Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies

 Racism can take many forms, including explicit racism as well as subtle or covert racism, such as microaggressions. Research has shown that long-term and consistent exposure to racial microaggressions can lead to detrimental health outcomes such as stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and negative physical health outcomes, particularly among Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC). This study explores how racial microaggressions impact the psychological well-being and sense of belonging of BIPOC students at a large Canadian urban university. Additionally, it examines whether different BIPOC groups experience differential effects of racial microaggressions. A total of 403 self-identified BIPOC students were recruited through the School of Psychology subject pool, university-wide emails, social media, and campus organizations. A cross-sectional survey design was employed, with participants completing an online survey that included both investigator-developed questions about the campus climate and the following measures: the Racial Microaggressions Scale (RMAS), Racial Microaggressions in Higher Education Scale (RMHES), and Perceived Cohesion Scale (PCS). Statistical analyses assessed correlations between racial microaggressions, psychological distress, and belonging, with comparative analyses examining group differences. The findings revealed significant associations between racial microaggressions and negative emotional states. Black students reported the highest levels of racial microaggressions and trauma symptoms, highlighting their disproportionate burden. The results suggest that racial microaggressions contribute to heightened distress and reduced belonging among BIPOC students. These findings align with previous literature highlighting the harmful effects of subtle racism in academic settings. Addressing racial microaggressions is essential for improving inclusive and supportive academic environments.

This article traces the trajectories of psilocybin and ayahuasca in the context of the psychedelic renaissance. The bibliometric analysis reveals that academic publications on psilocybin fall primarily into the medical and scientific areas, whereas those devoted to ayahuasca derive mainly from humanities and social sciences. Second, the article argues that psilocybin and ayahuasca use is undergoing a process of secularization, leading to psychedelic use that is increasingly removed from its traditional cultural roots. This secularization manifests itself differently in the two cases: Psilocybin exhibits a higher degree of secularization than ayahuasca. Ayahuasca maintains strong ties to religious institutions and indigenous organizations deeply involved in its global spread, and it has undergone less medicalization than psilocybin. While the careful attention to setting in psilocybin clinical trials is noteworthy, this doesn't necessarily imply an emphasis on traditional mushroom use settings. On the other hand, a form of 'ayahuasca guardianship' persists, manifested in individuals and groups actively maintaining and asserting their cultural authority over the plant's significance and associated practices.

We are now in what many are calling a «psychedelic renaissance». Governments are relaxing restrictions on studying the mental health benefits of psychoactive substances in controlled doses; many people are joining a «psychonautic» lineage, that is, exploring inner worlds through ingesting bits of the planet’s natural entheogens. Ecstasies, prophecies, dreams, and other forms of altered states of consciousness – whether induced or not by hallucinogens – reveal just how far the human mind can travel. Italy’s Renaissance was rich with examples of such journeys and states, and there is much to be gained by bringing its works into conversation with current medical research. What is more, the Italian Renaissance also offers an important model for anticipating the benefits and pitfalls that revivals of past or decontextualized thinking and practice can bring to the present.

Harpagophytum procumbens DC [family: Pedaliaceae] is widely used in South African traditional medicine for the treatment, management and/or control of a variety of human ailments. Some traditional health practitioners of South Africa have claimed that H. procumbens secondary root is a useful obstetric remedy for induction or acceleration of labour, as well as for expulsion of retained placentas in pregnant women. In the present study, we have, therefore, examined the effects of Harpagophytum procumbens secondary root aqueous extract (HPE) on isolated uterine muscle strips taken from pregnant and nonpregnant, young female rats. The plant's extract (HPE, 10-800 µg/ml) induced concentration-related, significant (P<0.05-0.001) increases in the baseline tone (basal tension), and caused powerful spontaneous, rhythmic, myogenic contractions of the oestrogen-dominated uterine muscle strips taken from stilboesterol-pretreated, nonpregnant female rats. Relatively low to high concentrations of H. procumbens secondary root aqueous extract (HPE, 10-800 µg/ml) also provoked concentration-dependent, significant (P<0.05-0.001) increases in the baseline tone (basal tension) and contracted uterine muscle strips taken from female rats in the early, middle and late stages of pregnancy. Moderate to high concentrations of the plant's extract (HPE, 200-1000 µg/ml) always provoked powerful contractions of isolated uterine muscle preparations of nonpregnant and pregnant rats. The results of this in vitro study indicate that H. procumbens secondary root aqueous extract (HPE) possesses significant contractile effect and/or uterotonic action on mammalian uterus. This finding probably suggests that the use of Harpagophytum procumbens secondary root preparations should be contra-indicated in pregnancy. The contractile effect and/or uterotonic action of the plant's extract may be due to release of uterotonic substances or mediators. However, the findings of the present laboratory animal study lend pharmacological credence to the suggested folkloric, obstetric uses of the plant's secondary root for induction or acceleration of labour, as well as for expulsion of retained placentas in pregnant women in some communities of Southern Africa.

This thesis introduces the concept of a dining experience designed to simulate the sensory aspect of a psychedelic journey. Through projection mapping, binaural sounds, and other techniques, all five senses are enhanced without the use of actual psychedelics. Each dish is inspired by a specific psychedelic substance and its associated rituals, using food as a cultural object to explore ancient practices and rituals from diverse
cultures such as Ancient Egypt, Tibetan, Aztec, Vedic traditions, and more. Ingredients and visual styles reflect these practices and the effects of the substances. Using visual projections and other techniques transform the dining space to achieve sensory immersion. The aim is for every course to not only satisfy the palate but also engage the other senses, creating either a sensory overload or deliberate sensory deprivation to intensify the overall journey.

The focus is on challenging societal perceptions of psychedelics and exploring their potential benefits. The event offers a vegetarian menu to ensure inclusivity and aligns with many traditional psychedelic and religious practices that utilize plant-based
substances.

This project aims to redefine traditional dining methods and explore how sensory immersion can enhance our understanding and enjoyment of food. By merging historical practices with contemporary cuisine and food, this thesis offers the opportunity for a unique exploration that guides participants through a series of sensory and emotional states, making it an immersive and enlightening journey.

This is a brief summary of the finding of my PhD dissertation on developing an integral blueprint for training psychedelic-assisted therapist. From a review of 80 programs, 16 were selected and analyzed alongside integral education principles and relevant literature to create a comprehensive map for training psychedelic therapists. The resulting "integral blueprint" includes 15 main categories, 60 subtopics, and 265 detailed components, offering a structured system for program development. This blueprint serves as a template for designing new programs, a benchmark for evaluating current ones, and a guide for aspiring therapists to assess the thoroughness of various psychedelic-assisted therapy training options.

The article outlines a conceptual treatment for the notion of matrix, proposed by Betty Eisner, and suggests the incorporation of the concept into the psychedelic paradigm, as an axis of analysis and care for psychedelic experiences. To this end, the text carries out a genealogy of the notions of set, setting and matrix in the psychedelic field and proposes an interpretation of the matrix, articulated with the notions of context, set and collective setting and outside-text, as something that escapes heteronomic control, in order to highlight its potential for critical and creative openness to break with cycles of exclusion present in the current psychedelic renaissance.

O artigo esboça um tratamento conceitual para a noção de matrix, proposta por Betty Eisner, e sugere a incorporação do conceito ao paradigma psicodélico, como eixo de análise e cuidado das experiências psicodélicas. Para tanto, o texto realiza uma genealogia das noções de set, setting e matrix no meio psicodélico e propõe uma leitura da matrix articulada às noções de contexto, set e setting coletivo e fora- texto, como o que escapa ao controle heteronômico, de modo a ressaltar seu potencial de abertura crítica e criativa para romper com ciclos de exclusão presentes na atual renascença psicodélica.

This is the discussion chapter of my dissertation. In the spirit of academic growth and peer collaboration, I am making draft chapters of my Ph.D. research available. I kindly request and trust that you will honor the integrity of my work and refrain from copying or using any part of these drafts without proper acknowledgment.

This is my dissertation's Methodology chapter
In the spirit of academic growth and peer collaboration, I am making draft chapters of my Ph.D.  I kindly request that you refrain from copying or using any part of these drafts without proper acknowledgment.

Towards a blueprint for psychedelic assisted therapy training. Literature Review chapter. In the spirit of academic growth and peer collaboration, I am making draft chapters of my Ph.D. research available. I welcome your valuable insights and constructive comments, which will be crucial in refining my dissertation and elevating its academic impact. I kindly request and trust that you will honor the integrity of my work and refrain from copying or using any part of these drafts without proper acknowledgment.

In this paper, I examine the reciprocal relationship between scholarship about religion and discourses and practices related to the "First" and "Second Wave" psychedelic movements. Following the work of Agehananda Bharati, I argue that the "First Wave" psychedelic movement was instrumental in the success of Religious Studies in the 1970s and 1980s, facilitating interest in a range of issues around religious experience and its interpretation. I postulate two key spheres of influence: scholars whose experiences of psychedelics were formative in their study of religion versus others not associated with psychedelic use but have had a major impact on thinking within psychedelic communities. To illustrate this, I draw on my experience as a participant-observer in one of the first state-approved Psilocybin Facilitator training programs in Oregon, providing examples of how scholarship on religion informs psychedelic discourse and practice and the implications of it for the future of the academic study of religion.

This article aims to analyze how Western researchers can be influenced by their epistemic and ethical foundations, which are also expressed through a culturally shared idea of therapy, and how this influence can significantly hinder the understanding of a different cultural reality and its resources in terms of knowledge and practices. While examining a collection of research cases in the field of psychedelic therapy, the present paper focuses on the obstacles created by ethical and epistemic conflicts in the mind of researchers with Western scientific training and their consequent difficulty in exploring the situations induced by psychedelic substances in a context of articulation and integration between their therapeutic know-how and that of a spiritual hundreds-year-old psychedelic tradition like Amazonian mestizo vegetalismo. Such obstacles may offer a chance to increase awareness of the cultural bias and limitations of the scientific gaze and highlight the importance of therapeutic and research contexts in which declared independence, neutrality and effectiveness of human alert thinking as undebatable ethical and epistemic value are under discussion.

Background and aims: This study examined the lived experience of individuals who underwent ibogaine treatment for an opioid use disorder. Methods: Semi-structured interview questions probed for potential changes in predetermined categories derived from a literature review. Participants' experiences with ibogaine were analyzed for commonalities and emergent themes. Results: Categories that emerged revealed themes about subjective neurological and physical effects, auditory and visual phenomena, impact on withdrawal and craving, and shifts in outlook on self and life. Conclusion: Ibogaine treatment provides a subjectively powerful physiological, emotional, and psychological experience, attenuates opioid withdrawal, and results in a more optimistic outlook on self and life.

Iboga alkaloids are a group of monoterpenoid indole alkaloids with promising and intriguing biological activities. Ibogaine is the representative member of the series and has become widely known as a potent atypical psychedelic with promising effects to treat substance use disorder. Nowadays, an efficient and scalable enantioselective total synthesis of ibogaine and related iboga alkaloids is still lacking, so direct extraction from natural sources or semi-synthetic schemes are the methods of choice to obtain them in a preparative scale. In particular, ibogaine can be obtained either by a low yielding direct isolation from Tabernanthe iboga or using a semi-synthetic procedure from voacangine, an iboga alkaloid occurring in a higher yield in the root bark of Voacanga africana. In this work, we describe an optimized process to obtain voacangine from V. africana root bark as a precursor of the iboga scaffold. Using a direct acetone-based extraction procedure (0.5 kg of root bark), voacangine was isolated in ∼0.8% of root bark dried weight, while the major alkaloids isolated from the bark were identified as iboga-vobasinyl dimers (∼3.7%) such as voacamine and voacamidine. Since these alkaloids contain the voacangine moiety in their structure, the cleavage of the dimers was further optimized, affording an extra amount of voacangine in ∼50% isolated molar yield. In this manner, the total amount of voacangine obtained by application of the whole procedure to the plant material (extraction and dimer cleavage) could almost duplicate the content originally found in the root bark.

Este estudio de caso consiste en una mirada involucrante del ejercicio etnográfico, que, entre otras cosas, refleja el proceso de transformación que como investigador sufrí al tratar de vincularme íntimamente con las personas que realizan festivales de música electrónica psicodélica popularmente conocidos como “rave” (reiv). Cuando hablo de rave, me refiero a un espacio de intensas celebraciones, donde la gente busca superar las nociones convencionales de individualidad y normalidad refiriendo a sus propias experiencias en una dimensión práctica, que funciona y opera más allá de la lógica del paradigma racionalista y la consciencia basada en la experiencia personal ordinaria egocéntrica. Esta investigación busca contribuir al desarrollo de una antropología cuyo objeto de estudio no son los grupos étnicos tradicionalmente estudiados, coadyuvando a verter luz sobre los procesos emergentes de nuevas asociaciones multiculturales entre personas de diversos orígenes que han decidido vincularse por aficiones musicales, tecnológicas, ideológicas, estéticas, tradicionales y otras.

How the pursuit of "illegal" and traditional substances shaped the modern world Caliendo Alessandro [1028644] Private Law A-L, 21/22, 1st semester Essay on Civil Disobedience "Those who feel that they are more creative or insightful or self-aware while under the influence of psychedelics. .. may be delusional or they may be right. Prohibitionists commonly assume that such claimants are delusional, but proof of that assumption is entirely absent.

Objectives A resurgence of research investigating the administration of psychedelic compounds alongside psychotherapy suggests that this treatment is a promising intervention for anxiety, depression, and existential distress in people with cancer. However, psychedelic treatment that induces a mind-altering experience potentially poses barriers to vulnerable cancer patients, and health-care practitioners may have concerns about referring their patients to trials investigating this approach. The aim of the current study was to investigate the perceptions of cancer health-care practitioners based in New Zealand and the USA related to psychedelic-assisted therapy. Methods This study utilized a cross-sectional survey of cancer health-care practitioners in New Zealand and the USA via convenience sampling to identify their perceptions about the concept of conducting psychedelic-assisted therapy with cancer patients. Results Participants perceived that (1) psychedelic-assisted therapy has t...

In June 2022, Rolling Stone magazine published an article about a new phenomenon among ex-Mormons. A large number of them have become interested in psychedelics and magic mushrooms or other psychoactive substances. This may seem strange given the traditional view that Mormons do not smoke, drink, or use drugs, but data is emerging that suggests that psychedelics may have been an integral part of Mormonism from the beginning.

Among the major scholars who have explored this hypothesis, three scholars in particular are prominent - Robert Beckstead, who published The Re-Establishment and the Sacred Mushroom , then Bryce Blankenagel, who published The Entheogenic Theory of the Origins of Mormonism , and finally Codi Noconi, who wrote an extremely comprehensive book entitled The Psychedelic History of Mormonism . I will try to explain the main ideas of all three authors in this article.

Recent research offers good reason to think that various psychedelic drugs—including psilocybin, ayahuasca, ketamine, MDMA and LSD—may have significant therapeutic potential in the treatment of various mental health conditions, including PTSD, depression, existential distress, and addiction. Whilst the use of psychoactive drugs, such as Diazepam or Ritalin, is well established, psychedelics arguably represent a therapeutic step change. As experiential therapies their value would seem to lie in the subjective experiences they induce. As it is the only way for trainee psychedelic therapists to fully understand their subjective effects some have suggested that first-hand experience of psychedelics should form part of training programmes. We question this notion. First, we consider whether the epistemic benefits offered by drug induced psychedelic experience are as unique as is supposed. We then reflect on the value it might have in regards the training of psychedelic therapists. We conclude that, absent stronger evidence of the contribution drug induced experiences make to the training of psychedelic therapists, requiring trainees to take psychedelic drugs does not seem ethically legitimate. However, given the potential for epistemic benefit cannot be entirely ruled out, permitting trainees who wish to gain first-hand experience of psychedelics may be permissible.

Research of psychedelic assisted therapies is at an all-time high, though few studies highlight extra-pharmacological factors that may affect treatment efficacy. One critical set of attributes includes the therapeutic setting itself, which describe the physical and socio-cultural environments in which the drug-assisted session occurs. Despite enduring consensus of the influence of setting, recommendations for establishing and reporting key setting variables remain sparse across clinical trial protocols and published research methodologies. The purpose of this paper is to: (1) present what is known of the influence and implications of setting to psychedelic-assisted therapies, with a particular focus on 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA); and (2) propose a set of reporting guidelines for operationalizing and reporting key setting variables in clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapies, based on recommendations emerging from clinical trials of MDMA for PTSD. In fact, reco...

Psychedelic medicine is an emerging field that examines entheogens, psychoactive substances that produce non-ordinary states of consciousness (NOSC). 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is currently in phase-3 FDA clinical trials in the United States (US) and Canada to treat the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). MDMA is used in conjunction with manualized therapy, because of its effectiveness in reducing fear-driven stimuli that contribute to trauma and anxiety symptoms. In 2017, the FDA designated MDMA as a “breakthrough therapy,” signaling that it has advantages in safety, efficacy, and compliance over available medication for the treatment of trauma-, stress-, and anxiety-related disorders such as PTSD. In the US and Canada, historical and contemporary racial mistreatment is frequently experienced by Black people via a variety of macro and micro insults. Such experiences trigger physiological responses of anxiety and fear, which are associated with chronicall...

Simulation-based education is a particularly germane strategy for addressing the difficult topic of racism and implicit bias due to its immersive nature and the paradigm of structured debriefing. Researchers have proposed actionable frameworks for implicit bias education, particularly outlining the need to shift from recognition to transformation, with the goal of changing discriminatory behaviors and policies. As simulation educators tasked with training health care professionals, we have an opportunity to meet this need for transformation. Simulation can shift behaviors, but missteps in design and implementation when used to address implicit bias can also lead to negative outcomes. The focus of this article is to provide recommendations to consider when designing simulation-based education to specifically address racism and implicit bias.

John Gray, in his book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, explored the differences in the behaviors and languages of men and women by means of his eponymous metaphor that men and women are from distinct planets and that each gender is acclimated to its own planet’s society and customs, but not to those of the other. This metaphor is anchored on the Difference Theory, popularized by Deborah Tannen, which examines the effect that gender has on language use. This study, therefore, is an attempt to explore differences in male and female language in English, Filipino, and Iloco. It seeks to determine the linguistic features that characterize the language of the two groups represented by 100 students from LORMA Colleges. These include language preference; linguistic borrowing; dynamics of code-switching; use of adjectives in English Filipino, and Iloco; and syntactic complexity. Language differences also cover topic preferences of men and women; topics considered not in good taste f...

Ibogaine is a monoterpene indole alkaloid used in medical and nonmedical settings for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Its mechanism of action is apparently novel. There are no published prospective studies of drug use outcomes with ibogaine. To study outcomes following opioid detoxification with ibogaine. In this observational study, 30 subjects with DSM-IV Opioid Dependence (25 males, 5 females) received a mean total dose of 1,540 ± 920 mg ibogaine HCl. Subjects used oxycodone (n = 21; 70%) and/or heroin (n = 18; 60%) in respective amounts of 250 ± 180 mg/day and 1.3 ± 0.94 g/day, and averaged 3.1 ± 2.6 previous episodes of treatment for opioid dependence. Detoxification and follow-up outcomes at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months were evaluated utilizing the Subjective Opioid Withdrawal Scale (SOWS) and Addiction Severity Index Composite (ASIC) scores, respectively. SOWS scores decreased from 31.0 ± 11.6 pretreatment to 14.0 ± 9.8 at 76.5 ± 30 hours posttreatment (t = 7.07, df = 26, ...

Psychedelic medicine is an emerging field that examines entheogens, psychoactive substances that produce non-ordinary states of consciousness (NOSC). 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is currently in phase-3 FDA clinical trials in the United States (US) and Canada to treat the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). MDMA is used in conjunction with manualized therapy, because of its effectiveness in reducing fear-driven stimuli that contribute to trauma and anxiety symptoms. In 2017, the FDA designated MDMA as a “breakthrough therapy,” signaling that it has advantages in safety, efficacy, and compliance over available medication for the treatment of trauma-, stress-, and anxiety-related disorders such as PTSD. In the US and Canada, historical and contemporary racial mistreatment is frequently experienced by Black people via a variety of macro and micro insults. Such experiences trigger physiological responses of anxiety and fear, which are associated with chronicall...

The psychoactive indole alkaloid ibogaine has been associated with encouraging treatment outcomes for opioid dependence. The legal status of ibogaine in New Zealand provides a unique opportunity to evaluate durability of treatment outcomes. To examine longitudinal treatment effects over a 12-month period among individuals receiving legal ibogaine treatment for opioid dependence. This observational study measured addiction severity as the primary outcome in 14 participants (50% female) over 12 months post-treatment using the Addiction Severity Index-Lite (ASI-Lite) following a single ibogaine treatment by either of two treatment providers. Secondary effects on depression were assessed via the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). The Subjective Opioid Withdrawal Scale (SOWS) was collected before and immediately after treatment to measure opioid withdrawal symptoms. Nonparametric comparisons via Friedman Test between baseline and 12-month follow-up for participants completing all int...

Background: Therapeutic properties of ibogaine in the treatment of addiction are attracting both clinicians and patients to its use. Since ibogaine is not an authorized medicine, the quality of these products is not always known, increasing the probability of adverse reactions. Objective: This study collects different types of iboga-derived samples from treatment providers, vendors and online buyers to analyse their content. Methods: Analysis of iboga products (n = 16) was performed using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry methods (GC/MS). Products included Iboga root bark, Total Alkaloids (TA), Purified Total Alkaloids (PTA HCl), ibogaine hydrochloride (ibogaine HCl) and one Voacanga africana root bark. Results: The content of ibogaine was highly variable, ranging from 0.6% to 11.2% for products sold as iboga root bark, from 8.2% to 32.9% for products sold as TA, 73.7% for one sample sold as PTA and from 61.5% to 73.4% for products sold as ibogaine HCl. One sample did not show any iboga alkaloids. Other alkaloids and unknown substances were found in almost all samples. Discussion: The purity of iboga products is highly variable. These results should be taken into consideration by suppliers and users, especially regarding correct dosing to avoid overdose, as well as potential interactions with other substances.

Psychedelic medicine is an emerging field that examines entheogens, psychoactive substances that produce non-ordinary states of consciousness (NOSC). 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is currently in phase-3 FDA clinical trials in the United States (US) and Canada to treat the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). MDMA is used in conjunction with manualized therapy, because of its effectiveness in reducing fear-driven stimuli that contribute to trauma and anxiety symptoms. In 2017, the FDA designated MDMA as a "breakthrough therapy," signaling that it has advantages in safety, efficacy, and compliance over available medication for the treatment of trauma-, stress-, and anxiety-related disorders such as PTSD. In the US and Canada, historical and contemporary racial mistreatment is frequently experienced by Black people via a variety of macro and micro insults. Such experiences trigger physiological responses of anxiety and fear, which are associated with chronically elevated stress hormone levels (e.g., cortisol and epinephrine), similar to levels documented among those diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. This paper will explore the benefits of entheogens within psychedelic assisted-therapy and their potential benefits in addressing the sequelae of pervasive and frequent negative race-based experiences and promoting healing and thriving among Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC). The author(s) discuss the ethical responsibility for providing psychedelic-assisted therapy within a culturally competent provider framework and the importance of psychedelic researchers to recruit and retain BIPOC populations in research and clinical training.

Engrossing in playing Defense of the Ancients (DOTA 1) has become a huge dilemma to the society. The popularity of the said game is at its peak, that even some students were reported to have flunked in school due to negligence from the academic responsibilities. With the increasing prevalence of the impact of playing DOTA 1, learners in schools need to increase their literacy and proficiency in any subject area particularly in Mathematics. This quantitativequalitative method research design aimed to determine the relationship between College Students’ attitude towards playing DOTA 1 and their Trigonometry proficiencies. These researcher-made questionnaire and actual interviews (AI) were used to determine the level and views of College Students’ attitude towards playing DOTA and Trigonometry proficiencies. The weighted mean, Pearson r and standard deviation were the statistical tools used in this study. The results of the gathered data revealed that the level of attitude of the colle...

Ibogaine is a psychoactive alkaloid contained in the West African plant Tabernanthe iboga. Although preliminary, evidence suggests that ibogaine could be effective in the treatment of certain substance use disorders, specifically opioid use disorder. This narrative review concentrated on the pharmacological, cultural and psychological aspects of ibogaine that contribute to its reputed effectiveness with a specific focus on the ibogaine state of consciousness. Although the exact pharmacological mechanisms for ibogaine are still speculative, the literature highlighted its role as an NMDA antagonist in the effective treatment of substance use disorders. The cultural aspects associated with the use of ibogaine pose questions around the worldview of participants as experienced in the traditional and western contexts, which future research should clarify. From a psychological perspective, the theory that the ibogaine state of consciousness resembles REM sleep is questionable due to eviden...

This publication introduces and describes new efforts based on the concept of alternatives zo drug abuse. The pamphlet is designed for educators, community groups, drug abuse professionals, treatment personnel, parents and young people. According to those who espouse the alternatives approach, motives for drug-taking inevitably include the need to escape from boredom, alienation, pain, frustration, and meaninglessness. Alternatives to drug abuse are defined to include those constructive and viable attitudes, values, orientations, experiences, lifestyles, opportunities, activities, pursuits, and programs which can prevent or diminish significant drug abuse by providing greater satisfactions than drugs. Levels of

BackgroundPsychedelic-assisted therapy research is demonstrating unprecedented rates of success in treating mentalillness, addictions, and end-of-life distress. This psychedelic renaissance is a turning point in how com-plex human conditions can be treated and has implications for nursing knowledge, advocacy, and practice internationally. ObjectiveThis article aims to explore the current state of knowledge in the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy and the practice implications for nurses. MethodsA scoping review of the literature was undertaken with a focus on mental health, addictions, and palliative care indications. Commentaries, syntheses, and reviews from the last 20 years were included, as well as all relevant primary study results. We then explored what is known about the nurse’s past and present role in this field. ResultsThe nurse’s role in psychedelic-assisted therapy and research has been hitherto mostly invisible and thus remains under-explored and undefined. The prof...

As both 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-and psilocybinassisted psychedelic psychotherapy near U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and gain acceptance as efficacious clinical approaches, concerns have been raised about the likelihood of sexual violation of a client and other relational boundary transgressions. In the current study, 23 practitioners who have administered MDMA and psilocybin to clients in underground (i.e., extralegal) healing contexts were interviewed about their experiences navigating multiple relationships, nonsexual touch, and sexual boundary-setting in their work. Of these practitioners, 12 had undergone formal, graduate-level training in psychotherapy, 10 identified as female, and 13 identified as male. A phenomenological research design was used to assess what unique relational challenges they have faced in this work and what practices they have found helpful in doing so. Two sets of themes addressing these two questions were developed from the data. Descriptive themes represent the unique challenges that psychedelic practitioners have encountered in their work, and prescriptive themes are made up of the practices they have found most useful in confronting these challenges. Some

Ancient Greek people adored the Titan goddess Mnemosyne. Mnemosyne was the personification of memory, of remembrance, sense-making and eloquence. Today we might call her the goddess of consciousness. Mnemosyne was also the daughter of Heaven and Earth (Ouranos and Gaia). She was the mother of the Muses and therefore the source of all divine inspiration in the world. She was invoked in the dream incubation rituals at the Asklepion Sleep Temples, so that supplicants would remember their dreams. She was called upon at Oracles and Mystery ceremonies as a psychopomp. She guided souls on their journeys through life, dream and underworld.

No doubt there was an archetype that predates Mnemosyne, but she stands as an enduring symbol of memory as consciousness which is just as valid in today’s world and will continue to be relevant, as long as conscious beings exist.

What are we without memory? How do we make sense of the world around us if we have no recollection of our past? No awareness of our place in space and time. What exists beyond the sphere of time’s influence. Once we transcend the cycles of day and night, the rotations of the planets, the pulsations of stars and vortices of galaxies? What happens to time when we dive into the quantum realm? Is this where we go when we die?

Ayahuasca is an entheogenic brew from the Amazon originally used by indigenous peoples for spiritual, medicinal, and cultural purposes. Its medicinal and therapeutic properties include treatment for depression, drug addiction, and PTSD, following growing scientific research. Demand for ayahuasca has increased in the modern world, both within and outside of its original cultural and historical context, now including the West. This presents challenges for governments, policymakers, and other stakeholders regarding its legal status, regulation, and transnational governance. To contribute to understandings of these challenges, this paper aims to explore, from a sociological perspective, how collective strategic action can be a source of both social change and stability for the governance of ayahuasca. It does so by looking at two opposing collective strategic groups as a case study: The Ethnobotanical Stewardship Council (ESC), and a group of more than 60 academics and other experts who disagree with the ESC’s approach. Issues of participant safety, fair trade, and environmental sustainability are explored alongside the notion of indigenous representation. Results from interviews and discourse analysis of documents during the episode of contention in 2014, between the ESC and the opposition, suggest that to change the governance of ayahuasca, collective strategic action of the ESC was based on cooperation while the oppositions was based on coercion to restore the status quo and stabilise the field. Coercion and influence as power, from the opposing group, suggested that the ayahuasca community has an underlying political issue that has been overlooked since the ESC’s dissolution.

A preview of chapter one of "They Shimmer Within: Cognitive-Evolutionary Perspectives on Visionary Beings" (2018, Xibalba Books). The notion of ‘visionary beings’ as apparently discarnate, seemingly sentient agents appearing in intense visions engendered by DMT, salvia divinorum and other psychedelics, as well as through intense religious experiences cross-culturally, is explored, summarising some of the questions asked and formulations presented in psychedelic studies. Literalist, dismissive and dispositional interpretations of these experiences are challenged as being insufficient for a complete understanding of these human phenomena, and the proposal is given (justified in the subsequent 29 chapters) that cognitive-evolutionary psychological and cognitive anthropological perspectives may have greater explanatory power on these matters.