PSYCHOACTIVE

Rick Doblin founded the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in 1986, and we’ve been friends since shortly thereafter. He and his organization stand at the forefront of the movement to destigmatize and legitimize MDMA and psychedelics for therapeutic purposes and even more broadly. We talked about his battles with federal agencies, his efforts to advance MDMA-assisted therapy in Israel and Jordan, his fundraising from prominent right-wingers, and his recent successes in recruiting police officials to his cause. I also pressed him on the challenges he increasingly confronts as for-profit investors take the place of philanthropists in supporting psychedelics research broadly and MAPS specifically – and also the problems that have resulted when therapists associated with MAPS are accused of inappropriate sexual behavior. 

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Netflix released a new documentary series last week, How to Change Your Mind, based on Michael Pollan’s book by the same name about psychedelics and medicine.  The next episode of PSYCHOACTIVE, out Thursday, is my interview with Rick Doblin, who has played a pioneering role in psychedelics research and advocacy for four decades.  He is featured in episode 3 of the 4-part Netflix series.  Today, however, we’re reposting the PSYCHOACTIVE episode from last year in which I talked with Michael Pollan about his personal journey with psychedelics as well as his most recent book, This is Your Mind on Plants, which focuses on caffeine, mescaline and opium.

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Dr. Julie Holland is a psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist who has written and edited many outstanding books about drugs, including most recently Good Chemistry: The Science of Connection, from Soul to Psychedelics. Julie and I teamed up last year to answer questions submitted by Psychoactive listeners. We enjoyed it so much, and the feedback was so positive, that we decided to do it again. This time the questions involved the safety of GHB, marijuana dependence, the relationship between drugs and mental illness, and the future of drug wars and drug policies. Julie is a long-time believer in the potential of psychoactive experiences to open our worlds and heal our minds but she’s also keenly sensitive to the risks entailed.

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What is microdosing?  Why do so many people swear by it?  But does it really work?  Dr. Sophia Korb is a therapist and researcher who worked for the Fadiman Group on the largest microdosing study in the world.  We talked about the findings from that study, including perceived benefits and downsides, why people start or stop microdosing, and patterns of consumption including combining tiny doses of psychedelics with chocolate, lion’s mane mushrooms or niacin.  I was curious about similarities and differences between microdosing and macrodosing.  And we discussed the potential and risks of commercialization since microdosing involves much more frequent consumption than macrodosing.

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Marijuana was integral to the evolving culture wars of the 1970s, with long criminal sentences meted out to some while others flouted the law with alacrity. No one was more central to the battles over marijuana policy than Keith Stroup, who founded the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) in 1970 and directed the organization for most of the decade. His allies spanned the spectrum of respectability from Harvard professors and former high level government officials to Gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson, Yippie activist Abbie Hoffman, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and assorted marijuana smugglers, most notably Tom Forcade, who started High Times magazine. We talked about President Richard Nixon’s efforts to block marijuana law reform and President Jimmy Carter’s support for decriminalization. Eleven states decriminalized marijuana during the mid-1970s but the momentum faded rapidly as the decade neared completion. Most fascinating to me were Keith’s reflections on his own activism in an era that preceded my own engagement in drug policy reform activism beginning in 1988.

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How does marijuana affect driving? Can one learn to drive safely while high? Are there reliable tests for detecting marijuana-impaired driving? How accurate are simulator tests of people driving under the influence of marijuana? Why do marijuana users tend to think they’re driving worse than they actually are? Has marijuana legalization resulted in more motor vehicle accidents and deaths? How are laws changing in this area? No one is more knowledgeable or thoughtful about these questions than Paul Armentano, NORML’s expert on all things marijuana for almost thirty years.

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Is it possible that MDMA and psychedelics offer a master key for reopening the “critical periods” in our infancy when the brain’s development and maturation is strongly dependent on experience or environmental influences? Gul Dolen, a brilliant neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University, has approached this crucial question by administering these drugs not just to humans but also mice and octopuses. Her research suggests that these drugs are proving so valuable therapeutically because they all reopen these critical periods, in effect making an old brain young again, and allowing one to go back to that state where you’re receptive to the world like a child. We talked about her theories and speculations, the importance of social setting in psychedelics research, the relevance of her research insights into healthy aging, why macrodosing is much more significant than microdosing, and the potential of psychedelics to heal not just psychological conditions but physical ones as well.

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Vancouver’s drug policies are among the most progressive in North America but the city still suffers from high rates of fatal overdose, mostly involving fentanyl. Garth Mullins has been part of the drug scene in Vancouver for many years: as a former heroin consumer who now takes a daily dose of methadone; as a journalist who joined with other drug user activists in launching an award winning podcast, Crackdown, about the overdose crisis; and as a forceful advocate for allowing illicit drug users to obtain the drugs they want from legal sources outside the medical system. Sometimes Garth despairs that he’s just “documenting the apocalypse” and helping humanize drug users while having almost no impact on policy. I think he’s making a real difference.

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In spite of a massive spike in overdose death, BC’s government still refuses to offer a genuinely safe supply of drugs. Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum tell the story of how the Drug User Liberation Front has stepped up to do what the policy makers refuse to do themselves: offer people a safe version of the drugs they already use. Then, Crackdown’s science advisor, Professor Ryan McNeil talks about his recently published work on BC’s “risk mitigation guidelines.” Why has this program failed to curb overdose deaths and what needs to be done to improve it? 

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I first met Amanda Feilding in the late 1990s, when she was launching the Beckley Foundation to conduct and support research on psychedelics. I must admit that I failed to anticipate how successful and influential she would become, with Amanda described in the media as “the queen of consciousness” and her Beckley Foundation playing a leading role in psychedelics research and advocacy not just in Britain but globally. We talked about her life and loves, her theories about the power of psychedelics to enhance creativity, why she favors LSD above all others, the importance of mystical experience and ego dissolution, and the many important research studies she has instigated and sponsored.

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