Psychedelic Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski

Mike Jay is an author who has written widely on the history of science and medicine. His books include High Society: Mind-Altering Drugs in History and Culture and his latest, Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic. In this episode, Mike discusses his research into mescaline and its extended history. Mike shares the cultural significance of huachuma and peyote for indigenous tribes in Mexico and Peru dating back over 3000 years. He also talks about western research into mescaline starting in the 19th century, and even mentions how peyote was almost incorporated into the Mormon Church! Mescaline is considered a class A drug by many countries, and Mike discusses some of the legal "blurry areas" based on different types of cacti containing it.  He also covers the environmental impact of improperly harvesting peyote, how industrial mining is destroying peyote’s environment, and what native tribes in Mexico are doing to protect this endangered plant. In this episode: The origins of mescaline-related terms including san pedro, huachuma, and peyote.  The traditional uses of huachuma and peyote. How mescaline was discovered and what led to its criminalization. The differences between peyote and huachuma. Why peyote is endangered and what is being done to protect it. Quotes: “All those kind of great early accounts of peyote from the 1890s are all very full-on, first-person (what we would call trip reports), written by people who are often doctors, but who are also often poets and writers. People who are very, very good at medical description. So these are kind of beautiful pieces of psychedelic literature.” [6:14] "There are reports from the 17th/18th century of villages where everybody would get together, usually around a fire, usually at night. peyote would be passed around and people would sing and dance through the night." [21:04] “Your average cactus supplier, or sometimes even your cactus garden center will have huachuma. So the legal status of the cactus is kind of blurry.” [25:38] "We kind of go, 'Oh Psychedelics! That story started in the '60s or '50s.' If you look at mescaline it's like, no. I mean there are western stories starting way back in the 19th century." [36:50]   Links: Get 20% off everything at Octagon Biolabs (octagonbiolabs.com) with coupon code 'plantmedicine' Mike Jay’s Website Follow Mike Jay on Twitter Fundraiser for Peyote Conservation and Cultivation Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic Huicholes: The Last Peyote Guardians Porangui

Tah Whitty spent 25 years as a nurse in emergency medicine, and Kole Whitty has spent 17 years educating professionals about life’s addictions. Together, they have 17 years of combined experience in various shamanic traditions, guiding performance-driven entrepreneurs.  In this week’s episode, Tah and Kole discuss how their paths led to facilitating huachuma (San Pedro) ceremonies. While they both were initially resistant to using plant medicine, they discovered how impactful huachuma ceremonies can be to resolve pent up trauma.  Tah and Cole describe huachuma as more gentle compared to other plant medicines, though the effects of the medicine can often be present for 10-12 hours. They also discuss the pre-journey intake process, the preparation and support that goes into a participant’s experience, and the post-care support to help integrate the experience into their healing journey.  In addition to explaining the huachuma ceremony, Tah and Cole talk about trauma and healing. They emphasize the importance of avoiding the Transformation TRAPP (Tirelessly Repeating A Painful Process) which can be harmful to an individual’s growth, and the importance of being in a state of relaxation to optimize healing.   In this episode: What drew both Tah and Kole to working with huachuma ceremonies  The origin of the terms huachuma and San Pedro. Some common experiences during a huachuma ceremony. The preparation and support facilitators provide before and during a huachuma ceremony, and the necessity of follow up support. The importance of relaxation and the use of TRE(Tension and Trauma Release Exercise) to help the body relax at the beginning of their ceremonies. How modern treatments promote “Transformation TRAPP.” and prevent true healing. Quotes: "When your nervous system is relaxed, you can actually get to the deeper space that you need to get to, and that's where healing takes place the most." [5:03] "You are not controlling the [Mescaline]experience. You are co-creating the experience." [13:03] “The trauma response, physiologically, is your response to an activity. Trauma is not what happens to you, it is how your body and your organism responds.” [27:56] “What does it feel like to be free of the conditioning, of the expectations, of the trauma, and drama? It doesn't mean you stop feeling, it means it stops being so much weight on your wings.” [42:06] "We have had countless people come to us and to work with us, and they're like 'I've got trauma that is holding me back!’ No, what is holding them back is that they are not allowing themselves to have fun." [43:16]   Links: Get 20% off everything at Octagon Biolabs (octagonbiolabs.com) with coupon code 'plantmedicine' Tah and Kole's website Mentor in the Mirror Podcast Take the Get Help Quiz Subscribe to Tah and Kohle’s Texting List by texting ‘Optimize’ to 22999 Follow Tah and Kole on Instagram Find Tah and Kole on Facebook Porangui  

Joe earned his BA in philosophy in New Hampshire. After stumbling upon the work of pioneering psychedelic psychiatrist Dr. Stanislav Grof in 2001, Joe began participating in Holotropic Breathwork workshops in Vermont in 2003 and he later began helping facilitate Holotropic and Transpersonal Breathwork workshops.    In this week’s episode, Joe discusses how he and his co-founder, Kyle Buller started Psychedelics Today, and how their podcast led to them developing a number of online courses. Their upcoming course is Navigating Psychedelics for Clinicians and Therapists. This 8 week course is good for both those wanting to learn how to better understand a client’s needs as a physician or a therapist and for those looking to get a taste of what the psychedelic therapy world is like before embarking on official training.  Joe also talks about how mystical and spiritual experiences can play a role in psychology. While often overlooked in the current psychiatric system, Joe believes these spiritual and mystical experiences may help to heal patients in certain situations.   In this episode: How Psychedelics Today started, and what led to offering courses. What information Joe found lacking in the psychedelic community. What to expect in the Navigating Psychedelics course and who it is for. How psychological theories incorporate into the work of facilitation  Spiritual Emergence and its potential benefit to the current psychiatric system Quotes: “We just thought the psychedelic world is really interesting, but it is really lacking regular discussion of Dr. Stan Groff and Holotropic Breathwork. So really it [The Psychedelics Today podcast] was a way that we could contribute and bring voices that we thought were important back to the foreground" [5:13]  "I don't want to be the Tony Robbins telling you how, you know, this is exactly how you should be charging at your problems. It's like no - you need to take an individualized approach." [13:03] "If more people had a lot more support like we could see people self resolve things [trauma and psychological issues] instead of going into the psychiatric system for decades." [26:13] "You don't get educated and then you're done. This is a lifelong process." [36:53]   Links: Get 20% off everything at Octagon Biolabs (octagonbiolabs.com) with coupon code 'plantmedicine' psychedelicstoday.com psychedeliceducationcenter.com Navigating Psychedelics: For Clinicians and Therapists Follow Psychedelics Today on Instagram Follow Psychedelics Today on Twitter Porangui

Ian-Michael Hebert is committed to healing the relationship between humanity and the Earth. His formal training has been in eco-resort design and he holds a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology and community mental health. He is the founder of Holos Global, a network of holistic healing centers. Ian-Michael has catalyzed many teams in creating enduring structures and institutions that will benefit generations to come. In this week’s episode, Ian-Michael describes his very personal journey as he experienced mescaline while hiking through the Grand Canyon. This Mescaline experience helped Ian-Michael work through his negative internalizations, reconnect spiritually to nature, and even helped him strengthen his relationship with his father. He also discusses how this experience led him to his current work with Holos Global and the services they provide.    In this Episode: What a mescaline experience can be like and what Ian-Michael experienced The importance of reconnecting with nature How to reintegrate after a psychedelic experience The purpose of Holos Global   Quotes: “What I find with this particular ally or this particular plant medicine, is that it deeply amplifies our feeling states.” [8:17] “That particular experience was less like an actual visual experience and more of a felt sense.” [18:47] “The overall journey of being on the Grand Canyon and that bigger context was very much a reset of my life, and I came out very inspired." [26:55] "The integration arc is as important as the journey. If you really want to mine the gems, if you want to, like, get the benefits of the medicine you really have the opportunity to reflect on it and to practice it." [28:33]   Links: Get 20% off everything at Octagon Biolabs with coupon code 'plantmedicine' Holos Global  Follow Holos Global on Instagram Wild Vessel The Body Keeps the Score Plant Medicine Podcast Episode with Eamon Armstrong Episode Music by Porangui

Dr. Joseph Peter Barsuglia is a clinical psychologist focused on bridging ancestral medicines and wisdom with best clinical practices, in order to catalyze personal healing and spiritual awakening. He has worked as Research Director of a psychedelic treatment center which utilized 5-MeO-DMT and ibogaine for the treatment of addiction, as a psychotherapist in the MAPS-sponsored trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, and is an initiate of the African tradition called Bwiti which uses iboga as its sacrament. In this episode, Dr. Barsuglia discusses what happens to the body when 5-MEO-DMT is consumed. He also discusses the origins and history of 5-MEO-DMT, as well as some of the scientific research being conducted on the molecule. He also shares some research on how he observed the mystical effects 5-MEO-DMT had on patients and some of the consistent experiences patients described.  The increasing popularity of this psychedelic often brings up a discussion on the environmental impact of harvesting Sonoran Desert toads. Dr. Barsuglia uses this to discuss differences between synthetic vs naturally occurring 5-MEO-DMT, and how synthetic developments can help protect the environment and preserve tribal tradition.    In this episode: The sources of 5-MEO-DMT and how it is used The historical, cultural, and environmental significance of 5-MEO-DMT The effects of 5-MEO-DMT on the body and common experiences from participants Current scientific research on this plant medicine The differences between natural and synthetic 5-MEO-DMT   Quotes: “This is one of the oldest psychedelics found in archeology.” [8:30] “Some kind of basic science studies on cell lines that showed that 5-MEO-DMT does in fact stimulate brain cell growth, antidepressant properties, and might boost the immune system.” [13:24] “In many psychedelics, you are getting formed visuals, you can kind of interact with what’s happening. This medicine kind of takes you beyond your biography, beyond your memory, beyond form into a very energetic experience.” [16:07] "80 percent, I think, of people that had this experience said it was profoundly sacred or holy." [28:48] “I also think that people don't need to be demonized that are using this medicine.” [51:31]   Links: Find Dr. Barsuglia Online MAPS Scientific Journals relating to this episode: Angel of human health: current research updates in toad medicine  The Development of Toad Toxins as Potential Therapeutic Agents New Therapeutic Aspects of Steroidal Cardiac Glycosides Pilot Study of Huachansu in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, or Pancreatic Cancer The Development of a Pharmacological Approach for Rabies Treatment Bufotenine is able to block rabies virus infection in BHK-21 cells Porangui

Atira Tan is currently a PhD candidate in Expressive Arts Research at the European Graduate School in Switzerland. She possesses an MA in Art Therapy, has a background in Transpersonal Art Therapy and Holistic Counseling, and is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner with decades of training in various somatic trauma-informed approaches. Atira worked as a trauma-informed integration specialist in retreat centers such as the Temple of the Way of Light, and she is currently the head of Ayahuasca integration at AYA Healing Retreats. In this episode, Atira discusses the concept of trauma-informed therapy, and how facilitators can respect and support participants in healing circles. As everyone experiences traumas in their lives differently, Atira discusses how trauma can impact an individual’s experience in healing circles. She also establishes the importance of communication between the facilitator and participants. Atira’s upcoming workshop covers several important topics to help teach facilitators how to integrate trauma-informed principles into their ceremonies. There will be a large focus on the core of the essentials of trauma and how to intervene. Some other topics that will be discussed include boundaries, safety, and consent during ceremonies, how trauma shows up in the body, identifying trauma and trauma recovery, and the cross overs of shamanism and mental health.    In this episode: Explaining the definition and principles of trauma-informed therapy The importance of a facilitator to prepare and have a medical intake in healing circles. What may trigger people in a plant circle and how to support them  Tips on how we can soften the collective trauma of Covid-19   Quotes Trauma happens when there is a boundary violation. [10:07] As part of the trauma-informed lens, facilitators need to kind of think about what's important to be communicated first. [19:59] Part of giving people's choice and agency is really about consent. [22:10]   Links: Aya Healing Retreats Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Facilitation Workshop Porangui

Tricia Eastman is a medicine woman, author, and pioneer in the psychedelic movement. Eastman offers highly curated retreats in countries where use is legal, working with iboga, psilocybin mushrooms, and 5-MeO-DMT. She has been initiated into Bwiti Fang traditions and the Ngonde Missoko tradition, and she facilitated the psychospiritual iboga program for Crossroads Treatment Center in Mexico. She supports projects related to the preservation of the sacred medicines and sacred sites for future generations and working with the ancient wisdom traditions with respect and reverence.  In this episode, Tricia discusses the start of her journey into becoming a healer working with psychedelics. At a 5-MeO-DMT retreat, she learned how to love herself, and decided she wanted to lead others on this healing experience. Since 2016 she founded Psychedelic Journeys, which offers guided retreats with a number of medicines.  Tricia shares the many ways 5-MeO-DMT can be administered, and how facilitators can support participants during this ceremony. While she does discuss the positive experiences many people have, she speaks frankly about how 5-MeO-DMT can greatly affect others based on their previous experience, both with psychedelics and past trauma.  One of Tricia’s passions is promoting sacred and ethical use of 5-MeO-DMT. She discusses how encroaching farming practices and unethical harvesting has impacted the source of 5-MeO-DMT, the Sonoran Desert Toad, and some practices for minimizing harm   In this episode: How Tricia got started facilitating 5-Meo-DMT. Some methods facilitators use during a 5-MeO-DMT ceremony. What people may experience during a 5-MeO-DMT ceremony. How 5-MeO-DMT is contraindicated The ethical and environmental impact of 5-MeO-DMT extraction.   Quotes: 12:00 "You are in a space of timelessness where your perception of where you are could feel like eons even though it has been seconds." 14:59 "I try not to be a character in the movie. I don't want it to ever be about me, or doing anything, because they are there to do their own healing work.  19:43 "We don't want to set you up in a way that you are going to get in your own experience, and not actually receive whatever the medicine wants to show you." 37:48 "For me, I really feel that it's important that everything is done in a sacred way. That they are done in an ethical thing." 41:14 Everything I do is a very deeply intuitive process of really following and listening, and that's just how you learn when you work in the shamanic traditions.   Links: Third Eye Meditation Lounge- Third Eye Cacao- Use code PLANTMEDICINE to get 15% of orders over $50, and a free class at the meditation lounge. 3rd Eye Mushroom Immune Elixior Find Tricia Eastman online Follow Tricia on Instagram Ancestral Heart Terra Incognita Foundation World Bufo Alvarius Congress 5-MeO-DMT Patient Experience Music by Porangui

In today’s 5-MeO-DMT patient experience episode, Mikey, a former Navy SEAL, shares his phenomenal story of how an experience with 5-MeO-DMT changed his life. Mikey explains what he experienced when he tried 5-MeO-DMT, and the effect that experience had on him. 5-MeO-DMT experiences have helped Mikey better understand and accept the presence of a higher power in his life, which has helped him accept his mistakes, grow as a person, and improve his outlook on life. Mikey also discusses how these experiences helped him come to a better understanding of acceptance and love for himself. In addition to accepting himself, he also discusses how this higher power and the concept of infinite love helped him learn to love and support others.   In this episode: How Mikey's journey led him to try using 5-MeO-DMT to get help. What a 5-MeO-DMT journey can be like and what Mikey experienced. How 5-MeO-DMT can help bring one to an understanding of a higher power. How changing one’s mindset can help promote healing and improve one’s outlook on life. Quotes: "Where I am at today, there is a peace about me. There is a willingness to want to think of others, and to be of service." [4:09] My arms, my brain-- everything is like drifting and kaleidoscoping away. I feel like I am being turned inside out. Not in a painful way, but in an awareness way." [27:16] "You have never been judged a day in your life. There is no wrong you can possibly do. There is no wrong you can possibly do because there is no judgment. This is the stuff that is coming out of me!" [29:21] "I was literally jettisoned right into the lap of God. There is no other way to put it." [30:12] “For every situation that we find ourselves in, it is not about any one of us, but it involves all of us. We are all the star players in our own movie. We're all the co-star of everyone else's." [32:45] "When we heal, we heal others." [36:02]   Links: Get 20% off everything at Proper Hempco CBD with coupon code “PLANTMEDICINE”  Music by Porangui

Dr. Thomas Kingsley Brown is back on the show to discuss the history and legality of ibogaine. With a master’s degree in chemistry and a Ph.D. in anthropology, he has conducted extensive research into altered states of consciousness, religious conversion, and the use of ibogaine in the treatment of opioid addiction. In this episode, Dr. Brown describes the origin of ibogaine which is derived from iboga, a plant indigenous to west-central Africa. Its bark has been sacramentally used by the Bwiti people for countless generations. At the turn of the 20th Century, ibogaine was first isolated from iboga. Various drugs were derived from this in Europe and North America throughout much of the century. During the war on drugs, this obscure psychedelic was regulated and criminalized in the United States in 1967. In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act declared ibogaine to be a Schedule 1 drug.  In the 1980s, efforts to explore ibogaine’s potential to treat chemical addiction got underway. With opioid use linked to the transmission of HIV/AIDS, various groups began looking at ibogaine as a tool for recovery.  There have always been a few countries where ibogaine remained unregulated. However, it wasn’t until 2009 that New Zealand became the first country to legalize it as a medicine for use in opioid recovery. In several US cities, such as Oakland, ibogaine was recently decriminalized. That said, its legal future remains uncertain.   In this episode: The natural African roots of ibogaine How ibogaine was used in various medications during the 20th Century What led to the criminalization and regulation of ibogaine The movement to explore ibogaine’s use in addiction recovery How and where ibogaine was legalized or decriminalized in recent years   Quotes: “It’s sort of a twisted history in a way. There are a lot of different things that go into it. But chemically ibogaine was first isolated and purified from the iboga shrub in 1901.”  [4:09] “Psychedelics are not addictive, ibogaine among them. Ibogaine is usually a difficult  trip, especially for people who are using it for getting off opioids.” [10:11] “I think it will be at least some time before we are able to see legal ibogaine treatment here in the US.” [24:03]   Links: Episode 34: Ibogaine Scientific Research Dora Weiner Foundation ACT UP Episode 28: Decriminalize Nature MAPS Check out the full episode post Keep up with everything Plant Medicine related here Porangui

This week we discuss the upcoming Psychedelic Liberty Summit (April 25th and 26th) with Bia Labate, Ph.D. As the executive director of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines, adjunct faculty at the California Institute of Integral Studies, public education and culture specialist at MAPS, co-founder of the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies in Brazil, editor of the Mexican blog Drugs, Politics, and Culture, and the author and editor of numerous books, special edition journals, and several peer-reviewed articles, Dr. Labate is a wealth of information and knowledge.   Dr. Labate explains how she started the Chacruna Institute in 2017 with the mission of promoting education around plant medicines. With a focus on the cultural side of plant medicines, Chacruna works to help spread the idea that these plants have a place in society. This involves creating a bridge between traditional uses of plant medicine and scientific advances being made in the field. Chacruna’s upcoming conference might be the largest virtual event of its kind. There will be a large focus on the emerging politics of plant medicines. Other themes include the responsibilities that practitioners and patients have to use them in an informed and ethical way. With more than 70 speakers and 35 community partners, this will be an inclusive and expansive event.   In this episode: The mission of the Chacruna Institute to bridge the gap between tradition and science The main focus and structure of the Psychedelic Liberty Summit  The wide variety of organizations that are part of the summit Some of the summit speakers and their topics   Quotes: “We’re trying to create legitimacy around the idea that these drugs are legitimate and should be respected as such and be incorporated into our legal and health systems.” [5:06] “We have activists, researchers, community leaders, lawyers, religious leaders, and practitioners. We have a really incredible lineup.” [22:00] “In the field of psychedelics science, we have often fetishized shamans from South America and forgotten the people of the land. So I’m really proud that we have a series of different Native American representatives.” [32:54]   Links: Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines MAPS Psychedelic Support The Psychedelic Society Psychedelic Seminars Horizons Wixárika Research Center Psychedelics Today Morning Star Conservation Sage Integrative Health Transform Drug Policy Foundation Drug Policy Alliance “The Emergence of a New Market: Psychedelic Science Conferences” by Bia Labate Ph.D. Episode: Decriminalization of Psilocybin with Attorney Sean McAllister Check out the full episode post Keep up with everything Plant Medicine related here Porangui