The very latest research shows that ketamine, an anaesthetic with hallucinogenic properties, can reduce the symptoms of depression quickly and effectively, and that MDMA (popularly known as ecstasy) can be beneficial to sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder when used in combination with behavioural therapy.

By contrast, new research into the effects of the classical hallucinogens has progressed at a much slower pace, probably because these drugs are categorised as Class A in the UK (Schedule I in the US), and researchers who wish to obtain them therefore face numerous regulatory barriers.

Nevertheless, it now seems quite clear that psychedelic drugs have enormous potential for treating a wide variety of psychiatric conditions. Much still remains to be discovered about exactly how they affect the brain, however.

Amazing what can happen when people quit freaking out.

What is even more troubling is that the United States Government actually did a secret follow up-study on the Virginia findings, in the mid ’90’s. When it only served to confirm the results of the 1974 research, and showed that THC (one of the main active ingredient in cannabis – and the one the government loves to hate), when administered to mice, protected them against malignancy, true to form, our government attempted to bury the results. Fortunately, a draft copy of the study was leaked to the journal, AIDS Treatment News, and the media covered the story. An excellent article by Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML, covers this part of our shameful history.

Imagine if policy were determined by objective scientific findings instead of politics.

Legalize it

DMT in the news.

The brave psychonaught reportedly drank 5 table spoons of root made into a light tea by itself, no betacarbolines added. He was then thrust into a very difficult and high dosage DMT journey. The roots of the plant are active and very powerful. Remarkably Acacia Confusa has one of the highest yeilds of DMT discovered in nature. That it is active with out the addition of a harmala alkaloid is amazing, and reminiscent of reports of cold water extracted Jurema or mimosa hostilus root bark, which has been a real hit or miss in bioassays.

There are also reports that Confusa may have a traditional history of use as an entheogen by the original peoples of Taiwan. Today it is currently used in Chinese medicine with whispers that the old herbalists know that it can take one to another world.

DMT is everywhere.

Saw this linked on kos: endurance athelete needs to go crazy in order to win.

Yet Robic does not excel on physical talent alone. He is not always the fastest competitor (he often makes up ground by sleeping 90 minutes or less a day), nor does he possess any towering physiological gift. On rare occasions when he permits himself to be tested in a laboratory, his ability to produce power and transport oxygen ranks on a par with those of many other ultra-endurance athletes. He wins for the most fundamental of reasons: he refuses to stop.

In a consideration of Robic, three facts are clear: he is nearly indefatigable, he is occasionally nuts, and the first two facts are somehow connected. The question is, How? Does he lose sanity because he pushes himself too far, or does he push himself too far because he loses sanity? Robic is the latest and perhaps most intriguing embodiment of the old questions: What happens when the human body is pushed to the limits of its endurance? Where does the breaking point lie? And what happens when you cross the line?

I have most certainly reported on the therapeutic uses of Psilocybin, more specifically the study from Johns Hopkins University, here at GS. But to see it get positive treatment from such a mainstream news organization, well, awesome.

Despite early positive results, researchers are cognizant of overcoming the negative stereotype often conferred upon the psychedelic movement’s previous incarnation. To that end, the drugs are administered using strict safety protocols. Researchers are also hopeful that with other new age trends like yoga and meditation becoming mainstream, acceptance of psychedelic medical treatment isn’t far behind.

Well, perhaps more rational open-minded discourse from mainstream news orgs will help with that.

I see that the New York Times also has an article on this, much more in depth.

the therapeutically active components in marijuana - the cannabinoids - appear to be remarkably non-toxic to healthy cells and organs. This notable lack of toxicity is arguably because cannabinoids mimic compounds our bodies naturally produce - so-called endocannabinoids - that are pivotal for maintaining proper health and homeostasis.

In fact, in recent years scientists have discovered that the production of endocannabinoids (and their interaction with the cannabinoid receptors located throughout the body) play a key role in the regulation of proper appetite, anxiety control, blood pressure, bone mass, reproduction, and motor coordination, among other biological functions.

Just how important is this system in maintaining our health? Here’s a clue: In studies of mice genetically bred to lack a proper endocannabinoid system the most common result is premature death.

Armed with these findings, a handful of scientists have speculated that the root cause of certain disease conditions - including migraine, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and other functional conditions alleviated by clinical cannabis - may be an underlying endocannabinoid deficiency.

Now THAT’S scientific heresy! Whoo!

An exploration of the late Robert Anton Wilson’s work.

The flavor-

A Non Euclidean Rumination On Subliminal Rationalists and Recalling Robert Anton Wilson

“Belief is the death of intelligence. As soon as one believes a doctrine of any sort, or assumes certitude, one stops thinking about that aspect of existence.”
-Robert Anton Wilson

“Positivists decline to acknowledge any a priori knowledge. They wish to reduce everything to sense perceptions. Generally they contradict themselves in that they deny introspection as experience. … They use too narrow a notion of experience and introduce an arbitrary bound on what experience is”
-Kurt Godel

Kudos to The Anomalist.

The gaps in neuroscience’s understanding of the psychopath are filling in:

“There has been a long tra­di­tion of re­search on psy­chop­a­thy that has fo­cused on the lack of sen­si­ti­vity to pun­ish­ment and a lack of fear, but those traits are not par­tic­u­larly good pre­dic­tors of vi­o­lence or crim­i­nal be­hav­ior,” said Van­der­bilt psy­chol­o­gist Da­vid Zald, co-au­thor of the stu­dy. “Our da­ta is sug­gest­ing that some­thing might be hap­pen­ing on the oth­er side of things. These in­di­vid­u­als ap­pear to have such a strong draw to re­ward—to the car­rot—that it over­whelms the sense of risk or con­cern about the stick.”

But get THIS. For the study, they found people with high levels of psychopathic traits - and gave SPEED TO THEM:

The re­search­ers gave the vol­un­teers a dose of am­phet­a­mine, or speed, and then scanned their brains us­ing PET to view dopamine re­lease in re­sponse to the stim­u­lant.…“Our hy­poth­e­sis was that psy­cho­pathic traits are al­so linked to dys­func­tion in dopamine re­ward cir­cuit­ry,” Buck­holtz said. “Con­sis­tent with what we thought, we found peo­ple with high lev­els of psy­cho­pathic traits had al­most four times the amount of dopamine re­leased in re­sponse to am­phet­a­mine.”

…“It may be that be­cause of these ex­ag­ger­at­ed dopamine re­sponses, once they fo­cus on the chance to get a re­ward, psy­chopaths are un­able to al­ter their at­ten­tion un­til they get what they’re af­ter,” Buck­holtz said.

 Namely, speed.

File under “thanks for the confirmation but everybody already knew this“:

The first U.S. clinical trials in more than two decades on the medical benefits of marijuana confirm pot is effective in reducing muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis and pain caused by certain neurological injuries or illnesses, according to a report issued Wednesday.

Good legislation now?

Political interference with science, UK style: In which the sacking of Professor Nutt causes a kerfuffle, but the proposed remedy itself is a bit of a bother:

Prof Nutt had criticised a government decision to reclassify cannabis, saying it was less harmful than alcohol and nicotine and claiming it had been upgraded to Class B for political reasons.

As a result of his sacking, several other advisers resigned and over 20 scientists called for ministers to sign up to a code of conduct to prevent political interference in the system of scientific advice.

In response, Science minister Lord Drayson published a set of principles in December - one of which stated that scientists and ministers should “work together to reach a shared position”.

But… the last time scientists and ministers worked together to reach a shared position (they) wrongly assured the public (BSE) infected beef was safe to eat.

I say, old chap.

The unfortunately named Professor Nutt, fired from the UK govt for his sensible drug policy positions, has formed an independent drug advisory panel, that in his words will try and “take over” from the official panel. Plainly put, he’s here to kick ass and eat caviar and he’s all out of caviar.

More here on the Nutt controversy.

More independent science please!

This is why we will win this struggle.

Marijuana chemical helps stimulate new cell growth in brain

Hey! What do ya know? Another Cannabis myth, dare I say proved, false with actual scientific testing. No wonder the DEA is so resistant actually letting us study this plant.

Free NIDA’s stranglehold on free scientific investigation.

NIDA has a government granted monopoly on the production of medical marijuana for research purposes. In the past, the institute has refused to supply marijuana to researchers who had obtained all other necessary federal permits.

Currently, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has a monopoly on the supply of research-grade marijuana, but no other Schedule I drug, that can be used in FDA-approved research.

…

MAPS has also been trying without success for almost four years to purchase 10 grams of marijuana from NIDA for research into the constituents of the vapor from marijuana vaporizers, a non-smoking drug delivery method that has already been used in one FDA-approved human study. ”

An article in Mother Jones magazine describes their crop as “brown, stems-and-seeds-laden, low-potency pot—what’s known on the streets as “schwag”"

You get the idea.

Alex Grey

A heartwarming story for the ages.

UPDATE: Both Cracked.com’s and Wikipedia’s telling of this altered-states story are also priceless as we chronicle here. -Jim

The end is near.

About a month old, but a good, straightforward article nonetheless.

Fox news analyst comes off as in favor of the legalization of Cannabis? You fucking betcha.

I remember about a year ago, when in discussion regarding this topic, I said that we would be seeing legalization in about 3-5 years. Though I didn’t say it outright, I felt this to be a bit optimistic, but not unreal. Turns out I may have been more right than ever.

Here is a good piece recently from The Huffington Post about California’s move to put legalization on the ballot.

Oops. Turns out Massachussett’s might beat them to it with An Act to regulate and tax the Cannabis industry.

Alcohol researchers from the University of Florida and San Diego State University decided to gauge how drink specials influence the quantity of alcohol consumed. The findings will be published in the November issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Bar owners claim bargain drinks simply attract customers to the establishment, but that the low prices don’t spur patrons to drink more. But alcohol researchers believe many drinkers, particularly young drinkers, are sensitive to price. If they have $10 to spend they will buy two, $5-dollar drinks or five, $2-dollar drinks, depending on what the drink special is.

Read the shocking findings here.

Mexico and Argentina moving to decriminalize …

Washington did not protest against the announcement, which was kept deliberately low key. “They made no fanfare so as not to arouse the ire of the US,” said Walter McKay, of the Mexico City-based Institute for Security and Democracy. “I predict that when the US sees its nightmare has not come true and that there is no narco-tourist boom it will come under more pressure to legalise or decriminalise.”

Walter McKay, you can sit next to me.

As the popularity of salvia has risen over the past 16 years—its psychoactive properties were discovered in 1993 by Daniel Siebert, an independent ethnobotanist based in Malibu, Calif.—calls to treat the plant as an illegal drug have grown louder. Twelve states have recently placed S. divinorum in their most restrictive controlled substance category, and four others have laws restricting sales. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has listed salvia as “a drug of concern” and is looking into the drug to determine whether it should be declared a Schedule I controlled substance, on par with heroin and LSD.

The unusual properties of salvinorin A intrigue scientists. Psychiatric researcher Bruce Cohen and his colleagues at Harvard Medical School have been developing analogues of salvinorin A and studying their possible mood-modulating properties. The team’s work with salvinorin A in animals suggests “that a drug that would block kappa opioid receptors might be an antidepressant drug—probably a nonaddictive one—or a mood stabilizer for patients with bipolar disorder,” Cohen remarks. By activating the kappa opioid receptors, drugs such as salvinorin A could reduce dependence on stimulants and the mood-elevating and mood-rewarding effects of cocaine. Because salvinorin A can produce distortions of thinking and perception, researchers speculate that blocking the receptors might alleviate some symptoms of psychoses and dissociative disorders.

Some investigators, including the team at Harvard, believe that modified forms of salvinorin A could bolster its medicinal value. Tom Prisinzano, a medicinal chemist at the University of Kansas, points out that some chemical transformations of salvinorin A have different pharmacological abilities—such as a longer-lasting action or an enhanced ability to bind to receptors—and no hallucinogenic properties. Modifying its novel structure, he says, “could potentially treat a number of different central nervous system disorders.”

But if salvinorin A becomes a federally scheduled drug, research on it would become “much more difficult,” predicts Rick Doblin, director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a nonprofit based in Santa Cruz, ­Calif.

Full story from Scientific American.

One commenter on the Salvia story had this to say-

What about the experience with other drugs of abuse such as, indeed, LSD?  Studies WERE done on them, and they didn’t result in the production of any useful medications.  What REASON is there to think this would be any different?

In response, let’s ponder this story about contemporary LSD research.

In a comment section by Robin Room, professor of social alcohol research at the School of Population Health, University of Melbourne, Australia, and director of the AER Centre for Alcohol Policy Research at the Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre in Melbourne, New Scientist gives voice to the growing consensus that the drug war is a dismal failure.

A regulated cannabis market offers more options than prohibition for acting to limit harms from use. We need to move beyond the deadlock on drug policy, to transcend the polarisation, and to give serious consideration to the options for change. Cannabis would be a good place to start.

Common sense is on the rise.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting “a war on drugs,” a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use.

In his first interview since being confirmed to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske said Wednesday the bellicose analogy was a barrier to dealing with the nation’s drug issues.

“Regardless of how you try to explain to people it’s a ‘war on drugs’ or a ‘war on a product,’ people see a war as a war on them,” he said. “We’re not at war with people in this country.”

This is an extremely surprising development and a very welcome display of integrity. Let’s hope the change in rhetoric leads to substantive policy changes.

New York Times.

Good thing people never get aggressive on psychotropic drugs.

I cannot contain my jubilation at seeing marijuana prohibitionists getting there asses handed to them on the mainstream news media these days.

Any guesses on how long until we see outright legalization, in California at the least?

My guess is no more than 2 years.

New York Times.