Acid Revival

Acid Revival PDF Author: Danielle Giffort
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 1452959773
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
A vivid analysis of the history and revival of clinical psychedelic science Psychedelic drugs are making a comeback. In the mid-twentieth century, scientists actively studied the potential of drugs like LSD and psilocybin for treating mental health problems. After a decades-long hiatus, researchers are once again testing how effective these drugs are in relieving symptoms for a wide variety of psychiatric conditions, from depression and obsessive–compulsive disorder to posttraumatic stress disorder and substance addiction. In Acid Revival, Danielle Giffort examines how this new generation of researchers and their allies are working to rehabilitate psychedelic drugs and to usher in a new era of psychedelic medicine. As this team of researchers and mental health professionals revive the field of psychedelic science, they are haunted by the past and by one person in particular: psychedelic evangelist Timothy Leary. Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews with people working on scientific psychedelia, Giffort shows how today’s researchers tell stories about Leary as an “impure” scientist and perform his antithesis to address a series of lingering dilemmas that threaten to rupture their budding legitimacy. Acid Revival presents new information about the so-called psychedelic renaissance and highlights the cultural work involved with the reassembly of dormant areas of medical science. This colorful and accessible history of the rise, fall, and reemergence of psychedelic medicine is infused with intriguing narratives and personalities—a story for popular science aficionados as well as for scholars of the history of science and medicine.

Acid Revival

Acid Revival PDF Author: Danielle Giffort
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 1452959773
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 312

Get Book Here

Book Description
A vivid analysis of the history and revival of clinical psychedelic science Psychedelic drugs are making a comeback. In the mid-twentieth century, scientists actively studied the potential of drugs like LSD and psilocybin for treating mental health problems. After a decades-long hiatus, researchers are once again testing how effective these drugs are in relieving symptoms for a wide variety of psychiatric conditions, from depression and obsessive–compulsive disorder to posttraumatic stress disorder and substance addiction. In Acid Revival, Danielle Giffort examines how this new generation of researchers and their allies are working to rehabilitate psychedelic drugs and to usher in a new era of psychedelic medicine. As this team of researchers and mental health professionals revive the field of psychedelic science, they are haunted by the past and by one person in particular: psychedelic evangelist Timothy Leary. Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews with people working on scientific psychedelia, Giffort shows how today’s researchers tell stories about Leary as an “impure” scientist and perform his antithesis to address a series of lingering dilemmas that threaten to rupture their budding legitimacy. Acid Revival presents new information about the so-called psychedelic renaissance and highlights the cultural work involved with the reassembly of dormant areas of medical science. This colorful and accessible history of the rise, fall, and reemergence of psychedelic medicine is infused with intriguing narratives and personalities—a story for popular science aficionados as well as for scholars of the history of science and medicine.

Neuropsychedelia

Neuropsychedelia PDF Author: Nicolas Langlitz
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520274822
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
Neuropsychedelia examines the revival of psychedelic science since the "Decade of the Brain." After the breakdown of this previously prospering area of psychopharmacology, and in the wake of clashes between counterculture and establishment in the late 1960s, a new generation of hallucinogen researchers used the hype around the neurosciences in the 1990s to bring psychedelics back into the mainstream of science and society. This book is based on anthropological fieldwork and philosophical reflections on life and work in two laboratories that have played key roles in this development: a human lab in Switzerland and an animal lab in California. It sheds light on the central transnational axis of the resurgence connecting American psychedelic culture with the home country of LSD. In the borderland of science and religion, Neuropsychedelia explores the tensions between the use of hallucinogens to model psychoses and to evoke spiritual experiences in laboratory settings. Its protagonists, including the anthropologist himself, struggle to find a place for the mystical under conditions of late-modern materialism.

The Archaic Revival

The Archaic Revival PDF Author: Terence Mckenna
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062506137
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Cited by the L.A. Weekly as "the culture's foremost spokesman for the psychedelic experience," Terrence McKenna is an underground legend as a brilliant raconteur, adventurer, and expert on the experiential use of mind-altering plants. In these essays, interviews, and narrative adventures, McKenna takes us on a mesmerizing journey deep into the Amazon as well as into the hidden recesses of the human psyche and the outer limits of our culture, giving us startling visions of the past and future.

Psychedelic Medicine

Psychedelic Medicine PDF Author: Richard Louis Miller
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1620556987
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Explores the potential of psychedelics as medicine and the intersections of politics, science, and psychedelics • Explores the tumultuous history of psychedelic research, the efforts to restore psychedelic therapies, and the links between psychiatric drugs and mental illness • Offers non-technical summaries of the most recent, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies with MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca • Includes the work of Rick Doblin, Stanislav Grof, James Fadiman, Julie Holland, Dennis McKenna, David Nichols, Charles Grob, Phil Wolfson, Michael and Annie Mithoefer, Roland Griffiths, Katherine MacLean, and Robert Whitaker Embracing the revival of psychedelic research and the discovery of new therapeutic uses, clinical psychologist Dr. Richard Louis Miller discusses what is happening today in psychedelic medicine--and what will happen in the future--with top researchers and thinkers in this field, including Rick Doblin, Stanislav Grof, James Fadiman, Julie Holland, Dennis McKenna, David Nichols, Charles Grob, Phil Wolfson, Michael and Annie Mithoefer, Roland Griffiths, Katherine MacLean, and Robert Whitaker. Dr. Miller and his contributors cover the tumultuous history of early psychedelic research brought to a halt 50 years ago by the U.S. government as well as offering non-technical summaries of the most recent studies with MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca. They explore the biochemistry of consciousness and the use of psychedelics for self-discovery and healing. They discuss the use of psilocybin for releasing fear in the terminally ill and the potential for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of PTSD. They examine Dr. Charles Grob’s research on the indigenous use and therapeutic properties of ayahuasca and Dr. Gabor Mate’s attempt to transport this plant medicine to a clinical setting with the help of Canada’s Department of National Health. Dr. Miller and his contributors explore the ongoing efforts to restore psychedelic therapies to the health field, the growing threat of overmedication by the pharmaceutical industry, and the links between psychiatric drugs and mental illness. They also discuss the newly shifting political climate and the push for new research, offering hope for an end to the War on Drugs and a potential renaissance of research into psychedelic medicines around the world.

Psychedelic Shamanism, Updated Edition

Psychedelic Shamanism, Updated Edition PDF Author: Jim DeKorne
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
ISBN: 1583942904
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Psychedelic Shamanism presents the spiritual and shamanic properties of psychotropic plants and discusses how they can be used to understand the structure of human consciousness. Author Jim DeKorne offers authoritative information about the cultivation, processing, and correct dosages for various psychotropic plant substances including the belladonna alkaloids, d-lysergic acid amide, botanical analogues of LSD, mescaline, ayahuasca, DMT, and psilocybin. Opening with vivid descriptions of the author’s personal experiences with psychedelic drugs, the book describes the parallels that exist among shamanic states of consciousness, the use of psychedelic catalysts, and the hidden structure of the human psyche. DeKorne suggests that psychedelic drugs allow us to examine the shamanic dimensions of reality. This worldview, he says, is ubiquitous across space, time, and culture, with individuals separated by race, distance, and culture routinely describing the same core reality that provides powerful evidence of the dimensional nature of consciousness itself. The book guides the reader through the imaginal realm underlying our awareness, a world in which spiritual entities exist to reconnect us with ourselves, humanity, and our planet. Accurate drawings of plants, including peyote, Salvia divinorum, and San Pedro, enhance the book’s usefulness.

The New Psychedelic Revolution

The New Psychedelic Revolution PDF Author: James Oroc
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1620556634
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 596

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Book Description
A bold exploration of modern psychedelic culture, its history, and future • Examines 3 modern psy-culture architects: chemist Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, mycologist-philosopher Terence McKenna, and visionary artist Alex Grey • Investigates the use of microdosing in extreme sports, the psy-trance festival experience, and the relationship between the ego, entheogens, and toxicity • Presents a “History of Visionary Art,” from its roots in prehistory, to Ernst Fuchs and the Vienna School of the Fantastic, to contemporary psychedelic art After the dismantling of a major acid laboratory in 2001 dramatically reduced the world supply of LSD, the psychedelic revolution of the 1960s appeared to have finally run its course. But the opposite has actually proven to be true, and a psychedelic renaissance is rapidly emerging with the rise in popularity of transformational festivals like Burning Man and BOOM!, the return to positive media coverage of the potential benefits of entheogens, and the growing number of celebrities willing to admit the benefits of their own personal use. Along with the return of university research, the revival of psychedelic philosophy, and the increasing popularity of visionary art, these new developments signify the beginning of a worldwide psychedelic cultural revolution more integrated into the mainstream than the counterculture uprising of the 1960s. In his latest book, James Oroc defines the borders of 21st-century psychedelic culture through the influence of its three main architects-- chemist Alexander Shulgin, mycologist Terence McKenna, and visionary artist Alex Grey--before illustrating a number of facets of this “Second Psychedelic Revolution,” including the use of microdosing in extreme sports, the tech-savvy psychedelic community that has arisen around transformational festivals, and the relationship between the ego, entheogens, and toxicity. This volume also presents for the first time a “History of Visionary Art” that explains its importance to the emergence of visionary culture. Exploring the practical role of entheogens in our selfish and fast-paced modern world, the author explains how psychedelics are powerful tools to examine the ego and the shadow via the transpersonal experience. Asserting that a cultural adoption of the entheogenic perspective is the best chance that our society has to survive, he then proposes that our ongoing psychedelic revolution--now a century old since the first synthesis of a psychedelic in 1918--offers the potential for the birth of a new Visionary Age.

The Psychedelic Renaissance

The Psychedelic Renaissance PDF Author: Ben Sessa
Publisher: Aeon Books
ISBN: 1913504115
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
Praise for Second Edition of The Psychedelic Renaissance: 'Onward, intrepid explorer, keep your wits, while allowing them to be tickled, as Dr Sessa leads you into a world of remarkable wonders! You are in for a real treat!' Robin Carhart-Harris 'This new book is a succinct, entertaining overview of the emerging "Psychedelic Renaissance" written by an insider, and one of the brightest young architects of this new emerging paradigm.' Dr Dennis J. McKenna 'With intelligence, fact-based optimism and compassion Sessa throws open the doors of perception and guides the reader through the complexities of the history, pharmacology, legality and potential of these miraculous molecules.' Andy Roberts 'This new edition of Sessa's, The Psychedelic Renaissance, will encourage researchers to work in this field, to the benefit of our understanding of how the brain works and to develop new approaches to psychiatric disorders.' David Nutt 'Dr. Ben Sessa prescribes a way forward; mainstreaming psychedelics for a world in deep need of spirituality and inspiration. The Psychedelic Renaissance is a book that deserves to be widely read.' Rick Doblin 'Ben Sessa's energetic review of the research and cultural use of psychedelics provides a unique perspective. The way forward is clear: we urgently need more scientific research, and a rational reform of drug policies.' Amanda Feilding 'The Psychedelic Renaissance will inevitably and rightly be seen as an important marker of their assimilation into the cultural mainstream. I highly recommend it.' Ralph Metzner 'Dr. Sessa skilfully chronicles important developments, perhaps a turning point, in psychiatry and in the understanding of psychedelics in the wider culture. This new updated edition of The Psychedelic Renaissance is informative, entertaining and timely.' Michael Mithoefer

The Trials of Psychedelic Therapy

The Trials of Psychedelic Therapy PDF Author: Matthew Oram
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421426218
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 430

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Book Description
The rise—and fall—of research into the therapeutic potential of LSD. After LSD arrived in the United States in 1949, the drug's therapeutic promise quickly captured the interests of psychiatrists. In the decade that followed, modern psychopharmacology was born and research into the drug's perceptual and psychological effects boomed. By the early 1960s, psychiatrists focused on a particularly promising treatment known as psychedelic therapy: a single, carefully guided, high-dose LSD session coupled with brief but intensive psychotherapy. Researchers reported an astounding 50 percent success rate in treating chronic alcoholism, as well as substantial improvement in patients suffering from a range of other disorders. Yet despite this success, LSD officially remained an experimental drug only. Research into its effects, psychological and otherwise, dwindled before coming to a close in the 1970s. In The Trials of Psychedelic Therapy, Matthew Oram traces the early promise and eventual demise of LSD psychotherapy in the United States. While the common perception is that LSD's prohibition terminated legitimate research, Oram draws on files from the Food and Drug Administration and the personal papers of LSD researchers to reveal that the most significant issue was not the drug's illegality, but the persistent question of its efficacy. The landmark Kefauver-Harris Drug Amendments of 1962 installed strict standards for efficacy evaluation, which LSD researchers struggled to meet due to the unorthodox nature of their treatment. Exploring the complex interactions between clinical science, regulation, and therapeutics in American medicine, The Trials of Psychedelic Therapy explains how an age of empirical research and limited government oversight gave way to sophisticated controlled clinical trials and complex federal regulations. Analyzing the debates around how to understand and evaluate treatment efficacy, this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in LSD and psychedelics, as well as mental health professionals, regulators, and scholars of the history of psychiatry, psychotherapy, drug regulation, and pharmaceutical research and development.

American Trip

American Trip PDF Author: Ido Hartogsohn
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262358948
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
How historical, social, and cultural forces shaped the psychedelic experience in midcentury America, from CIA experiments with LSD to Timothy Leary's Harvard Psilocybin Project. Are psychedelics invaluable therapeutic medicines, or dangerously unpredictable drugs that precipitate psychosis? Tools for spiritual communion or cognitive enhancers that spark innovation? Activators for one's private muse or part of a political movement? In the 1950s and 1960s, researchers studied psychedelics in all these incarnations, often arriving at contradictory results. In American Trip, Ido Hartogsohn examines how the psychedelic experience in midcentury America was shaped by historical, social, and cultural forces--by set (the mindset of the user) and setting (the environments in which the experience takes place).

How to Change Your Mind

How to Change Your Mind PDF Author: Michael Pollan
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735224153
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
Now on Netflix as a 4-part documentary series! “Pollan keeps you turning the pages . . . cleareyed and assured.” —New York Times A #1 New York Times Bestseller, New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2018, and New York Times Notable Book A brilliant and brave investigation into the medical and scientific revolution taking place around psychedelic drugs--and the spellbinding story of his own life-changing psychedelic experiences When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third. Thus began a singular adventure into various altered states of consciousness, along with a dive deep into both the latest brain science and the thriving underground community of psychedelic therapists. Pollan sifts the historical record to separate the truth about these mysterious drugs from the myths that have surrounded them since the 1960s, when a handful of psychedelic evangelists inadvertently catalyzed a powerful backlash against what was then a promising field of research. A unique and elegant blend of science, memoir, travel writing, history, and medicine, How to Change Your Mind is a triumph of participatory journalism. By turns dazzling and edifying, it is the gripping account of a journey to an exciting and unexpected new frontier in our understanding of the mind, the self, and our place in the world. The true subject of Pollan's "mental travelogue" is not just psychedelic drugs but also the eternal puzzle of human consciousness and how, in a world that offers us both suffering and joy, we can do our best to be fully present and find meaning in our lives.