Last week, I went to one of the first legal psilocybin mushroom clinics in the United States. In 2020, the wise people of Oregon voted to permit the establishment of such clinics, wherein this mysterious, naturally-occurring psychoactive compound can be safely administered to adults in a controlled, regulated environment. That this has suddenly become possible still feels like something of a miracle. Ten or fifteen years ago, the idea that one could just walk into a normal building on Main Street USA — as opposed to voyaging to an underground shamanistic lair — and consume the compound lawfully, under professional supervision, seemed like a laughably far-off fantasy. Something to vaguely hope for in the abstract, perhaps, but still so distant as to be a virtual impossibility. But then the impossible happened, as is frequently the case, and beginning in 2023, an initial round of state-sanctioned clinics opened to the general public.
I don't quite get how ingesting psilocybin mushrooms is different from ingesting opium or any other mind altering substance. I gotta say that the only time I was administered morphine in the hospital I felt amazing despite having just passed a kidney stone. I've never been so relaxed. And cocaine, wow, the one and only time I tried that I knew I must never, ever do it again or I'd never stop. I guess maybe the point is that all those things ought to be legal? Maybe I could go to a cocaine clinic every day to feel more confident? Those 222's with codeine you used to be able to buy over the counter in Canada were a great way to start the day. Let's bring those back.
I get it, it's not that kind of mind altering substance. Unlike the lab created psychedelics that had some unfortunate side effects I'm sure this trendy natural one will be absolutely safe and nothing bad will happen. Still I kind of worry that it's just more "better living through chemistry" even if it is derived from nature and not big pharma. I mean I guess it's cool that it reduces existential anxiety in dying people and all, but exactly what changes does it make to the brain to do that? Maybe there's a reason people are anxious about dying and they should do some soul searching instead? If you take a drug to change your brain are you still all there afterward? I guess most of the depressed people who were studied eventually became depressed again so does that mean they became more like themselves again or less?
This is the first thing I read today. Imagine starting the day with a benediction like this.
You make a good case for having this experience in a clinical setting. But still, I want the freedom to legally opt to use and possess this material whenever and wherever I choose. As it stands now, it's still legally a very exclusive opportunity that denies the competence of an adult to make a responsible decision, and it favors entrepreneurialism.
That being said, perhaps the biggest reason why I haven't used psychedelics for a long, long time is that in my normal setting I fear it might be overwhelming. But that doesn't mean that a person couldn't on their own initiative create a setting that would be very appropriate.
I hope I'll be able to see more of your always lucid writing on such positive notes.
How do you account or not account for a placebo effect? If you went in wanting certain things out of the experience and then got those things, would paying 1,500 dollars for another therapy might of had the same outcome? If your mindset was that something would come of it, wouldn't just having the mindset to change be enough in reality.
I don't quite get how ingesting psilocybin mushrooms is different from ingesting opium or any other mind altering substance. I gotta say that the only time I was administered morphine in the hospital I felt amazing despite having just passed a kidney stone. I've never been so relaxed. And cocaine, wow, the one and only time I tried that I knew I must never, ever do it again or I'd never stop. I guess maybe the point is that all those things ought to be legal? Maybe I could go to a cocaine clinic every day to feel more confident? Those 222's with codeine you used to be able to buy over the counter in Canada were a great way to start the day. Let's bring those back.
I get it, it's not that kind of mind altering substance. Unlike the lab created psychedelics that had some unfortunate side effects I'm sure this trendy natural one will be absolutely safe and nothing bad will happen. Still I kind of worry that it's just more "better living through chemistry" even if it is derived from nature and not big pharma. I mean I guess it's cool that it reduces existential anxiety in dying people and all, but exactly what changes does it make to the brain to do that? Maybe there's a reason people are anxious about dying and they should do some soul searching instead? If you take a drug to change your brain are you still all there afterward? I guess most of the depressed people who were studied eventually became depressed again so does that mean they became more like themselves again or less?
This is the first thing I read today. Imagine starting the day with a benediction like this.
You make a good case for having this experience in a clinical setting. But still, I want the freedom to legally opt to use and possess this material whenever and wherever I choose. As it stands now, it's still legally a very exclusive opportunity that denies the competence of an adult to make a responsible decision, and it favors entrepreneurialism.
That being said, perhaps the biggest reason why I haven't used psychedelics for a long, long time is that in my normal setting I fear it might be overwhelming. But that doesn't mean that a person couldn't on their own initiative create a setting that would be very appropriate.
I hope I'll be able to see more of your always lucid writing on such positive notes.
How do you account or not account for a placebo effect? If you went in wanting certain things out of the experience and then got those things, would paying 1,500 dollars for another therapy might of had the same outcome? If your mindset was that something would come of it, wouldn't just having the mindset to change be enough in reality.
I noticed that you linked to the Beatles' Tomorrow Never Knows; I'm just wondering whether they played any music during this experience?
Very cool.
I read that some vets were able to find relief from PTSD by microdosing psilocybin, as well.
It's good that it helped with your meditations.