Welcome to our February Newsletter
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With women’s day coming up, we want to shine a light on all the powerful and influential female figures of today’s psychedelic movement and we are delighted to be running a special Women’s Day event on behalf of the Psychedelic Society this March. We are bringing together a panel of powerful female figures in our ongoing psychedelic movement - Nikki Wyrd, Ashleigh Murphy-Beiner, Leonie Schneider and our very own documentary director Anya Oleksiuk.
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Outline of this month's newsletter
- Exciting project updates, including new blog content
- Psychedelic news, science and culture, including new research trials investigating DMT
- Our featured contributor - Dr Rosalind Watts
- Upcoming events by our Partners The Psychedelic Society
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Project Updates
- Whether in company (physical or zoom!) or in the bubble of your own self-love, we hope you had a wonderful and compassionate valentine’s day. In light of this year's valentines, check out our recent blog post on how MDMA could be used for couples therapy.
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Psychedelic News and Science Round-Up
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Groundbreaking study trials DMT as a new treatment for stroke patients
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Research into the psychedelic DMT has shown DMT is capable of neurogenesis (building new brain cells) and neural plasticity (joining nerve cells together). After a stroke, blood is cut off to the brain meaning brain cells aren’t supplied with oxygen and die. By giving stroke patients DMT, neurogenesis and neural plasticity could prompt recovery of lost brain cells.
The pharmaceutical company in Vancouver, Algeron, have begun clinical trials where they will use DMT at below-hallucinogenic doses to aid brain cell recovery in stroke patients, in hope patients will have a better outcome regarding motor and cognitive function. If the studies have positive outcomes, DMT may be considered as a potential treatment for a wide range of brain-related diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease.
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Steps closer to ending the war on drugs
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A Cambridge Massachusetts city council vote the 4th of February, sought to decriminalise use and possession of entheogenic plants and fungi, such as psilocybin mushrooms, ibogaine and ayahuasca. The measure passed means arresting those caught in possession of such psychedelic substances will be the “lowest law enforcement priority” and no state resources or funds will be put towards arrests.
The measures also direct the Cambridge city manager to work with federal and state partners to decriminalise classified psychedelic drugs. With the increasing research into the therapeutic use of different psychedelics, Cambridge has joined the many US states that enacted psychedelics decriminalisation including the recent Oakland, Santa Cruz, Ann Arbor and Somerville.
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Social media outrage struck earlier this month when a company legal ownership and intellectual property lawyer, Graham Pechenik, tweeted about surprising application claims for psilocybin-assisted therapy.
The mental health company, Compass Pathways, had applied for patents over basic aspects of psychedelic therapy including having a non-clinical setting room, soft furniture, having a bed or couch in the room and touching hands.Through patenting, Compass could have legal ownership over, and could sue other organisations using, these basic aspects of psychotherapy when using psilocybin to treat patients. Read more in this vice article.
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Our contributors and partners: Dr Rosalind Watts
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Dr Rosalind Watts spent 5 years as Clinical Lead of the Imperial College Psilocybin for Depression trial (Psilodep 2). She trained as a clinical psychologist at UCL and practised psychotherapy for 6 years before joining the Imperial Psychedelic Research Group, led by Robin Carhart-Harris.
In her role as Clinical Director of Synthesis Institute she built a model supplementing psychedelic therapy with a year-long integration programme, the ‘Accept, Connect, Embody, Restore (ACER)’ model, designed to support ongoing connectedness to self, others, and the natural world. Dr Watts has developed a validated psychometric tool for measuring connectedness, and has initiated various psychedelic integration community networks to help those who have discovered a newfound sense of connectedness to maintain it.
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Some upcoming events on behalf of our partners, the Psychedelic Society, featuring our proud contributors, and run by some of our project core team members.
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Prisoner of the War on Drugs: A Conversation with William Leonard Pickard - 27th Feb
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On July 27th 2020 it hit the news that after 20 years William Leonard Pickard, convicted for conspiracy to manufacture LSD in the largest psychedelic case in history, was released from serving two life sentences in a maximum-security federal prison.
During incarceration, he hand wrote, with pencil and paper alone, an immense novel: The Rose of Paracelsus, while also conducting academic research into civil liberties and drug-related matters. Leonard will be hosted in conversation this February, exploring his fascinating life-events before his arrest, and stories from inside a violent prison system - Tickets
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The Cosmic Right: The Overlap Between Psychedelics and Varieties of Right-Wing Politics with Jules Evans - 3rd March
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It has been argued that psychedelic experiences will automatically make you more liberal, open-minded, tolerant, progressive and environmentally friendly. But the historical evidence suggests otherwise - in fact, psychedelics have in the past been strongly embraced by conservative, traditionalist and patriarchal cultures. Philosopher and author, Jules Evans, will be delivering a talk exploring psychedelics in right-wing politics.
From increasing positive conservative values, such as virtue ethics, to the role of psychedelics in far-right and neo-fascist groups, this talk will be suited to anybody with interest in politics, philosophy and psychedelic culture - Tickets
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Shroomshop: Online Workshop - 4th March
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Mushrooms have been growing wild since prehistoric times. Their therapeutic value has been prized in indigenous cultures, for thousands of years. They play a critical role in medicinal practice and were noted in some of the first books on herbal medicine written thousands of years ago.
Come and learn the basics of mushroom cultivation, explore various techniques for growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms such as Oyster, Reishi, Shiitake and many other strains of mushrooms - Tickets
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Women in Psychedelics: A panel discussion with Ashleigh murphy-Beiner, Nikki Wyrd, Leonie Schneider & Anya Oleksiuk - 8th March
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In celebration of International Women’s Day, we are delighted host a panel discussion with female psychedelic-pioneers from the documentary - Nikki Wyrd, Ashleigh Murphy-Beiner, Leonie Schneider and our very own Psychedelic Society co-owner and The Psychedelic Renaissance director, Anya Oleksiuk. Exploring these women’s inspiring journeys, we will investigate the stigma faced by women in psychedelics and reflect with optimism on society's progression to greater equality in all fields. We will also share links to the footage from our predominantly female-crafted upcoming documentary - Tickets
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Playing The Voice: Conscious Voicing Introductory Workshop with Stefano Sgarbi - 9th March
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Join our composer Stefano Sgarbi this March. We use our voices every day to speak and communicate in our modern, urban society, but rarely do we consider its potential as a portal for exploring our consciousness and existence. This experimental workshop aims to liberate the voice beyond its normal speaking function, tapping into more traditional uses for it as a tool to explore reality and the mind through meditative and therapeutic techniques - Tickets
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Breaking through PTSD with Psychedelics: Exclusive film screening & panel Q&A with Dr Ben Sessa, Dr Grace Blest-Hopely, Guy Murray & Director Dan Laughton - 10th March
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Breaking Through’ is a short documentary exploring the current status of psychedelics as medicine through veteran Guy Murray's journey to healing and how an underground LSD therapy session rescued him from his PTSD. Following the live screening, we will hold a panel discussion with Guy himself, during which we will explore more deeply the potential for future PTSD treatment through psychedelic experience - Tickets
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Psychedelics and the Mysteries of Yoga - 16th March
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Psychedelics and Yoga are similar in the sense that both have been used for centuries to reach altered states of consciousness. Together, Yoga & Psychedelics can take one on a journey that explores the power of the mind and the full potential of the human body and lead one to mystical sacred union experiences.
Come meet Darren Le Baron and Sanae Orchi, and discover the Ancient African roots of Yoga and its forgotten philosophy. Learn easy tools for Yoga & Psychedelics to explore infinite possibilities of the body and mind. In this talk we will explore ancient mythologies that connect the human entheogenic experience and the pathway of the sacred union - Tickets
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Spring Equinox Celebration Ritual with Julian Vayne & Nikki Wyrd - 21st March
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Join our contributors Nikki Wyrd and Julian Vayne for an immersive and interactive ceremony to celebrate the Spring Equinox - the festival that marks the time of balance and of the growing light. Using guided meditation, gentle body and voice work, and other engaging practices, Nikki and Julian hope to leave you feeling connected with the spirit of the season’s turning, and with each other. Whatever your spiritual tradition or style you will find participation in this ceremony inspirational and empowering, both as individuals and collectively - Tickets
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