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.

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.

  

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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
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• End of Life Liberty Project
• Andrew Tatarsky and the Center for Optimal Living
• The International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research & Service (ICEERS)
• Nicholas Powers

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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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In this episode, Kyle and Joe talk with Julie Megler from Entheogenic Research, Integration, and Education (ERIE) about psychedelics and integration. We learn about the work and mission of ERIE, and how Julie got involved/interested in psychedelics. Integration is a growing concern in the psychedelic world.  We continue the conversation by having Julie on the show to learn more about her work.  Leave us a comment below and let us know what you think!

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About Erie

ERIE is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the sharing of entheogenic and transpersonal knowledge in a non-hierarchical, community based format, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. We offer a platform for entheogenic research, integration and education. ERIE is not only a hub of integration information for entheogenic and transpersonal experiences, we also host peer integration circles to facilitate meaning-making and community building. We host monthly educational events including symposiums, forums, and conferences on varied topics surrounding entheogenic research and activism. We are dedicated to supporting cognitive liberty by offering a learning environment to support grassroots education and outreach on the topics of integration and entheogenic potentials.

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Mission

The Entheogenic Research, Integration, and Education (ERIE) mission: 1) Review and conduct research on the use of traditional plant medicines, and their modern analogs, for creativity, healing, personal growth, and spiritual exploration 2) Develop integration methods that combine new research with existing, tested practices to help people incorporate extraordinary experiences into their lives 3) Articulate a new educational paradigm that honors and draws upon the vast Indigenous knowledge of plant and fungi kingdoms, then envisions new applications of it within contemporary Western contexts 4) Create a forum for the responsible discussion of these topics.

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Links

• ERIE
• Annie Oak - full circle tea house - http://www.plantteachers.com/annie-oak/
• Ken Tupper -  Entheogenic Education: Psychedelics as Tools of Wonder and Awe
• International Transpersonal Association 2004 - "MYTHIC IMAGINATION AND MODERN SOCIETY: THE RE-ENCHANTMENT OF THE WORLD"
• ICEERS
• Brian Anderson - UCSF

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https://youtu.be/JEwWEu-Cp9k

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Julie Megler, MSN, NP-BC

*Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner * Trained in Somatic Experiencing * Shipibo/Vegetalista Dieta Experience* Julie is a board certified nurse practitioner in psychiatry and family medicine. She received her Master’s of Science in Nursing from the University of Miami, Florida and post master’s certificate in psychiatry at the University of California-San Francisco. Julie maintains licenses in family medicine and psychiatry in an effort to close the gap between medical and psychiatric care, incorporating the mind/body connection for most effective treatment. She currently is in private practice in the San Francisco/Bay Area. Her practice focuses on integrative mental health services for emotional and physical well being, as well as integration of non-ordinary states of consciousness. In addition to her clinical work, Julie is on the board of directors of ERIE (Entheogenic Research, Integration, and Education). She has presented on the topics of psychedelic risk reduction, integration, and therapeutic applications of ayahuasca at the Psychedelic Science Conference 2013 & 2017, The Women’s Visionary Congress, Detroit’s First Entheogenic Conference, and the Visionary Convergence 2015. She has also co-authored chapters in the books Manifesting Minds and The Therapeutic Uses of Ayahuasca. As an experienced clinician, and activist for the psychedelic movement, Julie is dedicated to educating the community about safety and the therapeutic benefits of entheogens. Her particular emphasis on integration assists individuals to develop practices that bring insights from entheogenic work to daily life. You can learn more about Julie’s work at erievision.org & mindfulnp.com.

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Julie has done many ayahuasca sessions and other plant work as well. This along with her medical provider practice as a nurse practitioner in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is able to speak about psychedelic integration from a unique perspective with her background. We think you will really enjoy this episode and please let us know what you think.  

As psychedelics and plant medicines continue to gain mainstream attention, more and more people are becoming interested in having their own experience. While many people travel outside their home country to experience ayahuasca legally in a retreat setting, many people are participating in ceremonies in the "underground" all over the world. Attending a festival, large or small, is also a very common place for people to experiment with psychedelic substances. This new wave of psychedelic use is almost like a new rites of passage for many. Two parts of any rites of passage is the preparation and integration of the experience. Sherree Malcolm Godasi can and does help. Download

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We talk with Sherree Malcolm Godasi about her work with psychedelic preparation and integration. As she mentions on her site, Psychedelic Integration Coach:

Preparation for ceremony and ongoing, post-ceremony integration of the lessons shown by Ayahuasca are all about developing the physiological and psychological flexibility that would enable the drinker to surrender to her awesome, wise spirit. It is also about harnessing the time, effort and resources put into ceremony work to ensure that the healing is anchored and cultivated in the default life. The diligent preparation stage aims to cleanse the mind, body and energetic field and opens the drinker to receive, and is most beneficial when started a month in advance. Following the ceremony, as the lessons from La Medicina – THE Medicine – will keep unfolding for weeks, months and even years later, a mindful integration stage of minimum 3 months is recommended. This intentional awareness surrounding the experience allows you to successfully retain the positively life-changing connection with Mother Ayahuasca long after you exit the jungle and return to your home environment – this is how miracles turn into your reality.

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What type of services does Sherree Offer?

[caption id="attachment_1084" align="aligncenter" width="240"] https://www.flickr.com/photos/jairinflas/11949706744/[/caption]

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Sign up for our online school on Teachable

Currently offering our "Psychedelic Integration & Self-Care" Course!

 

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Show Notes/Links

• Sherree Malcolm Godasi's Website: The Psychedelic Integration Coach
• Visionary Relationships: Couples who both work in the visionary world
• The real medicine in this world is human connection
• The importance of connection and community for the integration process
• Preparation & Integration
  • Techniques & Practices
  • What is it?
  • Why is it important?
• Childhood trauma - core feelings
• The difference between coaching vs. a clinical licensure route for working with psychedelics/integration
• Being True To You: Transformational Recovery Coaching
• Claudio Naranjo: Chilean psychedelic elder and psychiatrist
• LAMPS - Los Angeles Medicinal Plant Society
• The Aware Project
• InnerSpace Integration
• The Temple of the Way of Light
  • Dr. Tanya Maté & Integration
• ERIE 
• Joe Tafur 

  • Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual Ayahuasca Retreat Healing Center

• Psychedelic Conference in LA - Feb 2018

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About Sherree Malcolm Godasi

Social Media Links

 

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David Stetson - Oka Center Ibogaine - Ibogaine Therapy

IBOGAINE and  AYAHUASCA in the MAYAN YUCATÁN

Kyle and Joe discuss iboga and ibogaine with David Stetson who runs Oka Ibogaine Center in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. David was a wonderful guest on the show and we had a lovely talk that was very broad. We discussed the ecological issues surrounding iboga and ibogaine therapy, as well as the differences between the more traditional model and the clinical model of administering these medicines. Oka has recently started offering ayahuasca retreats as well.

Our place is a marriage of two different worlds: While we respect and utilize western clinical protocols for safety and detox success, we love and live by our numerous and ongoing experiences with the traditional use of these master plants in Africa and Peru.

Links from the show

• Pinchbeck - 2012 - http://amzn.to/2qF7MSn
• Bwiti - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bwiti
• Sapo Frog Medicine - http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/07/30/sapo-frog-strange-medicine-that-sharpens-senses.html
  • Peter Gorman - Sapo in my Soul 
• Holistic House - Ibogaine Aftercare Center - http://www.rehabs.com/listings/holistic-house-las-vegas-213719005/
  • Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holistic-House/444751745688198
  • Article about Holistic House - http://vegasseven.com/2015/09/30/dj-justin-hoffman-helping-addicts-holistic-way
• Voacanga Africana - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voacanga_africana
• Chris Jenks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W-GUEHDgFw
• Carfentanyl - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/04/27/this-new-street-drug-is-10000-times-more-toxic-than-morphine-and-now-its-showing-up-in-canada-and-the-u-s/?utm_term=.c9fa831551ba

 

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About David Stetson

David’s passion has been Bwiti since his Iboga initiation in 2007. It’s his privilege to be sharing this medicine with people in need.   

David is extensively well-traveled in Gabon, Africa where he is known as Okukwe.  During his time in Gabon he learned Bwiti traditions, music, and ceremonial practices and is proficient on both the moungongo (musical bow) and ngombi (harp) instruments.      

David views Bwiti and Ibogaine as a lifeway that champions communion with others while also empowering the individual.  His approach to working and healing with others starts with the awareness of alienation and isolation as common and appropriate responses to our western culture, and is based in nonjudgement.