Some Reflections on the Backlash Against Psychedelic Hype

The hype surrounding psychedelics can be characterised as an overly positive picture of the benefits of psychedelics and an attitude of overlooking, ignoring, or downplaying the harms and risks of these compounds. We can view this as Pollyannaism applied to psychedelics. The growing psychedelic industry can be seen as following the trend of the Gartner…

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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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Children and Young People Need Honest Drug Education

Children and young people in the UK (those aged 5-16) are taught about drugs in the non-compulsory subject known as personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE). However, even though the subject is non-compulsory, the new National Curriculum does recommend that all schools teach PSHE and states that it is “an important and necessary part of…

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A Lesson in Harm Reduction: Introducing Drug Testing at Clubs and Festivals in the UK

The UK’s biggest nightclub has decided to introduce a drug testing pilot scheme for the sake of harm reduction. Manchester’s The Warehouse Project felt compelled to do this after the death of 30-year-old Nick Bonnie, who died in the club after taking an unknown batch of drugs. He was hospitalised along with seven other clubbers, plus…

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