How Can Travel Be a Meaningful Experience?

When you go on a trip, perhaps it is similar in many ways to other kinds of ‘trips’, like those that people have when they take LSD, or those inner journeys of the mind experienced in dreaming, or another altered state. I think it can be stated without being too facetious that there are noticeable…

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Is Microdosing LSD an Effective Mental Health Treatment?

Taking small quantities of psychedelic drugs has become a trend among professionals in Silicon Valley. It’s being used to enhance concentration, problem-solving and creativity. We’ve known from studies conducted in the 60s that people report a serious boost in creativity after taking a recreational dose of LSD (100 micrograms). But microdosing involves taking such small amounts (10 to…

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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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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…

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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…

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