Psychedelics, Child-Like Wonder, and the Will to Novelty

A commonly reported feature of the psychedelic experience is seeing the world with fresh eyes – as if for the first time. This has also been likened to a child-like state of wonder, where everything in the world is transformed from dull and lifeless to fascinating and animated.  While reverting back to this child-like form…

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25I-NBOMe: A Dangerous Psychedelic Commonly Sold as LSD

In the world of unregulated drugs, there is nothing to stop dealers from adulterating the drugs they sell or misselling them (giving you one thing, promising it’s something else). Most dishearteningly, the black market has encouraged dealers to adulterate drugs like heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fraudulent prescription medications (opioids, sedatives, and stimulants) with the highly…

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Ketamine and Nitrous Oxide: A Synergistic But Potentially Harmful Combination

Among psychonauts, drug combinations are sought out, experimented with, and appreciated due to their potential to modulate or intensify psychedelic states, and perhaps introduce novel states of mind not yet experienced. But with these potential rewards – new mental realms explored – can come greater risks. Unexpected effects and intensity can carry a psychological risk…

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Rational Explanations of Ecstatic Experiences Can Still Be Awe-Inspiring

I have previously written on the topic of naturalising mystical states (see here, here, and here), arguing that the phenomenological character of these experiences can fit into a naturalistic worldview, that is, the view that only the natural world exists, or the view which rejects the existence of supernatural realms, forces, laws, principles, and entities.…

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Mixing Psychedelics With Cannabis: A Common Cause of Bad Trips

The combination of psychedelics and cannabis is a common one. The addition of cannabis to a psychedelic experience might be at any point, including before the dose is taken, before the peak, at the peak, after the peak, and during the comedown phase. Some might prefer to smoke at some point more than others (such…

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