This episode of the Drug Science podcast offers a unique insight into the personal accounts of veterans Jesse Gould and Keith Abrahams. From the Afghan war zone to the Peruvian Jungle, these two have dedicated themselves to helping support their fellow brothers and sisters in arms.After being deployed in Afghanistan three times, Jesse Gould founded the Heroic Hearts Project in 2017 to spearhead the acceptance and use of ayahuasca therapy as a means of addressing the current mental health crisis among veterans. This project offers veterans who are interested in pursuing psychedelic treatment options, a chance to treat their PTSD.Keith Abraham served 9 years as a member of The Parachute Regiment, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Throughout the latter years of his military service and during this time working for an investment bank, Keith began experiencing severe symptoms of anxiety and depression. After exhausting the majority of services and options offered by the NHS and military charities without much success, Keith realised a new approach was needed.---------------------------------***Free Drug Science event***Medical Psychedelic Working Group Event <<< register here<<<***From the best & brightest minds working in psychedelics***---------------------------------Heroic HeartsHeroic Hearts UKAyahuascaPsilocybinIquitos PeruPTSDDepressionVeterans Affairs recommendations for treating PTSDPsilocybin retreats in the NetherlandsJohns Hopkins Psychedelic ResearchCrispin BluntOllie OllertonBecome a Drug Science Community Member: https://www.donate.drugscience.org.uk/Twitter: @ProfDavidNutt @Drug_ScienceA Fascinate Productions podcast for Drug Science ★ Support this podcast ★

Mescaline is one of the lesser used psychedelics of the 21st century, however, its use may be older than any other psychedelic drug we know of. In this episode of the Drug Science podcast, Mike Jay recounts the definitive history of mescaline, exploring its mind-altering effects across cultures, from ancient America to western modernity. Mike Jay is a writer and curator who has written widely on the history of drugs. He is the author of High Society: mind-altering drugs in history and culture, which accompanied the exhibition he curated at Welcome Collection in London on 2010, and most recently of Mescaline: a global history of the first psychedelic. Professor Nutt and Mike Jay also discuss: The stigmatisation of people who use drugsThe lexicology of the word ‘drug’The cultural revolution of the 1960s Mescaline tourism High Society Mescaline Wellcome Collection exhibition Mike Jay Humphry DavyPsychoactive Substances Act 2016AyahuascaPeyote ceremonies Ghost Dance Wounded Knee San Pedro ancient art Alexander Shulgin A Different MedicineFrom Shock to Awe  Become a Drug Science Community Member: https://www.donate.drugscience.org.uk/Twitter: @ProfDavidNutt @Drug_ScienceA Fascinate Productions podcast for Drug Science ★ Support this podcast ★

The emergence of vaping and e-cigarettes is a relatively new and novel form of harm reduction. The UK has taken a scientific approach to the regulation of vaporisers and has been rewarded with great reductions of new and existing tobacco smokers. However, internationally vaporisers have been met with great distain and in some cases prohibition. In the past few years, we have seen a deliberate attempt to mislead the public over the harms of vaping nicotine and other cigarette substitute products.Professor Gerry Stimson is a sociologist who has been promoting a harm reduction approach to public health since 1987. This began with harm reduction messaging for drug use to minimise HIV infection rates. This later expanded to other harm reduction tactics such as alcohol and tobacco control. In 2004, Gerry was appointed Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London. In 2017, he was appointed Honorary Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.Together, Professor Nutt and Professor Stimson will unravel facts from fiction and answer:Why are UK regulations so effective?Should we fear ‘big tobacco’ involvement with vaporisers?Abstinence vs harm reductionWhy is vaping stigmatised?How does vaping change user’s relationship with nicotine?Should we ban flavours?Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction Tobacco harm reduction and the right to health GSHR twitter  Needle exchangeWhat is harm reduction?SnusNicotine replacement therapyNicotineDrug Harm analysisNicotine MCDAPublic Health England e-cigarette reportUS flavour banWHO stance on vapingCOVID and vapingVaping by Clive BatesBecome a Drug Science Community Member: https://www.donate.drugscience.org.uk/Twitter: @ProfDavidNutt @Drug_ScienceA Fascinate Productions podcast for Drug Science ★ Support this podcast ★

Over the last few years, Dr Simon Ruffell has worked closely with indigenous communities in the Amazon basin. He is particularly interested in the tradition surrounding the use of plant medicine in the Shipibo tribe. Simon has been looking at the psychological effects of plant medicine and the role that ceremony and spirit play in healing. In this episode, Simon talks about his research into ayahuasca, the dangers of drug tourism and the ayahuasca diet. Dr Ruffell also explores the cultural history of DMT from a shaman’s pocket to Vogue magazine. Simon graduated with a degree in medicine from the University of Sheffield before specialising in psychiatry. He has an interest in transcultural psychiatry, working overseas in Northern Uganda. He has a special interest in psychedelic research, namely ayahuasca and has spent the last four years conducting research into the use of ayahuasca in an adapted traditional setting in the Peruvian Amazon. Simon is currently based at The Maudsley Hospital in South London, as well as working as a Senior Research Associate at King's College London looking at the use of psilocybin in treatment resistant depression. Santo Daime churchAyahuasca tourismAyahuasca foundationAyahuasca dietShaman’s pouch containing DMTKings collegeImperial college psychedelic research groupBrazil Ayahuasca RCTBarcelona brain imaging trials  Become a Drug Science Community Member: https://www.donate.drugscience.org.uk/Twitter: @ProfDavidNutt @Drug_ScienceA Fascinate Productions podcast for Drug Science ★ Support this podcast ★

Neil Woods is a former Undercover Drugs Detective Sergeant whose brief was to infiltrate Britain's most dangerous drug gangs, befriending the foot soldiers before taking on their gangster bosses. Neil risked his life to infiltrate some of the UK's most vicious gangs, by doing so he came to realise the terrifying reality of the drug war in Britain. During this time, what Neil discovered is that (like most wars) the war on drugs was futile at best and corrupt at worst. He’s now a board member of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) in the USA and the U.K. LEAP is a U.N. accredited NGO campaigning for an end to the war on drugs. He’s written two books, a memoir Good Cop Bad War, and Drug Wars, with JS Rafaeli.Gabor Maté’s book on addiction and trauma - https://drgabormate.com/book/in-the-realm-of-hungry-ghosts/ Burger bar boys - https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/birmingham-burger-bar-boys-gang-11796968 Chief Constable Mike Barton - https://www.durham.police.uk/news-and-events/Pages/News%20Articles/Chief-Constable-Mike-Barton-announces-retirement-.aspx Ron Hogg - https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/a-man-people-tributes-ron-17526538 HAT/Heroin Assisted Treatment - http://www.sdf.org.uk/heroin-assisted-treatment-provided-glasgow/ Police and Crime commissioner David Jameson - https://www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/your-commissioner/police-and-crime-commissioner/ Drug Consumption Room - https://www.avert.org/news/world%E2%80%99s-largest-drug-consumption-facility-opens-denmark Good cop bad war - https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1110612/good-cop--bad-war/9781785032707Drug Wars - https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1114855/drug-wars/9781785037467LEAP UK - http://ukleap.org/LEAP - https://lawenforcementactionpartnership.org/The Stop and Search podcast - https://play.acast.com/s/stopandsearchLEAP UK - @UKLEAP LEAP US - @policeforreform Neil Woods - @wudzee0Become a Drug Science Community Member: https://www.donate.drugscience.org.uk/Twitter: @ProfDavidNutt @Drug_ScienceA Fascinate Productions podcast for Drug Science ★ Support this podcast ★

Dr Ben Sessa was the first doctor to administer MDMA assisted therapy in the 21st century and Christopher Trudgian was one of his very first patients. They both join Professor David Nutt to answer the question… can MDMA be used therapeutically to treat addiction and/or PTSD?The links between childhood trauma/PTSD and adult addiction are very apparent. It is now well documented that MDMA has a therapeutic potential to treat PTSD could that mean that patients suffering with PTSD-related addiction could benefit from this type of therapy? To do this, Dr. Sessa had to examine the childhood trauma, sexual abuse and the selectively impaired fear response.Dr Sessa is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist working in adult addiction services and with custodial detained young people in a secure adolescent setting. Dr Sessa is currently a senior research fellow at Bristol, Cardiff and Imperial College London Universities, where he is conducting the UK’s first clinical studies with MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of PTSD and alcohol dependence syndrome. In the last ten years he has worked on several UK-based human pharmacology trials as study doctor or as a healthy subject administering and receiving test doses of LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine.Ben Sessa - www.drsessa.comWhy MDMA Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder and Why Now? Neuropharmacology (2017) - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29126911Addaction/WeAreWithYou - https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk/MDMA - https://drugscience.org.uk/drug-information/mdma/MAPS MDMA - https://maps.org/research/mdmaMDMA Assisted-therapy training - https://maps.org/trainingMisuse of Drugs Act 1971 - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/38/contentsBecome a Drug Science Community Member: https://www.donate.drugscience.org.uk/Twitter: @ProfDavidNutt @Drug_ScienceA Fascinate Productions podcast for Drug Science ★ Support this podcast ★

Adam Winstock joins Professor David Nutt to discuss how drug use has changed in the past 20 years and the data that he has collected as a part of the Global Drug Survey (GDS).Using anonymous online research methods Global Drug Survey runs an annual survey collecting information on people’s drug use. Using this data, the Global Drug Survey creates digital health applications delivering screening and brief interventions for drugs. Survey findings are frank, honest, and revealing. GDS explores the positives and negatives of drug use and detects new drugs trends as soon as they appear. GDS has a unique insight into personal decision-making about drug use. Their international networks of researchers and specialists have extensive experience in data analysis and report writing.Professor Winstock is a Consultant Addiction Psychiatrist based in London where is he looks after the care of people who use drugs in prison. He is also an honorary clinical professor at University College London, he was previously Consultant Psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital and Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London. Adam has published over 100 research papers and has developed particular clinical and research expertise in the areas of cannabis, new drugs and chemsex. He is also founder and director of Global Drug Survey, the world’s biggest annual survey of drug use trends, the architect of online and smart phone apps drugs meter and Drinks Meter, and the ultra-brief feedback and assessment tool for cannabis use.Mixmag - https://mixmag.net/GDS Corona - https://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/covid19/GHB / GBL - https://drugscience.org.uk/drug-information/ghb-gbl/GDS highway code - https://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/brand/the-highway-code/Become a Drug Science Community Member: https://www.donate.drugscience.org.uk/Twitter: @ProfDavidNutt @Drug_ScienceA Fascinate Productions podcast for Drug Science ★ Support this podcast ★

Lucy Stafford is a medical cannabis patient and advocate. Having spent most of her teenage years in severe pain, dependent on opiates and a feeding tube, discovering medical cannabis has transformed her health and quality of life. She is passionate about working towards a healthcare system that integrates the use of medical cannabis in the UK. Lucy is a Director at Patient Led Engagement for Access (PLEA) and patient access consultant for Project Twenty21. Lucy and Kate Stafford (mother) join the professor to recount their difficulties obtaining a medical cannabis prescription in the UK. From reluctant doctors to Amsterdam coffeeshops, Lucy and Kate have first hand experience of navigating this difficult system. Ehlers Danlos Syndrome - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ehlers-danlos-syndromes/Volcano Vaporizer - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16637053 Cannabis - https://drugscience.org.uk/drug-information/cannabis/ PLEA - https://www.pleacommunity.org.uk PLEA Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pleacommunity/ PLEA Community Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/3199307166781022/ Twenty21 - https://drugscience.org.uk/project-twenty21/Medical Cannabis education - https://drugscience.org.uk/medical-cannabis-educational-slides/ Wheelchair accessible coffee shop in Amsterdam - https://kooi.business.site/ Lucy’s vaporizer - https://www.storz-bickel.com/en/catalog/product/view/id/139 Become a Drug Science Community Member: https://www.donate.drugscience.org.uk/Twitter: @ProfDavidNutt @Drug_ScienceA Fascinate Productions podcast for Drug Science ★ Support this podcast ★

Professor David Nutt begins season 2 by taking a deep dive into entheogenic plants with a legend of the psychedelic renaissance - Dennis McKenna. Dennis deliberates on his life’s work, ethnobotany, innovation within psychedelic industry, the therapeutic potential of DMT and the indigenous use of ayahuasca.Dennis McKenna's research has focused on the interdisciplinary study of Amazonian ethnopharmacology and plant hallucinogens. He has conducted extensive ethnobotanical fieldwork in the Peruvian, Colombian, and Brazilian Amazon.Mckenna Academy of Natural Philosophy - https://mckenna.academy/The Shaman and the Scientist - https://vimeo.com/ondemand/tsats Ethnopharmacologic Search for Psychoactive Drugs: 50 Years of Research book https://www.synergeticpress.com/shop/dennis-mckenna/ Symposium launching this book^^^ - www.ESPD50.com and finally - https://vimeo.com/showcase/4766647 all of the lectures from this symposium on VimeoHeffter Research - https://www.heffter.org/ LSD - https://drugscience.org.uk/drug-information/lsd/Psilocybin - https://drugscience.org.uk/drug-information/psilocybin/ Salvia - https://drugscience.org.uk/drug-information/salvia/ Twitter: @DennisMcKenna4Become a Drug Science Community Member: https://www.donate.drugscience.org.uk/Twitter: @ProfDavidNutt @Drug_ScienceA Fascinate Productions podcast for Drug Science ★ Support this podcast ★

How can psychedelics be used to help healthy people? In our last episode we heard about how psychedelics can be used to help the sick, but what about the healthy?Wellbeing is becoming an increasingly studied element of everyday living. Those that maintain and take active steps to better their own wellbeing are happier people, who are more content with their own existence.One way in which people are doing this is through the process of microdosing psychedelics. However, we have very little evidence of its effect. Professor David Nutt is joined by Dr David Erritzøe, who is conducting research in neurobiology and the ground-breaking trials into microdosing LSD, asking the all-important question, is microdosing real or placebo? To find out more about Dr Erritzøe's & Dr Szigeti's self-blinded microdosing trial please visit - https://selfblinding-microdose.org/Furthermore, an individual’s connection with their surrounding natural environment is a strong indicator of that person’s overall wellbeing. Humankind’s apathy for nature has dwindled over the years and a substantial cognitive shift is needed to save us from ecological destruction. Dr Sam Gandy joins Professor Nutt, his research focusses on how psychedelics could save the planet from ecological collapse by remedying our disconnection from nature. For more information regarding psychedelics role in humans connection to nature, please see Dr Gandy's recently released paper with Imperial College London - https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/24/5147 Drug Science is the leading independent scientific body on drugs in the UK. We work to provide clear, evidence-based information without political or commercial interference. @Drug_Science @ProfDavidNuttA Fascinate Productions podcast ★ Support this podcast ★