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…

View Post

Why Are Some Plants and Mushrooms Psychoactive?

We all know that particular plants and mushrooms can affect the mind – how we perceive the world, how we feel, and how we think. Some of these plants can induce stimulating effects, including tobacco, the seeds of Coffea arabica (used to make coffee), the coca leaf (used to make cocaine), betel, khat, the seeds…

View Post

The Mysterious Origins of Ayahuasca

Ayahuasca, the hallucinogenic brew, is a combination of two plants native to the Amazon rainforest: the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the leaves of Psychotria viridis. The caapi vine contains MAOIs which allow the DMT in the leaves of the Psychotria plant species to become orally active in the human body. If DMT-containing plants are taken…

View Post

LSD Offers Anxiety Relief for Dying Patients: The First Study on the Drug in 40 Years

There is huge progress going on in the field of psychedelic research. The first study with the psychedelic drug, LSD, has just taken place – after a 40-year halt in research opportunities. In 1968 LSD was banned in the US, leading to a suspension of the busy, vast and promising LSD studies that were going on…

View Post

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…

View Post