast have been adapted into animated stories that center onClancy (Trussell), who lives in what looks to be an Airstream that is decked out with a "Universe Simulator."

Each episode begins with him selecting the universe he wants to visit, each completely programmed with places, people (or creatures), and their individual challenges. After rocketing past planets and galaxies, Clancy crash-lands and is immediately thrown into some kind of mission, all of which are bookended by conversations with that planet's inhabitants. This is where the show really shines; the topics discussed are wide-ranging and deep death, life, spirituality, love each approached with eccentricity, enthusiasm and deep compassion.

The final episode of the series features the voice of Trussell's late mother, recorded when she was in the final stages of cancer, as the two contemplate what comes next. It's one of the most moving episodes of television I've seen in recent years.

Oh, and then there's psychedelics. The show dropped on 4/20 and when you see the series' animation style you'll be like, "Of course it did." The first episode of the series features Dr. Drew Pinksy, animated as a zombie-fighting president, discussing psychedelics and their effects, benefits and some of the unknowns inherent to those substances. There's this persistent idea that while we can't currently literally visit other universes, perhaps psychedelics can offer an opportunity to do so and to maybe gain the insight that would be found on that trip with our feet still on earthly ground.

It's an idea that is appealing while homebound, and one that will be further explored in the upcoming Netflix documentary "Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics." Led by Nick Offerman, celebrities like Sarah Silverman, Nick Kroll, and A$AP Rocky will talk about some of their most mind-bending trips through animation, reenactments and interviews.

Per the film's Netflix description, "Mixing comedy with a thorough investigation of psychedelics, 'Have a Good Trip' explores the pros, cons, science, history, future, pop cultural impact, and cosmic possibilities of hallucinogens."

Again, there's this appeal inherent to things that take us outside our earthly existence, that encourage us to think deeply about both the world (and worlds) around us and ourselves. While homebound and isolated, maybe use this recent spike in otherworldly animation to let your imagination land among the stars.

The first season of "Solar Opposites" is now streaming on Hulu. "The Midnight Gospel" is currently streaming on Netflix. "Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics" premieres on Netflix on May 11.

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From "Solar Opposites" to "Midnight Gospel," recent otherworldly animation is worth the head-trip - Salon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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