Psychedelics Today

Latest Episodes:

Vilmarie Narloch PsyD - Harm Reduction and Policy Aug 02, 2017

Show notes

Download We have an awesome time speaking with SSDP's Drug Education Manager, Dr. Vilmarie Narloch. Vilmarie is making a big difference with drug safety in the US and internationally with SSDP's education program 'Just Say Know.' During the show we discuss Vilmarie's work with policy around the Good Samaritan laws and other impressive and impactful harm reduction projects. We also discuss some of the pressure from various elements in the government regressing rules, like some law enforcement offices refusing to use Narcan\naloxone to help save the lives of people overdosing. This episode is a dose of compassion and gives perspective about the different impacts from the drug war and prohibition. If you are a student who wishes to get involved in drug policy work, please check out the work that SSDP is doing. If you do not have a chapter at your school or university, start one today! Vilmarie also joins us in our course Navigating Psychedelics for a master class featuring harm reduction strategies and more. Be sure to sign up today to learn more from Vilmarie and many others! About Students For Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) is the only international network of students dedicated to ending the war on drugs. At its heart, SSDP is a grassroots organization, led by a student-run Board of Directors. We create change by bringing young people together and creating safe spaces for students of all political and ideological stripes to have honest conversations about drugs and drug policy. Founded in 1998, SSDP is comprised of thousands of members at hundreds of campuses in countries around the globe. About Just Say Know Just Say Know is a series of drug education modules aimed at promoting open and honest dialogue around commonly used substances. The program aims to equip young people with harm reduction tools and skills as it relates to the specific substance, but can be applied to substance use generally. Students for Sensible Drug Policy believes that students should be an overall part of any campus and community prevention and intervention strategy. Our SSDP Peer Education program seeks to empower students in our network to analyze the relationship between drug policy and drug use by providing evidence-based drug information, teaching students to recognize and address dangerous behaviors and unhealthy attitudes, and promoting prosocial and harm reduction oriented behaviors and attitudes. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fcl6NZ1AFs] Show Notes/Links

Vilmarie Narloch PsyD. - Bio Vilmarie Narloch, PsyD., is the Drug Education Manager at Students for Sensible Drug Policy. In this role, Vilmarie oversees the development and implementation of the SSDP Peer Education program, which is a training program for SSDP Members to become certified to deliver our drug education program, Just Say Know, to their peers. Vilmarie is passionate about reforming drug education in the U.S. and abroad, and has dedicated years of study on the topic for her dissertation. Vilmarie has taken on this position because as an organization driven by students with exceptional knowledge on drug policy and other drug use related issues, SSDP is uniquely positioned and qualified to be developing a drug education program. Additionally, Vilmarie educates staff and the network on the current state of research and treatment issues with regard to substance use disorders and mental health. Vilmarie aims to aid in the connection of policy and practice by helping our network understand the impact of policy on access to treatment and care while utilizing the latest research. Vilmarie earned her M.A. in Counseling and Psychological Services from Saint. Mary's University of Minnesota, and a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology. During her time at Roosevelt, she was a graduate research assistant with Roosevelt University's Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy. Her work at ICDP included research support, report co-authorship and event planning and coordination. Vilmarie's interests in drug education, access to treatment, and harm reduction policy and practice have led her to numerous projects, including the provision of counseling and harm reduction services to students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and DePaul University, serving as a member of the Chicago Consortium on College Alcohol Harm Reduction, a predoctoral internship in the Adult Behavioral Services department in a local public health department, and a postdoctoral fellowship in a small prviate agency, where she provided therapy for individuals, couples, families, and groups in addition to supervising interns. Additionally, Vilmarie has been an adjunct instructor teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology and substance use disorder treatment. She has dedicated her studies and clinical work to advance Harm Reduction as the standard of practice for substance use disorders. In doing so, she has sought opportunities to educate others in her field about harm reduction, including her students. Vilmarie's dissertation, titled, "What Youth Want: Developing a Drug Education Curriculum Based on Youth Guidance and Evidence-Based Principles," inspired her to continue to advocate for effective drug education on a professional level, which led to her current position at SSDP. Additionally, Vilmarie's next personal career goal is to become trained to deliver psychedelic psychotherapy, which she considers to be the future of psychological practice.

Ashley Booth, M.S. - Ayahuasca, DMT, Integration, and Los Angeles Jul 27, 2017

Show notes

Download Ashley Booth This week we talk with Ashley Booth, co-founder of InnerSpace Integration and founder of the Aware Project: Rethinking Psychedelics. Ashley shares with us how she went from being an oceanographer to starting a psychedelic community in the Los Angeles area and also pursuing psychedelic research. We talk about how the formation and history of both the Aware Project and InnerSpace Integration, and the importance of building a psychedelic community. We also talk about Ashley's background in somatic practices such as Hakomi and how Hakomi can be used for integration as well as in the psychedelic space. Body psychotherapy seems to be a tool of the future for many psychotherapists who are interested in psychedelics and psychedelic research as normal talk therapy does not always address some of the underlying issues that are stored within the body. Other Show Topics

Non-visual experiences with Aya
Not getting caught up in the story.
Burning Man
Integration groups/networks
Tips on getting involved in the field

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsTxzEB-XA0] Ashley Booth Show Notes/Links

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aq_cOMsyik] About Ashley Booth, M.S. Ashley Booth, M.S. is a scientist, philosopher, and psychedelic ambassador. After years of working in environmental science, she experienced a radical paradigm shift through the use of psychedelics which ignited a passion for the awakening of human consciousness. Ashley uses her scientific background to break through the "war-on-drugs" rhetoric and have an intelligent and scientifically-based conversation about the safety and use of psychedelic substances. Ashley is the founder of the Aware Project: Rethinking Psychedelics (awareproject.org), which hosts educational and community-building events in Los Angeles and San Diego, California. She is also a co-founder of the InnerSpace Integration (innerspaceintegration.com), a psychedelic integration support service and harm reduction organization in Southern California. For a year and a half, she worked as a psycho-spiritual coach at Crossroads Treatment Center, supporting people through ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT experiences. She is a certified Kundalini yoga teacher and is currently training in a somatic psychotherapy approach known as the Hakomi Method. www.AshleyBooth.net Header Photo: https://www.instagram.com/scarlet.barnett/ Check out our upcoming course, "Navigating Psychedelics: Lessons on Self-Care & Integration." Sign up Today!

Daniel Pinchbeck - How Soon is Now? Jul 21, 2017

Show notes

Daniel Pinchbeck, author of the new book, How Soon is Now? joins us this week to talk about the global ecological crisis, climate change, and how psychedelics may play a role in transforming human culture. If you do believe that we are in a time of great ecological crisis, what are you doing about it? Taking action is the most important step to creating change, but are we willing to take the sacrifices and action to create change? Daniel shares his insights about how to take action to implement change. While some of these changes may be challenging, i.e., stop traveling as much, it may be necessary to help cut carbon emissions and to slow down the global warming cycle. Or is it too late to even take action? A recent journal article, "Lifetime experience with (classic) psychedelics predicts pro-environmental behavior through an increase in nature relatedness" states: Our model controlled for experiences with other classes of psychoactive substances (cannabis, dissociatives, empathogens, popular legal drugs) as well as common personality traits that usually predict drug consumption and/or nature relatedness (openness to experience, conscientiousness, conservatism). Although correlational in nature, results suggest that lifetime experience with psychedelics in particular may indeed contribute to people's pro-environmental behavior by changing their self-construal in terms of an incorporation of the natural world, regardless of core personality traits or general propensity to consume mind-altering substances. Thereby, the present research adds to the contemporary literature on the beneficial effects of psychedelic substance use on mental wellbeing, hinting at a novel area for future research investigating their potentially positive effects on a societal level. About How Soon is Now? Description of his book from Amazon.com We are on the brink of an ecological mega-crisis, threatening the future of life on earth, and our actions over the next few years may well determine the destiny of our descendants. Between a manifesto and a tactical plan of action, How Soon is Now? by radical futurist and philosopher Daniel Pinchbeck, outlines a vision for a mass social movement that will address this crisis. Drawing on extensive research, Daniel Pinchbeck presents a compelling argument for the need for change on a global basis. The central thesis is that humanity has unconsciously self-willed ecological catastrophe to bring about a transcendence of our current condition. We are facing an initiatory ordeal on a planetary scale. We can understand that this initiation is necessary for us to evolve from one state of being – our current level of consciousness – to the next. Overcoming outmoded ideologies, we will realize ourselves as one unified being, a planetary super-organism in a symbiotic relationship with the Earth's ecology and the entire web of life. Covering everything from energy and agriculture, to culture, politics, media and ideology, How Soon Is Now? is ultimately about the nature of the human soul and the future of our current world. Pinchbeck calls for an intentional redesign of our current systems, transforming unjust and elitist structures into participatory, democratic, and inclusive ones. His viewpoint integrates indigenous design principles and Eastern metaphysics with social ecology and radical political thought in a new synthesis. Show Notes/Links

Daniel's Website
Daniel's Writing & Projects
Evolver
Reality Sandwich
Age of Aquarius
Burning Man
Bobby Klein - Breathwork in Tulum, MX

Daniel's Books [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="105"] How Soon is Now?[/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="104"] Breaking Open The Head[/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="107"] 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl[/caption] Check out more of Daniel's writing: Here About Daniel Pinchbeck From Daniel Pinchbeck's Website I am the author of Breaking Open the Head (Broadway Books, 2002), 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl (Tarcher/Penguin, 2006), Notes from the Edge Times(Tarcher/Penguin, 2010), and How Soon Is Now (Watkins, 2017). I co-founded the web magazine, Reality Sandwich, and Evolver.net, and edited the publishing imprint, Evolver Editions, with North Atlantic Books. I was featured in the 2010 documentary, 2012: Time for Change, directed by Joao Amorim and produced by Mangusta Films. I founded the think tank, Center for Planetary Culture, which produced the Regenerative Society Wiki. I hosted the talk show Mindshift on GaiamTV. My essays and articles have been featured in The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Rolling Stone, ArtForum, The New York Times Book Review, The Village Voice, Dazed & Confused, and many other publications. Check out our upcoming course, Navigating Psychedelics

Learn about harm reduction practices, self-care, and ways to integration your experience

Sara Gael, M.A., Director of Harm Reduction, Zendo Project, Psychotherapist Jul 12, 2017

Show notes

Download Sara Gael joins us on this week's episode. Sara is the Director of Harm Reduction at the Zendo Project. We get into some great stuff including some of Zendo's biggest wins, how Zendo works, how to discuss harm reduction with festival organizers, and how to manage difficult experiences that arise in the Zendo. Something interesting that we learned during this talk was how law enforcement at Burning Man has really been interested in learning more about Zendo and their services, and requested Zendo to help train their staff. Sara also shares her experience and insights working on the MAPS Phase 2 MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD trials and how she got involved in psychedelic research. We also explore how transpersonal psychology can serve as an important framework for working with psychedelic experiences. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvzq63xWCeI] We hope you enjoy this episode. Be sure to leave us a comment below and share this episode! The Zendo Project The Zendo Project is sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Zendo provides harm reduction services to the community and to festivals. Zendo strives to:

Reduce the number of psychiatric hospitalizations and arrests.
Create an environment where volunteers can work alongside one another to improve their harm reduction skills and receive training and feedback.
Demonstrates that safe, productive psychedelic experiences are possible without the need for law enforcement-based prohibitionist policies.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tox15j1jzc] Show Notes/Link

Naropa University - Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Psychology
Transpersonal Psychology
Navigating Psychedelics: Lessons on Self-Care & Integration
Zendo Project
- Volunteer
Burning Man
Working with Trauma
MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD

Sara Gael, M.A., Director of Harm Reduction, Zendo Project Sara received her Master's degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology at Naropa University. She began working with MAPS in 2012, coordinating psychedelic harm reduction services at festivals and events worldwide with the Zendo Project. Sara was an Intern Therapist for the recently completed MAPS Phase 2 clinical trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in Boulder, CO. She maintains a private practice as a psychotherapist specializing in trauma and non-ordinary states of consciousness. Sara believes that developing a comprehensive understanding of psychedelic medicines through research and education is essential for the health and well being of individuals, communities, and the planet. Community is an important part of integration. One of the most difficult aspects of integration is returning to a society that doesn't understand or support psychedelic exploration. In fact, re-entering society can feel like a stark contrast between the interconnected, transpersonal state of the psychedelic experience. Therefore, one of most important tools for successful integration is a supportive, understanding community. We encourage our Guests to connect with and build supportive communities around themselves when they return home from the event. We support them in seeking professional help if necessary. -Sara Gael, Zendo Project Coordinator source Sara Gael - Links Sara's Professional Practice site - Re-membering Sara's Profile on Psychology Today Mikedelic Podcast - October 5, 2016 Understanding and Working with Difficult Psychedelic Experiences - MAPS Bulletin Entheogen Show - Psychedelic First Aid Be sure to check out our upcoming course: Navigating Psychedelics

Cognitive Liberty, The War on Drugs, & Personal Freedom Jul 03, 2017

Show notes

Download It is the week of the 4th of July. That means the United States is celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, breaking free from the British Empire, and becoming an independent nation. With the holiday underway, it seems like a great time to reflect on the concept of freedom (including cognitive liberty) and what it means to each and every one of us. In honor of Independence Day and the Declaration of Independence, here is a quote by Terence McKenna: [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="660"] Photo from: http://www.cannalawblog.com/they-said-it-on-marijuana-quotable-saturday-part-cxxvi/[/caption] In this episode, Joe and Kyle reflect on the concept of personal freedom, cognitive liberty, and the impact that the War on Drugs has on the American people. It seems to be the consensus that the War on Drugs is failing. The policy has huge negative consequences on people across the globe, and significantly marginalizes minority groups and people of color. Cognitive Liberty As psychedelic research continues to progress in the academic and scientific realm, many people are still subjected to arrest and imprisonment because of this failed policy. Kyle and Joe share their thoughts about the pursuit for cognitive liberty and personal freedom. The unexamined life is not worth living - Socrates Do you think that exploring one's own consciousness, whether through plants or other drugs, be illegal? Why should a person have to "ask permission" to have an experience with their own body, mind, and spirit? Let us know your thoughts about this topic. Joe and Kyle also talk about their new upcoming course, Navigating Psychedelics: Lessons on Self-Care & Integration. Be sure to check out this course and sign up TODAY! We are giving away a SPECIAL offer just for the 4th of July! Receive 10% off our Earl-Bird special with the coupon code "freedom" when you check out. You do not want to miss this offer! Show Links

Cacao Ceremonies
Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics
Kids for Cash
The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries
The Big Chew Podcast - Psychedelics, Healing, and Transformation
Confessions of an Economic Hitman
United Nations and World Health Organisation call for drugs to be decriminalised
Tennessee man, woman charged after getting lost while high on magic mushrooms, calling 911
Ohio 3-Strike Penalty Proposal
Burning Man Drug Testing
Gabor Maté M.D.- The Body Says No
Bessel van der Kolk M.D. - The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Carl Hart - High Price: A Neuroscientist's Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society (P.S.)
New York's "Stop & Frisk" Policy
Flakka
- PVP (''flakka''): a new synthetic cathinone invades the drug arena
Psychedelic Experience

Geoffery Schwartz presents: Cognitive Liberty and Entheogenic Freedom for ERIE [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fobjqBbSiQ]

Shane LeMaster, B.A., M.A., LAC, CC-AASP - Part 2 Jun 29, 2017

Show notes

Download Shane LeMaster joins us again to talk about his work with veterans, enhancing human performance and traditional use of peyote. If you haven't listened to part one, check that out first here. Show Topics

Warriorship and Shambhala
Micro-dosing as it would apply to sports performance research
Flow states
Eckhart Tolle
Microdosing at JuJitsu competitions
High or standard dose psychedelic use at NASA
The difference between microdosing and normal dosages
Shane's own practice
JuJitsu for healing trauma
Vets only JuJitsu class
Where is trauma stored
Insights on Peyote Integration

Show Links

About Shane LeMaster, B.A., M.A., LAC, CC-AASP Bio from Mind-OPS Shane earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO, completed extensive coursework towards a Master of Arts Degree in Sport & Performance Psychology at the University of Denver, and earned his Master of Arts Degree in Sport & Exercise Psychology from Argosy University. Shane is nationally certified as a Sport Psychology Consultant and a licensed mental health clinician in the state of Colorado. Having worked in community non-profit mental health since 2008, Shane has gained experience working with the entire spectrum of mental disorders and with all populations and age groups. Shane plans on attending a Ph.D program in Counseling Psychology where his interest in Resiliency, Mental Toughness, and Mindfulness Training Program Development can be explored and further developed. He is a life-long athlete having competed at various levels in more than a dozen different sports. Because of his passion for warrior cultures of past and present, Shane has been ardently developing his own "Warriorship," training in various forms of Martial Arts for 25 years. Shane feels that the self-discipline, the philosophy of non-violence, the innumerable mental and physical benefits, and the enjoyment that he gains from the Martial Arts is what helped drive his passion in the field of Psychology. His personal interest in Eastern Philosophy stems from his adoption of a Buddhist lifestyle and blends well with his training in Western Psychological Science. Clients describe Shane as an out-of-the-box clinician that is easy to get along with, knowledgeable on a variety of topics, credible with lived experience, and as having the ability to make therapy fun and interesting. Interested in learning more about psychedelic self-care and integration? Check out and sign up for our new online course!

Shane LeMaster, B.A., M.A., LAC, CC-AASP - Peyote, Veterans and Flow States Jun 22, 2017

Show notes

Download Shane LeMaster joins us to talk about his work with veterans, enhancing human performance and traditional use of peyote. Show Topics

Psychedelics and martial arts.
Martial arts / JuJitsu for Veterans.
- Exposure therapy
Flow states and psychedelics.
Psychedelic Integration and groups.
Opinions on MDMA being a psychedelic drug or not.
Doing work with veterans and gaining their trust for therapeutic relationships.
Traditional approaches to ayahuasca.
First hand accounts of what the Peyote world is like.
Shifting away from the predominant Newtonian Cartesian paradigm after psychedelic use and understanding that we know very little about what is really happening here in the world.
Sustainability in the Peyote habitat.

Show Links

Leia Friedman - The Boston Entheogenic Network and Tips on Creating a Psychedelic Group Jun 15, 2017

Show notes

Download In this episode, Kyle talks with Leia Friedman, co-founder of the Boston Entheogenic Network (BEN) and also known as "The Psychedologist." Kyle recently was invited to facilitate an "Introduction to Transpersonal Breathwork" workshop for BEN. Joe also was in town for the weekend and presented a talk about "Breathwork, Psychedelics, and Ecological Collapse." It was a great psychedelic weekend in Massachusetts. After the workshop, Kyle had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Leia about her interests in the psychedelic field, feminism and eco-feminism, and how she got involved with starting a psychedelic group in Boston. She provides some helpful tips and advice for creating/starting your own local group. Tips for starting your own psychedelic group:

First, what is the point of the group?
What is the purpose or mission?
Learn about your local laws and the legal risks
Do not condone or facilitate illegal activity
Go slow
Find the others to help you out
Check in with yourself and the other members of the group
Protect your members
Start online to gain awareness and then start an in-person meet up

Sign up below to get your FREE download "How to Create Your Own Psychedelic Group" https://forms.convertkit.com/226022?v=6 We hope you enjoy this episode and let us know what you think! [caption id="attachment_1202" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Kyle and Leia holding space for the breathwork circle[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1204" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Breathwork on the river.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1203" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Joe and Kyle presenting, "Breathwork, Psychedelics, and Ecological Collapse" in Lowell, MA, USA[/caption] Show Notes/Links

The Boston Entheogenic Network Facebook Group
Leia Friedman's Articles on Psymposia
Creating your own psychedelic group
Transpersonal Breathwork
Entheogen - Coined by Carl A. P. Ruck, Jeremy Bigwood, Danny Staples, Richard Evans Schultes, Jonathan Ott and R. Gordon Wasson
What Monkeys Can Teach Us About Human Behavior: From Facts to Fiction
The Fifth Sacred Thing: By Starhawk

About Leia Friedman Leia Friedman is a professor, clinician, writer and the cofounder of Boston Entheogenic Network. Her present focus is an amalgamation of psychology, ecology, and experiences of altered consciousness as tools for deeper self-understanding. She is also involved in local social and climate justice activism, alphabet soup, and body positivity.

Allison Pelissier - Lucia N°03 Light Experience Jun 07, 2017

Show notes

Download In this episode, Kyle talks with Allison Pelissier, of The Traveling Light Machine, about the Lucia N°03 Hypnagogic Light Machine. It turns out it is very powerful and induces powerful visions in some. During Kyle's recent trip to Vermont, he met a fellow fan of the podcast, Grant, at the recent Dreamshadow Holotropic Breathwork retreat. While meeting Grant felt like a synchronicity, it led Kyle to experience the Lucia N°03 with Allison. Kyle shares his experience with the hypnagogic light machine in this episode while Allison discusses the background and development of this this fascinating piece of technology. Be sure to continue below to learn more about the Lucia N°03, get show notes/links, and to find out more about Allison's work. Consider leaving us a comment to let us know what you think about the episode. About The Lucia N°03 Hypnagogic Light Machine

The Lucia N°03 was developed in Austria by clinical psychologist Dr. EngelbertWinkler and medical neurologist Dr. Dirk Proeckl.

It is important to note that the Lucia N°03 is not a medical device. Rather it is a therapeutic light meditation. That is, it helps light travelers achieve a state of effortless meditation. It is not in competition with, nor a replacement for pharmaceutical drugs, clinical therapy, or any other medical intervention. It is a journey into consciousness.

The Lucia N°03 gently entrains the brain, stimulates the pineal gland and opens up a beautiful space for visionary exploration.

The Lucia N°03 helps clear the mind and allow even beginning meditators to reach a space of peace quickly. It is not a replacement for a meditation practice but quite the opposite - it encourages people to meditate by realizing how powerful the practice can be and gives them the confidence (and roadmap) to get there on their own. As the Lucia is both a stimulation (through light), and a relaxation (through brain entrainment), it helps the individual learn to let go in stressful situations, rather than resist and make things even more difficult. The Lucia N°03 also uses a wide spectrum of light which has been reported to have a great impact for people with both seasonal affective disorder and other types of depression.

[caption id="attachment_1174" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Source: The Traveling Light Machine Facebook [/caption] The Lucia light experience is different for each person, as it works with each person's individual system and has a balancing effect. Everyone feels more clear and centered after an experience, while some people feel more energized or deeply relaxed. Source: iReVibe

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAjhrhsAsmA]

Links

Lucia N°03 Homepage
EEG Functional Connectivity and Phenomenology of Induced Dissociative States - Study
Creativity through Psychedelic Light Travel - Study
International Center for Ethnobotanical Education Research and Service - Currently working on the DMT study, although there is no news posted yet
Cracking Consciousness - http://www.sussex.ac.uk/newsandevents/cracking-consciousness
Legalize Freedom Podcast - Engelbert Winkler – Getting High on Light

[caption id="attachment_1175" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Source: The Traveling Light Machine Facebook [/caption] About Allison Pelissier Dedicated to assisting in the expansion of consciousness of humanity, Allison is a lightworker that is both a clairvoyant and ambassador for the Lucia N°03 light experience. Allison has a MA in International Education and Development and a BA in Political Economics. She also holds a 200 hr Yoga Teaching Certification, a Children's Yoga Teaching Certification and has worked across the world in many different capacities as an academic teacher, textbook author, meditation and yoga teacher, project manager and developer and light ambassador. The Lucia N°03 light experience peaked Allison's interest after her first experience at Light Eye Mind Gallery in London, UK. She traveled deeply into her own mind and memories and emerged from the experience feeling like she had come back to herself in a way she would never have suspected could be possible. Her experience helped her shift from a state of depression and PTSD to an ability to sleep through the night and wake up with a sense of joy again. Feeling a strong calling to work with the Lucia N°03, Allison purchased her own lamp and started touring around the US with Traveling Light Machine project, aiming to bring the experience to wherever the light was called. The most moving part of the experience for Allison is that as a light ambassador she holds space for people to have their own experiences. She strongly believes that we cannot help anyone, but rather hold space for them to see and love themselves. Currently Allison travels around the US and the world with her partner in business and love, Zachary Noel, sharing the Lucia N°03 light experience.

Jag Davies - Drug Policy Alliance May 29, 2017

Show notes

Download The MAPS Psychedelic Science 2017 conference was the largest psychedelic conference in history to date. It is an exciting time to be part of the movement and to get involved in the field. There is a push to legalize psychedelics for therapy and to recognize these substances as medicine. While the field needs the science and research to legitimize psychedelics as medicines to treat various disorders, but the change in status does not mean access for everyone. This is not to discourage the research or science, we acknowledge that it is important, but rather it is to help educate the public that the change in status does not mean psychedelics will be legal for recreational use. There may be a misconception floating around that once MDMA or psilocybin becomes medicine there will be greater access. This is not entirely true according to Jag Davies. The criminalization of psychedelic substances will continue despite the health and clinical applications. Jag and the DPA strive to help move drug policy away from a criminalization approach and help to move it towards a more health-based approach. In this episode, we talk with Jag Davies, Communication Strategy Director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA). Jag provides us with his insights about the current state of psychedelics, psychedelic research, and other drug laws. Jag also talks about his work with the DPA and what the DPA's mission is. We discuss drug policy, advocacy, harm reduction, scheduling vs penalty, racism, and so much more. One of the best things to do to get involved is to help spread the word about the healing potential of psychedelic medicines and substances. The policy around these substances are constantly changing and new issues are always arising. We talk a lot about privilege in this episode, and how being in a privileged position makes it easier to speak about experiences with psychedelics or other substances. Another great way to get involved is connecting with the Drug Policy Alliance. There is a wonderful drug reform conference coming up and that is also a great way to get your foot in the door with this work. The Reform Conference is happening in Atlanta, Georgia, from October 11th-14th. If you do not think you can attend, try applying for the scholarship, which ends June 9th. About the Drug Policy Alliance The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is the nation's leading organization promoting drug policies that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. Our supporters are individuals who believe the war on drugs is doing more harm than good. Together we advance policies that reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition, and seek solutions that promote safety while upholding the sovereignty of individuals over their own minds and bodies. We work to ensure that our nation's drug policies no longer arrest, incarcerate, disenfranchise and otherwise harm millions – particularly young people and people of color who are disproportionately affected by the war on drugs. Mission and Vision of the Drug Policy Alliance The Drug Policy Alliance envisions a just society in which the use and regulation of drugs are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights, in which people are no longer punished for what they put into their own bodies but only for crimes committed against others, and in which the fears, prejudices and punitive prohibitions of today are no more. Our mission is to advance those policies and attitudes that best reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition, and to promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and bodies. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTUFmDR1v2o] Show Notes/Links

Psychedelic Justice: How Do We Repair the Harms of Psychedelic Prohibition? By Jag Davies (MAPS Bulletin Spring 2017: Vol. 27, No. 1 - Special Edition: Psychedelic Science)
- PDF Download
Drug Policy Alliance Website
Reform Conference (October 11th-14th in Atlanta, Georgia)
- Scholarship for Reform Conference (Ends June 9th)
The DPA's Office of Academic Engagement
Stefanie Jones (DPA) - Safer Partying
- Twitter
Scheduling vs penalty
1.5 million drug arrests annually - most for simple possession
- Enforcement only makes it more dangerous.
New York City's Stop & Frisk Policy
Guide to Drug Combination Chart
End of Life Liberty Project
Andrew Tatarsky and the Center for Optimal Living
The International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research & Service (ICEERS)
Nicholas Powers

About Jag Davies From Drug Policy Alliance: As director of communications strategy, Jag Davies works with communications, program, development and senior management staff to oversee production of all DPA publications and to facilitate best practices in the implementation of the organization's messaging and brand identity. Davies manages a team that includes DPA's research coordinator and communications coordinator, as well as external consultant relationships with writers, designers, and multimedia content producers. Davies also plays a key role in DPA's media work. He is regularly quoted in a wide range of media outlets and his writings have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC.com, CNN.com, and dozens of regional and online publications. Davies has more than a decade of professional experience working to establish drug policies grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. Before joining the organization, he served as director of communications for MAPS, a nonprofit pharmaceutical company conducting clinical trials aimed at developing marijuana and certain psychedelic drugs into federally-approved prescription medicines. Davies also previously served as policy researcher for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Drug Law Reform Project (now known as the Criminal Law Reform Project), where he coordinated local, state, federal, and international efforts to end punitive drug policies that cause the widespread violation of constitutional and human rights.

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