What I’ve Learned Since Giving Up Drinking

On 1st January 2017, I quit drinking. Which is 16 months ago now. Some months before then, I had consciously been cutting down on my alcohol consumption, as I wasn’t enjoying getting drunk that much anymore – and the hangovers had become severe. I couldn’t stand the feeling of being poisoned and that horrible, dirty,…

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Here’s How Legalising Psychedelics Could Minimise the Risk of a Bad Trip

While the classical serotonergic psychedelics (LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, and DMT) are generally considered physiologically safe and non-addictive, they are certainly not without their risks. Negative experiences do occur – although, under a system where psychedelics are legal and regulated, this risk could be minimised. For a very tiny minority with a pre-existing or latent mental…

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Challenging the Stigma Surrounding Psychedelics

Between 2016-17, US comedian Shane Mauss was performing on a tour called A Good Trip, a two-hour comedy show about psychedelics. One of the aims of this tour, he said, was to remove the stigma that surrounds the use of psychedelics. Public Perceptions About Psychedelics Many people have misguided and negative preconceptions about what these substances…

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Why People Forget Their DMT Experiences – and How They Can Be Remembered

Many people who use DMT report that it is the most earth-shattering, revelatory and mystical experience they could ever imagine taking place (or never imagine such an experience was possible in the first place). But perhaps the most frustrating part of the DMT experience is the amnesia – being unable to remember clearly what felt…

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The Ethics of Using Smart Drugs to Boost Performance

Using smart drugs to boost performance is not without its ethical issues. While some may claim that it’s cheating to take a substance to outcompete others, others will say that there’s actually a moral imperative to do so in some professions; say, in biomedical research or space exploration, where peak performance can benefit humanity in…

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