This Month in Psychedelics - July 2020

Just when I thought July was going to end up being a slow month for psychedelic news, something truly amazing happened toward the end. Sure, there were several minor wins for various drug reform efforts throughout the month, and a bunch of new psychedelic research studies. But nothing felt like it was huge news.

Part of that might be due to the fact that the entire world went through yet another insane month. Or maybe it just seemed that way to me because I also had an insane month. Either way, there wasn’t much Earth-shattering stuff going on in the world of psychedelics.

But then last week things got real interesting. In a good way. Along with that story, this month’s recap includes a thorough update on the psychedelic policy proposals that might pass later this year and a couple of the most intriguing psychedelic research studies from the month.

Here is a slimmed-down video recap version that is available for those who prefer an easier-to-digest option:

Without further ado, let’s jump into the news:

Two of the World’s Most Prolific LSD Chemists Were Released From Prison

Last Friday the psychedelic community was treated to some completely unexpected (and uncharacteristic) good news when LSD chemist and longtime drug war prisoner, William Leonard Pickard, was granted a compassionate release from prison after being locked down since 2000.

He’ll still be under supervision for the next five years but at least he is finally no longer behind bars. And neither is his partner, Clyde Apperson, who was also compassionately released from prison this month—8 years before his 30 year sentence was complete.

Pickard was originally slated to serve two life sentences without any chance of parole but he was released early due to his old age (he’s 74), his deteriorating medical condition, the enhanced risks he faces with contracting the COVID-19 virus, and his role as the first American researcher to predict and write about the fentanyl epidemic more than two decades before it actually arrived in the U.S.

If this is the first time you’ve heard of Pickard, you should check out his psychedelic masterpiece, The Rose of Paracelsus: On Secrets and Sacraments. You can even listen along for free on the Psychedelic Salon podcast if you want to check it out.

Virginia’s Cannabis Decrim Law Took Effect

For some reason it feels like I’ve been talking about Virginia’s decriminalization measure forever, but I checked and it looks like the first time I mentioned it was just in April. But it feels like 100 years ago, which probably explains why I feel that way.

One month after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed the state’s cannabis decriminalization bill, and four months after lawmakers initially passed it, the law officially went into effect this month. That means possession of up to one ounce of cannabis in Virginia is now punishable by a $25 fine with no threat of jail time and no criminal record.

To sweeten the pot, just one day after the new law went live, Virginia lawmakers announced plans to legalize marijuana. The legalization measure isn’t set to be filed until next year, but it’s refreshing to see them fighting for a legal cannabis market so soon after decriminalizing.

A Few Psychedelic Reforms Qualified for the November Ballot

This month we found out that a bunch of potential psychedelic policy reforms might be approved later this year. Starting things off, Oregon officials announced that the state’s voters will vote in November on a first-of-its-kind measure to legalize psilocybin for therapeutic use.

Assuming voters approve measure IP 34, Oregon will become the first jurisdiction in the United States to implement a legal psychedelic therapy model, which would grant the Oregon Health Authority the responsibility of creating a licensing system that would allow Oregonians suffering from depression, anxiety, and other issues to work with licensed and trained facilitators to receive supervised psilocybin therapy.

Oregonians aren’t stopping there. Voters in the Beaver State will also be voting on a separate initiative to decriminalize low-level drug possession. This proposal isn’t specific to psychedelics but instead applies to all illegal substances.

If it passes, the state will begin using tax revenue from its legal cannabis industry to fund expanded substance misuse treatment services and drug addiction would be reframed as a health issue instead of a criminal matter. Low-level possession would become a civil infraction punishable by a maximum $100 fine and no jail time.

Activists in Washington D.C. announced that a psychedelic decriminalization measure will be on the ballot in November after watching officials count enough valid signatures. If the proposal passes, the laws against a variety of psychedelic substances such as psilocybin, ayahuasca, and iboga would be made among the city’s lowest law enforcement priorities.

But this didn’t happen without a fight. Earlier in the month Congressman Andy Harris attempted to block the decriminalization effort before eventually withdrawing his attempt.

And Oakland, CA, the same city that re-prioritized enforcement of laws against certain psychedelic plants and fungi last year, may enact an innovative ordinance to allow its residents to legally conduct plant medicine healing ceremonies.

Decriminalize Nature, the group behind the effort, is attempting to establish a pilot program that would provide legal protections for residents and facilitators to participate in psychedelic ceremonies. Facilitators would be screened by local leaders with experience providing services to vulnerable populations like people who have previously been incarcerated and victims of violence.

The ordinance would also call for the creation of a task force that would help guide the creation of the framework and study the impact of the pilot program, with the goal of reporting back on its findings within two years after the program is enacted. Decriminalize Nature is hoping that the ordinance will be approved by October 2020.

Cannabis Laws Are About to Relax, Man

There are a stunning amount of cannabis reform efforts that are still currently going strong even with the COVID-19 pandemic making things more difficult for signature collection.

First, it looks like Arizona’s legalization measure will likely make it onto the November ballot after activists turned in 420,000 signatures to qualify. Gotta love that number. That should be enough signatures, but the state still hasn’t announced whether it will accept them. So we’ll have to stay tuned on that one.

Similarly, Nebraskans might get a chance to vote on a medical marijuana measure in November if the 182,000 signatures that were submitted are verified by the state.

Activists in Montana have said that according to official county data, the state’s two legalization measures will qualify for the November ballot, although just like in Arizona and Nebraska, we are still waiting on state officials to verify.

Not only are voters in New Jersey definitely going to be able to cast ballots in favor of the state’s legalization measure in November, but polling data indicates that nearly seven in ten will do so.

Idaho’s medical marijuana measure is still up in the air. Cannabis activists threatened to sue after the state ignored their request to gather signatures electronically, which was prompted when the COVID-19 pandemic ruined in-person petitioning efforts. In response, the Idaho secretary of state dismissed the campaign’s request. But all hope is not lost yet; a federal judge argued in favor of electronic signature collection and the matter is still unsettled at this time.

There are two other states that already knew they would be voting on cannabis reform measures in November, but just to be thorough, let’s go ahead and breeze through them real quick.

South Dakota will be voting on both a medical marijuana measure and one for legalization. Mississippi has two separate medical marijuana measures on its ballot, which has frustrated advocates because they feel like the state’s lawmakers are intentionally trying to undermine the reform effort in the state.

At the federal level, it looks like the House of Representatives might vote on a cannabis legalization bill in September, although it’s far from a done deal at this point.

This is in strong contrast to the official stance of the Democratic Party, which rejected an attempt to add a legalization amendment to the party’s 2020 Policy Platform. Instead, the party will be fighting for decriminalizing cannabis possession, expungements of prior marijuana-related convictions, federal rescheduling, legalizing medical marijuana, and allowing states to decide on their own laws. But just like presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, the party has stopped short of endorsing adult-use legalization.

Meanwhile, on the international front, the Netherlands is considering the possibility of experimenting with cannabis legalization in 2021 and Argentina made changes to its existing medical marijuana law by allowing for home cultivation and sales in pharmacies. Going one step further, the measure will also guarantee access to medical marijuana to all patients free of charge, regardless of the health coverage, which is just completely mind-blowing to me here in America, the land of the broken healthcare system.

Americans Are Using More LSD—or Are They?

One of the pieces of psychedelic news I’ve seen making the rounds a lot lately involves a study that found that LSD use in the United States rose more than 50 percent from 2015 to 2018. The most common explanation for this phenomenon making the rounds right now says that Americans have an increased need for drug-induced escapism to deal with depression, anxiety, and stress from the general state of global affairs. But is the increase in use even true?

The study has been criticized for its small sample size—the results were based on a subgroup consisting of mere 592 people instead of the full sample (168,562). I agree with Drug Checking Day, who suggested that the Global Drug Survey would be a better data set to reference when looking at use trends because it collected information from a much larger amount of LSD users. In other words, I wouldn’t lend this study too much credence.

Using Psilocybin to Treat OCD?

Neuroethicist Eddie Jacobs (from King’s College London and the University of Oxford) penned a new scientific review putting forth the idea that psilocybin might be an effective treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder. The review highlights the fact that not much research has been conducted on this potential therapeutic application for psilocybin.

In fact, aside from anecdotal reports and case studies from the first era of psychedelic research, the only modern study that explored this area was conducted in 2006. But the situation is evolving as we speak: a few clinical trials are currently investigating the efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapy for the treatment of OCD. This is a space that will likely prove important in the future to the players in the burgeoning psychedelic industry, scientific researchers and patients suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder, so be sure to keep your eyes open.

That’s all for this month’s update. Remember to always test and weigh your drugs and until next time—keep thinking wilder.

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this month’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

Disclaimer: Think Wilder is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.

Psychedelic History, Shamanic Exploration, and Palenque: An Interview with Matthew Pallamary

Earlier this month I talked with author Matthew Pallamary about his new book, shamanic exploration, and what things were like during the birth of today's modern psychedelic community. Without further ado, here is our conversation:

---

Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. Your most recent book, The Center of the Universe Is Right Between Your Eyes But Home Is Where the Heart Is, came out last November and it covers a lot of ground. How would you summarize it to give the Think Wilder audience an idea of what it’s all about?

Ultimately it’s a study of objective perception. You can’t necessarily control your external environment, which is all the stimulus that comes into you from the world around you, but you are in control of how you choose to create reality with that input. In the book, I explore shamanism and visionary states—primarily with ayahuasca, but also with other substances—to show how you decide to show up, create in the world, and interpret your reality. And I backed it up with a lot of science. Some people say it was a little bit too much, but I was going after the atheists and the intellectuals. From the shamanic perspective, everything is energy. We perceive visually through lightwaves, we listen through sound waves… our brain is filled with multitudes of different waves. Everything around us is composed of vibration in one form or another. When you spend extended time in the jungle, you really tune your brain by altering your consciousness to other realms of perception.

The book is definitely chock full of science, and I can see why you would want to include it. It is written in the same language that atheists and scientific materialists use, which probably makes it easier for them to understand.

One guy who bought the ebook told me that he followed every reference that I included. Every reference. It was a bit crazy!

It's good that they're available, and if people want to explore them then they certainly can. You must’ve worked on the book for quite a while. How long did it take you to do research and write the book?

Interestingly enough, the book kind of wrote itself. But it’s based on a lifetime of research. My first experiences with altered states involved getting dizzy and hyperventilating as a kid. I was about fourteen when I first smoked weed and around that time I was sniffing glue, which was my basic training for altered states. A couple years after that I was turned on to megadose LSD—this was back in like ‘71 or ‘72. I’ve been fascinated with altered states and shamanism for years, and I’ve also been writing about it for years. This book in particular took on a life of its own. It’s always the best when that happens. A lot of this last book was stitched-together research that I found over the course of several months. Years ago, I took an honors course in anthropology called “A Forest of Symbols: Orientation and Meaning to South American Indian Religions”. I started tying that in with my psychedelic experience and the fact that there could be spirituality in psychedelics. In my earlier years that was a totally foreign concept to me. But Terence McKenna’s book Food of the Gods opened my eyes. It was a big influence. When it comes to this book, I was actually getting ready to write another novel and all of a sudden this one started pushing its way to the surface, so I just kind of rolled with it. Next thing you know, I was into the book. And it’s done really well. I’m happy with how it came out.

One of the questions that the reader confronts in the book's introduction is, “Who or what are we really?” How do you define yourself?

In this day and age, I consider myself to be a cosmic citizen. A lot of people over the years have called me a shaman. In the past, I’ve gotten indignant about that and I actually went off one time and felt really bad about it. Are you familiar with the C-Realm Podcast?

Yes—I’ve been a listener for a long time.

One time many years ago, the host called me a shaman, and I went off a bit too much. I actually felt bad afterwards, but I don’t refer to myself as a shaman. There are so many people running around like, “Hey I’m a shaman, here’s my business card,” you know? What I’ve finally come to terms with now is that when I get asked, especially in public, I like to say that everybody is a shaman. Most people just don’t know it and don’t realize it. I studied ayahuasca for 10 years before I found it, and now I’ve been going into the Amazon for close to 20. In my humble opinion, we are far more than we imagine ourselves to be, and we can limit ourselves by our perception. There’s an old American Indian saying that goes, “You really don’t know what another man’s life is like until you walk a mile in his moccasins.” So to me, to be a good writer—and even a good human—you have to have empathy and you have to realize that people have different perspectives and formative influences in their lives. They don’t see things in the same way. At this point in my life I’ve gone beyond that. I’d like to think that my perspective has shifted so I’m not caught in the polarities. The truth is always somewhere in the center, and I’ve worked my entire life to try to find it. When you find the center you transcend duality. You see things from the other guy’s point of view and then you have more compassion and you’re more open. As soon as you start defining things, you’re limiting yourself. The cosmos and reality as we know it is far more complex and multidimensional than most people realize. I spent years pushing the limits as far as I could, in a lot of different directions, to discover the nature of who and what we think we really are. I think that from the perspective of ultimate cosmic reality, we’re a lot more than we give ourselves credit for.

It’s a way bigger world out there than most people imagine and can suppose.

Absolutely. I think that ayahuasca, more than anything else, has shown me that. I’ve done tons of other things too, over the years, but that’s really the one that’s been talking to me the most.

So you studied ayahuasca for 10 years before you started working with it. What was that period of time like for you?

After the honors course in anthropology, I discovered the story of The Land Without Evil, which is my historical novel. It’s about first contact between the Jesuits and the Indians in South America, and it’s told from the Indians’ point of view, so it was all about shamanism. I did a lot of research at the UCSD library. This was before the Internet, so I would log into the UCSD library card catalog via modem and download pages of psychedelic content. A lot of this real groundbreaking stuff that you couldn’t find anywhere back in 1988. I spent $30 on a copy card, gathered books to copy on the machine, and took all the articles home with me. I wasn’t getting high at that time because I took a break for a while, but a few months after that I went into a headshop and there was High Times magazine. I said to myself, “Fucking High Times—that’s still around!?” I had read it back in the ‘70s, when it first came out. When I flipped open the page, there was an ad for the Entheobotany Seminars in Palenque Chiapas.

And that was the origin for the Palenque Norte visionary lecture series, right?

That’s correct. So I opened the magazine, and there were all these people that I had been researching independently on my own. They were going to be presenting! I ended up going to the first event in San Francisco in ‘96, where I met Sasha and Ann Shulgin, Jonathan Ott, Charles Grob, Wade Davis, and several other people. From that point I started going to the Entheobotany Seminars regularly. I went to one in Uxmal in ‘98 and then the next few were at Palenque, which is where I got to meet and hang out with Terence McKenna, Paul Stamets, and Christian Rätsch. I started recorded all the lectures on cassettes, and when Lorenzo Hagerty decided to start the Psychedelic Salon, I gave him a bunch of the lectures that I had recorded to help him get started. I had a lot of good friendships over the years, including one with Terence. He actually got the very first book from the initial hardcover printing of The Land Without Evil. So yeah, I’ve been steeped in this stuff for years.

It sounds like those early experiences played a big role in shaping who you have become. Thank you again for speaking with me.

You're welcome brother—we’ll talk again soon.

---

I am very grateful to Matt for sharing his insights and experience. Be sure to check out his website and new book here. If you liked this interview, you might also enjoy reading my review of The Center of the Universe and an excerpt from it that explores the ways that shamanistic cultures revere elemental spirits like the wind.

Image by k_tzito, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Book Review - The Genesis Generation

Photograph taken by David Wilder.

Lorenzo Hagerty, host of the inimitable Psychedelic Salon podcast for nearly the past ten years, first released The Genesis Generation: A Psychedelic Novel in audiobook format in 2010, and I remember listening to it and enjoying the story as well as the psychedelic ideas that are weaved throughout. He recently released the print version of the book and I sat down to read it over the course of the past couple of weeks.

The book follows the main protagonist, a character named "William", through a transitionary period in his life where he goes from being a corporate stooge working at a large technology company to becoming deeply ingrained in the underground worldwide psychedelic community. Along the way he meets many challenges and has a plethora of eye-opening experiences. I believe Will's story is loosely based on Lorenzo's own life, although Lorenzo appears as a separate character in the novel a few times.

There are several main characters involved in the story, some of whom have real-life counterparts in the actual psychedelic community. This book has the same feel as Alexander and Ann Shulgin's PiHKAL and TiHKAL books, which weave bits of fiction with a mainly-nonfiction story as both a narrative device and to protect those involved.

I enjoyed this book immensely, although I feel as if I cannot give it five stars because of the poor editing throughout the book. I would recommend it to anyone who already listens to Psychedelic Salon podcast or is interested in psychedelics, with the caveat that it isn't a perfect book. However, it is a fairly quick read and should definitely be considered on any psychonaut's bookshelf.

4/5 stars. 398 pages.

Weekend Thoughts - 10.3.15

Image by Hernán Piñera, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. The search for extraterrestrial life is one of my favorite topics. Scientists have been attempting to find water on Mars, and this week NASA announced that evidence for liquid water on Mars has been found. That's pretty big news, because that means there could be life on Mars, and the planet could support human life in the future. 

2. Some politicians have recently proposed that beneficiaries of the social welfare system should have their names published for all to see. An article from ATTN: proposes that the government also publish the names of companies who receive monies from the corporate welfare system (the top five are McDonald's, Olive Garden, the NFL, oil companies, and agricultural companies). After all, if people want to scrutinize impoverished citizens at the lower end of the economic scale who receive help, why not also scrutinize the privileged business folk at the top who are essentially doing the same thing? 

3. When skateboarding became emerged in the 1950s, the media was confused. Ratter put together an amusing collection of newspapers that just didn't the sport at all.

4. Something that I have long held as a personal hunch, it turns out that the FBI really does have the methods to spy on any Internet activity they want to, whether it is encrypted or not. Although they may not legally be able to do so, the organization has the means to hack devices and get past the levels of encryption that provide the infrastructure for technological innovations like the Dark Web. In addition, the FBI has been pushing for the ability to install spying malware directly into operating system updates, which the article covers in detail. They are already able to decrypt our communication, and I believe that side of the war has already been won. This is why I have been arguing for a movement toward two-way transparency, rather than an insistence on personal privacy.

5. Wired has its eyes set on the future horizon in its piece about platform blogging, which they have dubbed plogging. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are planning to release features that will allow their users to publish long-form posts on the platforms, essentially enabling the option to blog on a social media platform. The concept is interesting, and it may just work—there are fascinating things that everyone has to share with the world, and it is easier for the average Internet user to read content produced in a social media platform feed than to go directly to a blog or news website. The tradeoff here—from what I can see—is that the content would be published on the social media platform, so the writer wouldn't have control over it the same way she would if it was published on a personal website. We'll have to see if it kicks off. Maybe it's time for more people to start thinking about the possibility of creating long-form content for other people to read?

6. The concept of universal basic income has been a fascinating and inspiring idea to me for a while, and it turns out that offering money to citizens regardless of employment is an idea that is becoming increasingly accepted by both sides of the political divide. Could it be the end to poverty that we are looking for?

7. Would you like to eat less plastic? Maybe you should reduce or eliminate your consumption of fish, since a recent study found that one-in-four fish consumed contains plastic. In addition to taking this into consideration for your own health, don't forget about the health of your extended family—your pets!

8. This most likely doesn't come as a surprise to Think Wilder readers, but it turns out that DARE—the anti-drug "educational" program—was not effective. At all. I remember receiving DARE "education" classes during my elementary schooling in the 1990s, and they fed me with undeserved fear and paranoia about all drugs that remained unchecked until the mid 2000s, during my college years. It was at that time that I learned about amazing resources like Erowid, NORML, and MAPS by listening to the Psychedelic Salon podcast. Since then, I have learned that educating myself is more fruitful and valuable than anything the establishment could ever shove down my throat. I believe that the best education for children is to be honest about the potential dangers and the potential benefits that some drugs have to offer. Outright dishonesty and political propaganda does nothing but embed a feeling of distrust in our youth. They will eventually find out that, like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, much of the anti-drug rhetoric that is taught in schools is false. And when that happens, it is possible that they will make bad decisions—which could have been prevented with accurate information—because they assume the entire message was false.

9. Finally, local readers may enjoy this brief history of cannabis legislation in North Carolina from 1977 to 2015.

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.

Weekend Thoughts - 5.9.15

Image by Erik Eckel, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! I've got a well-rounded selection of links for you to read this weekend. 

1. Something that is hitting hard for me right now is the myriad controversies in nutrition science. Questions like "What is healthy food?" and "How much of it should I eat?" have been ricocheting throughout my brain this week. Quartz has a thought-provoking article on how the cult of healthy eating has more in common with religion than science. The piece's author, Alan Levinovitz, argues that nutrition science is difficult to research effectively, and he cautions his readers to not fall prey to healthy "fad" diet claims. I admit that I have tried many different types of "healthy" diets, to varying degrees of success. I make sure that I never put complete faith in any particular diet, and instead use the experimentation phases as a method for testing the diets for myself. However, I agree with Levinovitz's main argument - finding a truly healthy diet backed by substantial and trustworthy scientific evidence seems nearly impossible.

2. This Sriracha Avocado Chickpea Salad recipe from Healthy Slow Cooking looks scrumptious! After all, it's got three of my favorite things - Sriracha, avacado, and chickpeas!

3. New research has come out showing that there may be bacteria from fecal matter in beards. The findings essentially show that there are bacteria in beards that resemble bacteria found in the human gut. This may be because beard hair is coarser and can trap germs and grease more effectively. First of all, as a man with a beard, I have no plan to shave my beard. Second, I have to wonder if this is more germ and bacteria fear-mongering that will result in overall decreased immune function, rather than the reverse. After all, over sterilization is a thing.

4. One of my favorite video games, Portal, is being turned into a hyperdimensional pinball game. Pinball is one of my favorite arcade-style games, so the combination may prove to be entertaining. For those of you not familiar with Portal, it is a first person shooter game that has mind-bending puzzles in 3D space. Highly recommended. I may actually purchase the pinball version of the game - it's only going to be $2.99 for consoles, Mac, and PC, and $1.99 for mobile devices. The game will be released on May 25th.

5. A fellow Reality Sandwich writer, Bernardo Kastrup, was featured on one of my favorite podcasts last week: Lorenzo Hagerty's Psychedelic Salon. The topic is incredibly intriguing and this was an exceptional episode of the podcast that I just have to share. Bernardo describes the concept of a cosmic nervous system in great detail that resonates with me on several levels. Here is an excellent summary by Lorenzo:

"Today Bernardo Kastrup returns to the salon with more metaphysical speculations. Supplementing his recently released book, "Brief Peeks Beyond," he touches on the so-called hard problem of consciousness faced by materialists. In his examination of the dominant materialistic world view, Bernardo reveals the forces behind our value systems, which in turn determine our behavior. He ends with some very concrete suggestions for five things each of us can do to make the world a little better. However, my favorite section of this talk comes when he suggests that cosmic consciousness at-large may actually be experiencing what we humans call multiple personality disorder."

6. As an Apple fan, I enjoyed this brief piece titled One day they'll understand Apple on Ken Segall's Observatory. He argues that pundits that don't understand Apple's behavior in the present must look to its behavior in the past, as Apple is one of the most consistent companies in the technology industry. I agree with Segall's message here.

That's all for this edition of Weekend Thoughts. See you next time - and until then, keep thinking wilder.