Founded in 1986, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana.
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The Psychedelic Science Review
Psychedelic Science Review (PSR) was founded in 2018 by a small group of scientists committed to improving the quality of and access to scientific information about psychedelics. Concerned about the dearth of accessible and reliable scientific information about psychedelics, widespread misinformation, and poor analysis and conclusions drawn from otherwise high-quality research, our team set out on a mission to address these concerns. In 2019, we launched PsychedelicReview.com, a website free for all to access. At PsychedelicReview.com, we discuss scientific research and knowledge about psychedelics, from chemistry to psychology. Our science writers break down complex topics, offering context and connecting important concepts in the literature to familiar examples. PsychedelicReview.com also offers background information about psychedelic compounds, an ever-changing history of events surrounding psychedelics, and the organizations and people involved in progressing this resurgent field. Psychedelic Science Review provides an exclusively scientific perspective on psychedelics. We are not proponents or opponents of political or social change, nor do we offer moral commentary. While there is a place for those voices, our goal is to offer factual information on the basis of scientific relevance.
Psymposia
Psymposia is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media organization that offers leftist perspectives on drugs, politics, and culture. Our perspectives are informed by critical analysis of the systemic crises we currently face: the socioeconomic inequalities of capitalism, the community-shattering effects of racist policing, criminal legal systems and drug prohibition, social manipulation through surveillance capitalism, the rampant spread of COVID-19, the warehousing of human beings through mass incarceration, white supremacism and the rise of fascism, and global ecocide. Together, these systemic crises have directly contributed to the unmitigated growth of addiction, depression, suicide, and the unraveling of our social relations. The same economic elite and powerful corporate interests who have profited from causing these problems are now proposing “solutions”—solutions which both line their pockets and mask the necessity of structural change. Attempts to capitalize on “solving” the crises we face have contributed to the explosive growth of predatory industries which offer us individualized solutions to collective problems, including corporate wellness and commodified psychedelic therapies. As a non-profit, we believe solutions start by ensuring that communities have access to factual information in order to make well-informed decisions. A vibrant social fabric requires a “range of opinions and ideas that are a prerequisite for meaningful participation in social and political life.” We strive to ask challenging questions, and we’re committed to independent reporting, critical analysis, and holding those who wield power accountable. Psymposia publishes news, essays, and investigative journalism, while challenging those in power on behalf of the public. In addition to articles, we produce the Plus Three podcast, and wide-ranging commentary videos. We’ve organized numerous events in Boston, New York, California, London, Prague, Mexico, and other places around the world. You can find us on the conference circuit — physically and digitally — around the world.
Lucid News
Lucid News provides informed, honest and transparent journalism that covers the growing integration of psychedelics into society and their broad implications for human wellness. Founded by longtime participants of psychedelic communities who bring discernment and a healthy skepticism to their work, we offer news and opinion from a wide range of perspectives to help readers navigate this pivotal moment of innovation and transformation.
Psychedelic Times
Our mission at Psychedelic Times is to share the latest news, research, and happenings around the study of psychedelics as tools of healing, recovery, and therapy. We are passionate about the incredible potential that psychoactive substances such as marijuana, ayahuasca, MDMA, LSD, iboga, psilocybin, and DMT present to humanity, and are excited to share that passion with you.
A narrative synthesis of research with 5-MeO-DMT
Background: 5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a naturally occurring, short-acting psychedelic tryptamine, produced by a variety of plant and animal species. Plants containing 5-MeO-DMT have been used throughout history for ritual and spiritual purposes. The aim of this article is to review the available literature about 5-MeO-DMT and inform subsequent clinical development. Methods: We searched PubMed database for articles about 5-MeO-DMT. Search results were cross-checked against earlier reviews and reference lists were hand searched. Findings were synthesised using a narrative synthesis approach. This review covers the pharmacology, chemistry and metabolism of 5-MeO-DMT, as well epidemiological studies, and reported adverse and beneficial effects. Results: 5-MeO-DMT is serotonergic agonist, with highest affinity for 5-HT1A receptors. It was studied in a variety of animal models, but clinical studies with humans are lacking. Epidemiological studies indicate that, like other psychedelics, 5-MeO-DMT induces profound alterations in consciousness (including mystical experiences), with potential beneficial long-term effects on mental health and well-being. Conclusion: 5-MeO-DMT is a potentially useful addition to the psychedelic pharmacopoeia because of its short duration of action, relative lack of visual effects and putatively higher rates of ego-dissolution and mystical experiences. We conclude that further clinical exploration is warranted, using similar precautions as with other classic psychedelics.
Intensity of Mystical Experiences Occasioned by 5-MeO-DMT and Comparison With a Prior Psilocybin Study
5-MeO-DMT is a psychoactive substance found in high concentrations in the bufotoxin of the Colorado River Toad (Bufo alvarius). Emerging evidence suggests that vaporized 5-MeO-DMT may occasion mystical experiences of comparable intensity to those occasioned by more widely studied psychedelics such as psilocybin, but no empirical study has tested this hypothesis. Data was obtained from 20 individuals (Mage = 38.9, ± 10.7; male = 55%, Caucasian = 85%) who were administered 5-MeO-DMT as part of a psychospiritual retreat program in Mexico. All participants received 50 mg of inhaled vaporized toad bufotoxin which contains 5-MeO-DMT and completed the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30) approximately 4–6 h after their session. Administration of 5-MeO-DMT occasioned strong mystical experiences (MEQ30 Overall Mintensity = 4.17, ± 0.64, range 0–5) and the majority (n = 15, 75%) had “a complete mystical experience” (≥60% on all MEQ30 subscales). Compared to a prior laboratory-based psilocybin study, there were no differences in the intensity of mystical effects between 5-MeO-DMT and a high dose (30 mg/70 kg) of psilocybin, but the intensity of mystical effects was significantly higher in the 5-MeO-DMT sample compared to moderate/high dose (20 mg/70 kg) of psilocybin (MEQ30 Total Score: p = 0.02, d = 0.81). Administration of vaporized 5-MeO-DMT reliably occasioned complete mystical experiences in 75% of individuals and was similar in intensity to high dose psilocybin administered in a laboratory setting. The short duration of action may be advantageous for clinical interventions and for studying mystical-type experiences.
Scientists Create Cell-Based Psychedelic Toad Venom, a Potential 5-MeO-DMT “Bio-Factory”
The Ethical and Ecological Considerations of Inhaling Bufotoxins from Incilius Alvarius
The consumption of 5-MeO-DMT by inhaling bufotoxins from the Colorado River toad (lat. Incilius Alvarius), also known as “Bufo Alvarius”, “El Sapo/Sapito”, “Bufo”, and “Toad”, has become increasingly popular in a variety of underground ceremonial settings in recent years. Furthermore, due to the realization of the potential 5-MeO-DMT holds for therapy it has also become a new interest in psychedelic research. When I started psychedelic research for my dissertation at Maastricht University in fall 2017, there was no research addressing the subjective effects from inhalation of bufotoxins in humans. Thus, I brought it upon myself to investigate this further as the consumption of the so-called “toad-medicine” was booming worldwide. The primary aim of the study was to investigate whether the bufotoxins from the toad, which is known to contain significant amounts of 5-MeO-DMT, as well as other compounds, produces long-lasting changes on affect and thinking style. The second objective was to assess whether the acute and long-term effects of the bufotoxins depend on the degree of ego dissolution and altered states of consciousness that was experienced during the ceremony. The preliminary evidence of this study was presented at the Beyond Psychedelics conference in Prague in June, and the recording of this presentation is now circling around on the web. Even though the study results are very interesting and important to highlight due to the consumption of the “toad-medicine” worldwide, I think it is of equal importance, if not more, to shed light on another side of the story. A side of the story that for once does not focus on humans. This article aims to share information, increase awareness, and stimulate reflection about how the consumption of bufotoxins affect the toad.