Exploring Psychoactive Substances: History, Effects, and Legacies

Hamilton Morris and Dr. Mark Plotkin — Exploring the History of Psychoactive Substances, Synthetic vs. Natural Options, Microdosing, 5-MeO-DMT, The “Drunken Monkey” Hypothesis, Timothy Leary’s Legacy, and More | Brought to you by Athletic Greens all-in-one nutritional supplement and 5-Bullet Friday, my very own email newsletter. More on both below.

Welcome to The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is usually my job to deconstruct world-class performers, to tease out their routines, habits, et cetera that you can apply to your own life. 

This time around, we have a very special edition featuring two of your favorite guests: Dr. Mark Plotkin and Hamilton Morris. 

Mark takes over my duties as host and interviews Hamilton for an episode of the Plants of the Gods podcast. You, my dear listeners, are hearing the audio before anyone else, so this is a Tim Ferriss Show exclusive. I’ve previously featured some of my favorite episodes from that show at tim.blog/plantsofthegods. These episodes cover a lot of fascinating ground.

Who is Mark? Mark (@DocMarkPlotkin) is an ethnobotanist who serves as president of the Amazon Conservation Team, which has partnered with ~80 tribes to map and improve management and protection of ~100 million acres of ancestral rainforests. He is best known to the general public as the author of the book Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice, one of the most popular books ever written about the rainforest. His most recent book is The Amazon: What Everyone Needs to Know. You can find my interview with Mark at tim.blog/markplotkin. 

And the guest today is Hamilton Morris. Hamilton (@HamiltonMorris) is a chemist, filmmaker, and science journalist. A graduate of The New School, he conducts chemistry research at Saint Joseph’s University. Hamilton is the writer and director of the documentary series Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia, in which he explores the chemistry and traditions surrounding psychoactive drugs. You can find my most recent interview with him at tim.blog/hamilton.  

This is a tightly packed 60-minute interview. Mark and Hamilton cover the history of different psychoactive substances, Timothy Leary’s legacy, the “drunken monkey” hypothesis, conservation, microdosing, the differences between 5-MeO-DMT and DMT, a disease that afflicts people who smoke enormous quantities of cannabis, causing them to vomit continuously and only find relief from their nausea by taking a hot shower (yes, really), the impact of the placebo effect, a synthetic vs. a natural product, the role of ritual, and much, much more. 

Please enjoy!

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This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1 by Athletic Greens, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system. 

Right now, Athletic Greens is offering you their Vitamin D Liquid Formula free with your first subscription purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. Visit AthleticGreens.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive the free Vitamin D Liquid Formula (and five free travel packs) with your first subscription purchase! That’s up to a one-year supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive all-in-one daily greens product.

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This episode is also brought to you by 5-Bullet Friday, my very own email newsletter that every Friday features five bullet points highlighting cool things I’ve found that week, including apps, books, documentaries, gadgets, albums, articles, TV shows, new hacks or tricks, and—of course—all sorts of weird stuff I’ve dug up from around the world.

It’s free, it’s always going to be free, and you can subscribe now at tim.blog/friday.

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[06:22] The Sonoran desert toad's celebrity star is rising

[08:18] The role of the chemist in preserving plants, animals, and fungi from which compounds are traditionally derived

[11:18] Who is Howard Lotsof?

[14:02] Microdosing

[16:39] Ken Nelson and the celebrated Bufo Alvarius: The Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert pamphlet

[20:11] God molecule vs. just plain old DMT

[22:25] There are potential downsides to these compounds (even cannabis)

[27:58] Undiscovered compounds

[30:15] Lessons learned and questions pondered from Alexander Shulgin's thumb surgery

[34:05] Synthetic vs. natural

[37:21] The role of ritual

[39:49] Combining traditions

[42:27] Mark's account of Huautla in the early 2000s.

[42:58] Downsides of psychedelic tourism

[47:46] Effectiveness of fungi vs. frogs

[49:52] Where do we go in search of new substances?

[53:11] How far back do shamanic traditions go?

[54:40] Poisons as medicines and vice versa

[56:34] Salvia, and stoned vs. drunk apes

[1:04:20] Nicolas Langlitz and the primatology of primatologists

[1:06:03] Timothy Leary's legacy

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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.

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