Psychedelics Today

In this episode, Joe speaks with Mark Plotkin, Ph.D., author of The Amazon: What Everyone Needs to Know, and President and co-founder of the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT). Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on Facebook or iTunes Share us with your friends Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes  Plotkin talks about studying under Richard Evans Schultes (“the father of ethnobotany”), biocultural conservation (the main point of the ACT), Covid-19 and the possibilities for cures in the Amazon, how ayahuasca news can always be viewed as both good and bad, how indigenous people often know much more about their environment and plant medicines than we realize, and how not all ayahuasca is created equal. They mostly talk about the purpose of the ACT- using ethnographic mapping to help indigenous people take control of and protect their own land from their government and mining or logging interests, all while trying to

In today’s Solidarity Fridays Episode, Kyle and Joe interview Kwasi Adusei, Nurse Practitioner, and board member of Psychedelics Today. In the show, they talk about the root of protesting, privilege, the country’s leadership, the importance of this conversation and ways to support the Black Lives Matter movement. Show Notes About Kwasi It's difficult for all groups of people to talk about, not everybody is coming from the same place on this topic Kwasi says it's wonderful to see so many people rising up to fight against injustice These things have been happening for a long time, and it speaks to the history in America Kwasi grew up in The Bronx, and it wasn't uncommon to hear about deaths, gun violence, etc Kwasi went to receive his Doctorate, but reflects on his time in middle school and barely graduating It wasn't because of him and his willingness to learn, it was because of his environment The high school he went to is now shut down because of the low graduation rates The Perfect Storm Kyle say

In this episode, Joe speaks with Jacob Curtis a photojournalist at Denver7, a Denver-based ABC affiliate.  Curtis covered Alaska’s marijuana legalization in 2014, and as a photojournalist living in Denver, has been at the forefront of the Decriminalize Denver movement, even providing some of the first broadcasted footage of a local mushroom grow.  Curtis speaks about attending Psychedelic Club meetings and meeting James Casey, wanting to be the person to bring this story to the mainstream, and how these meetings and growing interest from the community were ultimately the incubators for the Decriminalize Denver, and later, Decriminalize Nature and #thankyouplantmedicine movements.  They also discuss the National Psychedelic Club (of which Joe reveals he is now on the Board of Directors), Edward Snowden and the dangers of speaking with the media, and advice for how to protect one’s identity, the Telluride Mushroom Festival and documentaries like “Dosed,” the Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel, new sta

In today’s Solidarity Friday’s Episode, Kyle and Joe sit down to talk about Grof Legacy Training, Peyote scarcity, a DMT survey on entities, and more. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes Grof Legacy Training Its based on Stanislav Grof’s research into psychedelic therapy, holotropic breathwork, transpersonal psychology, and spiritual emergencies Dr. Stanislov Grof and his wife just launched this program It’s not just about breathwork His involvement in the Grof transpersonal training program dropped off in the last few years He wasn't allowed to teach breathwork in the GTT model, there wasn't any growth in the company, so a lot of people like Grof left and started their own thing Kyle says this is pretty common with trademarks and protocols Joe says he's very excited about it Kyle says Stan’s work is ve

In this episode, Joe and Kyle interview Erik Davis, Author of High Weirdness: Drugs, Esoterica, and Visionary Experience in the Seventies. In the show they cover topics on La Chorrera, uncertainty, synchronicities and more. 3 Key Points: Erik is the Author of High Weirdness, a study of the spiritual provocations to be found in the work of Philip K. Dick, Terence McKenna, and Robert Anton Wilson. These 3 authors chart the emergence of a new psychedelic spirituality that arose from the American counterculture of the 1970s. Erik examines the published and unpublished writings of these thinkers as well as their own life-changing mystical experiences. Erik is America's leading scholar of high strangeness, and talks of synchronicities, uncertainty, and all things weird. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes About Eri

In today’s Solidarity Friday’s Episode, Kyle and Joe interview Dave McGaughey, Founding Partner of NorthStar. In the show, they talk about NorthStar, Ethics, and the story, “We Will Call It Pala”. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes About Dave Dave was interested in natural food and kombucha and sold kombucha commercially and personally for 10 years He mentions his favorite book of all time Island The critical moment for Dave was at a convention hall on an escalator On the escalator, in the middle, there were signs for an ‘exit’ that each company sold for “What do we spend our short lives doing and why?” - Dave He became humbled by the genius around him there and left the natural foods 'industry' for something more Business Ethics People come in with really good intentions, and then things get out of hand

In today’s episode, Joe and Kyle sit down with Dr. Mike Hart. In the show they talk about Cannabis and Ketamine used as medicine. 3 Key Points: The main uses for Cannabis are for chronic pain and mental health. CBD is really good for people with inflammation. When it comes to any psychedelic/plant medicine therapy, it's all about agency. The power lies within the individual, the therapy and the drug are just tools to help the person obtain the power to heal themselves. Ketamine is a useful treatment for depression. It's instant, a patient can take it and it's effective right away, where typical antidepressants may take 4-6 weeks to kick in. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes About Dr. Mike Hart He attended Med school on Saba Island Then he came to Ontario where he did his residency 8 months after practic

In today’s Solidarity Friday’s Episode, Kyle and Joe sit down to talk about therapists being unprepared to talk to people taking psychedelics, the drug war and more. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes MAPS Press Release PRESS RELEASE: Interim Analysis Shows At Least 90% Chance of Statistically Significant Difference in PTSD Symptoms after MDMA-assisted Psychotherapy MAPS hired a third party to work through their data set and they may be getting FDA approval Therapists Are Unprepared to Talk to People About Taking Psychedelics Should there be some sort of body regulating therapist training in integration? Should there be a standardized training? There are going to be good therapists that care, and go out of their way and get the training, and there will be bad therapists, that do harm It's a long and di

In this episode, Kyle and Joe interview Eamon Armstrong, host of the Podcast, Life is a Festival. In the show, they talk about Eamon’s Iboga experience, the festival culture, rites of passage, ethics and more. 3 Key Points: Eamon Armstrong is the host of Life is a Festival, a podcast promoting a lifestyle of adventure and personal development through the lens of festival culture. Maya is an intelligence platform for psychedelic therapists to manage their clients and their protocols.  Rites of Passage can look different for everybody, they can look like going to Africa to be initiated in an Ibogaine ceremony, to attending Burning Man.  Show Notes About Eamon Eamon is the host of the Podcast, Life is a Festival It's not about festivals, it's about how to make life like a festival Eamon is very passionate about mental wellness After graduating college, he felt very lost He was throwing mushroom tea parties, making electronic music with his friends The key to throwing a mushroom tea party is to have peop

In today’s Solidarity Friday’s Episode, Kyle and Joe sit down with Brett Greene, who was the very first guest on Psychedelics Today four years ago. In response to last week’s episode on the Corporadelic topic, Brett comes on the show to talk about companies and drug discovery. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes Brett Greene Brett Greene was the very first guest on Psychedelics Today four years ago Brett and Kyle originally met at the Horizons: Perspectives on Psychedelics conference in New York City in 2013. He works at The Center for Drug Discovery Drug Development At his new company, they are making drugs from tryptamines that are more predictable His team has not only done this countless of times with the FDA, they have also done it with psychedelics Ethics The psychedelic movement doesn't own psyc

In this episode, Joe interviews Tom and Sheri Eckert, organizers of the Oregon Psilocybin Therapy Initiative. The IP 34 is the bill that would legalize psilocybin therapy. 3 Key Points: IP 34 asks the Oregon Health Authority to create a licensing system that will create a regulated program where Oregonians suffering from depression, anxiety, trauma and other challenges can see a licensed and trained facilitator to receive supervised psilocybin therapy. IP 34 was written by licensed therapists in Oregon along with the country’s leading advocates in the field. It is supported by healthcare professionals, treatment providers, veterans’ groups and community leaders across the state. There has been a multitude of studies from leading medical research institutions such as Johns Hopkins, UCLA, and NYU showing that psilocybin therapy works. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others

In today’s Solidarity Friday’s Episode with Kyle and Joe, they talk mostly about Corpora-delic, companies and wealthy individuals investing in the psychedelic industry. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes Psychedelics Company Orthogonal Thinker Closes $6M Seed Round The company is valued at 111 million The CEO, Jason Hobson says, “The current health pandemic has resulted in a societal shift in the way we think about our health and the importance of access to treatment, both physical health and mental health. Ei.Ventures believes this is the right time to lean into mental health issues such as mood disorders and addiction, and eventual access to therapeutic treatments from innovations in botanical compounds that have been around for thousands of years.” Joe and Kyle say that there is so much money coming in, a

In this episode, Joe interviews Amanda Feilding, Founder and Director of The Beckley Foundation. In the show, they cover topics on psychedelic research, policy work, regulation, and the benefits of psychedelics in a time of crisis. 3 Key Points: The Beckley Foundation pioneers psychedelic research to drive evidence-based drug policy reform, founded and directed by Amanda Feilding as a UK-based think-tank and NGO. There is some interesting research happening around LSD expanding the neuroplasticity of the mind and increasing neurogenesis. We are in the midst of a mental health crisis, especially in the West, and psychedelics may be helpful in improving mental health. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes The Beckley Foundation Amanda says she felt alone for a long time, they were taking a scientific approach,

In today’s Solidarity Fridays Episode with Kyle and Joe, they talk about current topics in the news including MindMed, psilocybin synthesis, treating climate grief with psychedelics, psychedelic decriminalization and more. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes MindMed Psychedelic Pharmaceutical Company MindMed Develops LSD Neutralizer Technology To Shorten and Stop LSD Trips MindMed is a psychedelic Pharmaceutical company that is exploring LSD and patenting anything they find during the research Joe comments and says that organizations like Zendo are able to do optimal work and we don't necessarily need a Pharma company to help in recreational/festival settings But in a clinical setting, this is more necessary “Are these big companies coming into the space as allies are not?” - Joe Joe says he thinks they a

In this episode, Kyle interviews Melissa Stangl and Daniel Cleland, Co-founders of Soltara Healing Center. They talk about integration, Shipibo healing lineage, accessibility of psychedelics, and psychedelic tourism.  3 Key Points: Soltara is a Healing Center dedicated toward  integration as well as practicing and preserving the Shipibo tradition of Ayahusca healing.  It doesn't make sense to take nature based traditions and turn it into instant gratification and business. The further you get from tradition, the less beneficial it may be. Tourism for Ayahuasca can bring both harm and benefits to the local community. Reinforcing the heritage, paying the healers very well and giving back to the forests in terms of sustainability are all ways that Soltara is using Ayahuasca tourism to help the local communities. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community.

In today’s Solidarity Fridays Episode with Kyle and Joe, they talk about the Shadow Panel, embracing the weird in psychedelia, what is real, re-examining ‘normal’, and more. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes Shadow Panel Topics in the Panel include Ayahuasca retreat centers Maximization culture to use psychedelics for optimization Ketamine therapy and shadow as aspects of character The collective shadow and astrology and much more! Erik Davis Joe and Erik just had a call and they talked about his book High Weirdness: Drugs, Esoterica, and Visionary Experience in the Seventies (The MIT Press) It is a study of the spiritual provocations to be found in the work of Philip K. Dick, Terence McKenna, and Robert Anton Wilson It's a really nice survey of the weird “Are you acknowledging what you're getting by

In this episode, Joe interviews Michelle Janikian, Author of Your Psilocybin Mushroom Companion. In the show, they talk about Michelle’s book, the need to speak about the unspoken, and how psychedelic experiences differ for everyone. 3 Key Points: Michelle Janikian is Author of the book, Your Psilocybin Mushroom Companion, an easy-to-use guide to understanding magic mushrooms, from tips and trips to microdosing and psychedelic therapy. Psychedelics can help people, but they don't solve all problems. Doing the homework after an experience is so important. The psychedelic subculture has a lot of repressed stuff going on like sexual abuse. We need to speak about the things that aren't necessarily good for the movement, we need to talk about all of it.  Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes About Michelle Miche

In today’s Solidarity Friday’s episode with Kyle and Joe, they cover current events on psychedelics for treatment of COVID-19 trauma, an article on single dose psilocybin effects, psychedelic investments, self care and more. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes A Single High Dose of Psilocybin Alters Brain Function Up to One Month Later It was a small study of only 12 people The article states, the researchers found that self-reported emotional distress was reduced one week after psilocybin administration, but returned to baseline levels at one month after psilocybin administration Doctor Calls for "Temporary Approval" of Psychedelics to Treat COVID-19 Trauma There were a few doctors and people that didn't understand the value of psychedelics being used as psychiatric tools Kyle thinks especially of all of t

In this episode, Joe invites previous guest, Dena Justice back on the show to continue the conversation on Neuro Linguistic Programming and non-ordinary states of consciousness. 3 Key Points: 93% of what we do on a day to day basis, is unconscious. If we can figure out how to work with that 93%, then we can really do some important things. A lot of times we aren't happy with our behavior, first we have to distinguish between cause and effect. With effect, you blame other people, but when you're a cause in your life, you're taking responsibility for what's happening. Creating new habits is hard at the conscious level, because it requires conscious thought. NLP focuses on the unconscious. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes Last Episode 93% of what we do on a day to day basis, is unconscious If we can figure

In today’s Solidarity Friday’s episode with Kyle and Joe, they cover current events on COVID-19, social media narratives, a new world, psycho-pharma, psychedelic VICE articles, movies about acid and more. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes Coronavirus Joe and his girlfriend are recovering from being sick, potentially coronavirus (they weren't allowed to be tested without being hospitalized) Joe said he was really sick in a new and novel way Kyle is located in New Jersey (currently around 19,000 cases, close to 250 deaths) He has a weak immune system, so he is trying to be super careful by staying isolated (he hasn't left the house in weeks besides to go on a walk outside) Joe says this whole thing is really going to impact humanity and life on earth The ecosystem of commerce is fragile and this is a s