Cutting Through the Hype Around Psychedelics: An Interview With Dr Rick Strassman

Dr Rick Strassman, currently an Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico, is one of the leading pioneers of modern psychedelic research. His studies on DMT, which took place between 1990 and 1995, broke the 20-year gap in psychedelic research. Strassman’s work on DMT, which kickstarted what has become known as…

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‘How to Change Your Mind’ and the Destigmatisation of Psychedelics

The Netflix docuseries How to Change Your Mind, based on Michael Pollan’s book of the same name, explores the history and therapeutic effects of four different psychoactive compounds: LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, and mescaline (with the episodes in that order).  Directed by Alison Ellwood and Lucy Walker, and presented by Pollan, How to Change Your Mind…

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Book Review: The Psychedelic Handbook by Rick Strassman

Dr Rick Strassman, currently an Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico, is one of the leading pioneers of modern psychedelic research. His studies on DMT, which took place between 1990 and 1995, broke the 20-year gap in psychedelic research. This halting of prolific and promising inquiry was because the US…

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Could LSD Really Be a Better Smart Drug Than Modafinil?

A 2015 article in The Guardian claimed that modafinil (marketed as Provigil) is the world’s safest smart drug while a systematic review published in European Neuropsychopharmacology found that modafinil does in fact enhance cognition, and it is safe in the short-term, with few side-effects and no addictive properties. This drug – available on the NHS as…

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The Opioid Crisis and the Future of Pain Relief

The opioid crisis (or opioid epidemic) is still a major public health issue in the US; despite news headlines being dominated by the coronavirus pandemic and lack of coverage of the opioid crisis, the number of opioid overdoses has been increasing. A recent paper in The Lancet reports that in 2019, drug overdose deaths reached…

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