First we’ll look at the history to understand how we got to this moment and how we can advocate for policy that repairs the harms of the past, from colonization to the drug war and modern policing.
Law & Policy
Decolonization, Collective Liberation, & Intersectional Solidarity. Psychedelic Community & Racial Justice Series, Part 2
How do we embody decolonization at the individual and collective level? On “Independence Day,” we’ll offer a roadmap via the intersections of Indigenous rights, intergenerational healing, and environmental, migrant, and racial justice. Each utilizing a harm reduction lens, join psychedelic psychotherapist Danielle Herrera, decarceration strategist Paula Kahn, researcher Yarelix Estrada, and community educator Mohawk Greene as moderator.
Defunding Police & Ending Prohibition. Psychedelic Community & Racial Justice Series, Part 3
Where do we go from here? How do we build a better, more equitable and caring future? What does the world look like after ending prohibition and all its systems of harm, including over-policing, surveillance, and mass incarceration? What do the new systems look like, including restorative/transformative justice and reparations for drug war victims? What can we learn from recent protests and Black Lives Matter? How can the psychedelic community support the transition?
Challenges & Opportunities of Psychedelic Therapy Within the System. Psychedelic Community & Racial Justice Series, Part 4
How do we make psychedelic healing accessible to people of color and marginalized communities in an ethical way? What are the blind spots in protocols designed by white-only practitioners? What are the pros and cons of psychedelic medicalization? To what extent is working within the system effective and transformative vs playing into harmful structures?
Why the Psychedelic Community is so White. The Psychedelic Diversity Conversation: Part 2
The War on Drugs is inherently anti-black. Most psychedelic users that I’ve encountered are hesitant to take a stance on the racial aspects of the drug war.
Privilege and Safety in the Psychedelic Community. The Psychedelic Diversity Conversation: Part 3
I feel safe openly advocating for the beneficial use of illicit substances because I have never been stopped by police without legitimate cause.
Psychedelic Inclusivity: Hopes and Challenges. The Psychedelic Diversity Conversation: Part 4
When stubborn drives for inclusion and connection in the present betray a racially divided past, psychonauts may be able to attend to histories of exclusion, separation and disconnection in order to deepen our understanding and engagement in the present.
Why MDMA Should Not Have Been Made Illegal
Hundreds of therapists and psychiatrists use MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with thousands of patients suffering from terminal illness, trauma, marital difficulties, drug addiction, phobias, and other disorders. With many anecdotal claims of benefits, users showed little evidence of problematic physiological or psychological reactions or addiction. Scheduling and the attendant media attention on the controversial public hearings created an expanded market. But the scheduling process was fraught with problems, with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s emergency scheduling itself declared illegal by the courts and its scheduling criteria overturned. Ultimately, criminalization had little deterrent effect on the recreational user population while substantially reducing its therapeutic uses. Perhaps the most profound effect of MDMA’s illegality has been the curtailment of scientific research and experimentation with a drug that held therapeutic potential.
Themes in Chemical Prohibition
The study of the historical themes in chemical prohibition movements can provide a helpful tool in understanding those institutionalized beliefs and myths which pose powerful barriers to any alteration in social policy on “drug abuse.” This paper identifies the nature of those themes and presents the author’s perceptions of how these inherited belief systems have severely limited our options for more enlightened and effective strategies for the social control of chemical intoxication.
Protestors Target the DEA in Support of Psilocybin for Terminally Ill Patients
Peaceful civil disobedience, a longstanding American tradition, will take place at the doorstep of the Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, next month where activists say they will block entrances to the building to draw attention to the right of terminally ill cancer patients to use psilocybin.