In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Simon Ruffell, a psychiatrist and ayahuasca researcher with extensive experience working with Indigenous communities in the Amazon Basin. He discusses the potential of Indigenous medicines to complement Western psychiatric care and reduce relapse rates. Dr. Ruffell compares Western and Indigenous approaches to using spiritual plants, addressing the ongoing debate about how to respectfully integrate Indigenous medicine into Western healthcare as well as highlighting the key differences between commercial ayahuasca retreats and authentic Indigenous practices. Lastly, he discusses aspects of Shipibo culture and a journey into Shamanism.

Ayahuasca

DMT

Psilocybin

Psychosis

Revolving door syndrome

Shipibo

Heroic Hearts

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Dr Simon Ruffell

Onaya Health

Onaya Science

Mind over matter

Participation in an indigenous Amazonian-led ayahuasca retreat associated with increases in nature relatedness

Ceremonial Ayahuasca in Amazonian Retreats

Modulatory effects of ayahuasca on personality structure in a traditional framework

In this episode, we meet with Dr Karenza Moore as she discusses changes in drug trends in the UK, focusing on the motivations, risks, and patterns of drug use, particularly among young people. Karenza identifies trends in drug use, including the impact of the lockdown on substance abuse. She also examines various drug trends within dance music culture, which leads to a discussion of safer partying practices, with a particular focus on the LGBT community and the importance of staying safe during a night out.  Finally she addresses the challenges of conducting research in this area and outlines strategies for overcoming these barriers to gain a comprehensive understanding of substance use.

Ketamine

MDMA

Mephedrone

Release

Transform

Beckleys foundation

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In this episode, Prof Nutt meets with Rose Cartwright as she discusses the impact of psychedelics on her Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). She reflects on some of the common misconceptions around OCD as well as the impact diagnosis and traditional treatment had on her life. Throughout the episode, she reflects on her own psychedelic experiences, mistakes made along the way and the steps she would have taken differently going into this with the knowledge she has today.

Rose Cartwright is a screenwriter whose memoir, Pure, about her life with intrusive sexual thoughts, was adapted for Channel 4. Her revolutionary new memoir, The Maps We Carry, reveals how the failure of the mental health system to cure her OCD led her to radical action. While she explored her trauma through a series of mind-bending psychedelic trips, she began to interrogate our dominant medical paradigm. Her writing about psychedelics, consciousness and mental health has also been published in The Face, Vice and the Guardian. Rose is a writer on the Netflix adaptation of Liu Cixin’s The Three Body Problem.

The Maps We Carry
Rose Cartwright 

OCD

Bulimia 

PTSD

Pure 

Intrusive thoughts

Psychodynamic therapy

Person centred therapy

MDMA 

Psilocybin

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In this episode, we meet with Satya, a consciousness activist, who has been entirely dedicated to the expansion and evolution of human consciousness for 15 years. Throughout this time, she has facilitated retreats for over 63,000 people around the world, with profound processes of transformation. Satya is the founder of Working With Satya and of the Awareness Facilitator School, that is currently training facilitators with the method she has developed, uniting modern therapies with science, meditation and ancient wisdom. 

She discusses the process of her work through a wide range of transformational processes, with a special focus on combining ancient rituals with contemporary therapeutic techniques. Satya shares how her personal healing journey, following sexual abuse, led her to discover the transformative power of Ayahuasca. Inspired by this experience, she became passionate about sharing this sacred medicine and supporting others on their own paths to healing.

Working With Psilocybin - Training Course
Ayahuasca

Psilocybin

mescaline

Working with Satya

Ayahuasca retreat

Trauma

PTSD in Veterans 

Indigenous ethics in psychedelic work

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In this episode, we meet with Prof Susanne MacGregor and Prof Karen Duke to explore the issues surrounding drug use in prisons. They discuss the ways vulnerable inmates can be targeted by gangs, as well as how various aspects of the prison environment can increase the potential harms of psychoactive substances.  

The risk matrix: Drug-related deaths in prisons in England and Wales, 2015–2020

Responding to ‘wicked problems’: policy and governance on drug-related deaths in English and Welsh prisons, 2015-2020

Producing the ‘problem’ of new psychoactive substances (NPS) in English prisons

‘Keeping a lid on it’: Exploring ‘problematisations’ of prescribed medication in prisons in the UK

'Risk, Intoxication and Death: contemporary media framings of drug-related deaths

ACMD report: ageing cohort of drug users

City roads
PPO
Pregabalin 

Cannabis 

Synthetic cannabis 

Ecstasy

Heroin 

HIV

Fentanyl 

ADHD 

Rory Stewart 10 Prisons Project 

Antisocial personality disorder 

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In this episode, David Nutt meets with Dr Duncan Still, a GP with significant interest in integrative medicine. He highlights the importance of adopting a holistic approach when providing support for patients and connecting traditional medicine with modern medicine as opposed to discounting it. Duncan explains how this holistic and integrative approach led to him becoming involved in psychedelic retreats and explains the process participants will undergo.

PsyEduUK

Acupuncture

Psilocybin

MDMA

Australia MDMA and psilocybin

Mind medicine Australia

Nature connectedness

James Hawkins

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In this episode we meet with Dr Apo Aporosa

He discusses his unconventional route to his PhD, having not finished school and joined the Army followed by the police only to break into academia at a masters level and continuing studies from there. 

Apo talks about his PTSD diagnosis and his subsequent journey with Kava, a spiritual drink consumed in Fijian culture. He discusses the affect this had in treating his PTSD symptoms as well as it facilitating his work overcoming his trauma. In this episode, Apo explains cultural aspects of the Kava experience.

Finally, Apo discusses methods of translating Kava into the medical field without impacting on its traditional and cultural uses. as well as its position of legality within the UK.

Kava Drug information

What is Kava?

Kava Myths and Misunderstandings

PTSD

PTSD in Veterans

Fijian Kava Ceremoney

Become a drug science community member

In this episode, Kate Hayes reflects on her experiences with the LSD Microdot Gang, drawing upon her interactions and experiences with Dr. Christine Bott and Richard Kemp. She addresses Richard and Christine’s aspiration to bring about positive change in the world using LSD which led to their eventual arrest following involvement in an LSD production and distribution network. At the time, however it was not uncommon for there to be a separation from LSD funders and manufacturers with distributors and dealers. Kate, therefore, further reflects on her own personal experiences with having fallen victim to the drug trade and trafficking at a young age and how this impacted on her experiences going forwards. Kate further reflects on the historical issues in treating mental health conditions and the current limitations of this, drawing further upon Christine and Richards aspirations for LSD.

Buy the books here

Listen to Acid Dream here

The Club of Rome report

Carl Rogers 

Carl Rogers 2

LSD 

Cannabis

Albert Hoffman 

University Occupation for Palestine

March on Washington

Martin Luther king

Death of the Family, David Cooper

PTSD 

Gabor Mate

Josef Rael

History of The Club of Rome

Instagram

Facebook

Blog

You Tube Channel

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In this episode we meet with Dr Julie Holland. 

She discussed how MDMA influenced her career and inspired her to investigate its therapeutic potential. Controversially, she has investigated the effect of MDMA in schizophrenia and its potential in preventing paranoia and inhibiting auditory hallucinations during its effects. 

Dr Holland touches upon debate subjects such as the likelihood of addiction following consumption of MDMA as well as classifications of various substances under regulatory bodies. 

Finally, Dr Holland highlights the ‘alpha bias’ in current clinical research as expressed through her book ‘moody bitches’ and indicates the implications this could have.

Moody Bitches Book

Good Chemistry book

Maps 

Mdma

Mescaline

PCP

LSD

Cannabis

Fentanyl

Benzodiazapines

Ketamine

Psilocybin

Psilocybin psychotherapy

Schizophrenia

Anxiety

PTSD

Eating Disorders

Rosalind Watts

Norman Ohler

Telehealth Ketamine Study

Become a Drug Science Community Member

 In this episode, we meet with Dr. Suresh Muthukumaraswamy, an Associate Professor of Pharmacy in Auckland. Dr. Muthukumaraswamy discusses his early research, exploring the functional connectivity of substances like DMT and Ketamine. He proceeds to share insights into his breakthrough realisation regarding the disparity between the self-reported success of microdosing outside the lab setting and why it has failed to be replicated in controlled research settings. Finally, he shares his opinions on recent developments of drug policy in Australia and the prospects of New Zealand adopting a similar policy.

Ketamine

DMT

LSD

Fmri

MEG

EEG

PET

5-HT Receptor

Microdosing

Neuroplasticity

Endocrine

Menstural Cycle Hormones

Australia Law on MDMA and Psilocybin

Research

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