Diabetes has largely been exclusionary criteria from clinical trials, yet are all persons with diabetes truly high risk candidates to use psychedelics? If persons are using anti-diabetic medications, is there anything special to consider or worry about? Should medications generally be continued or stopped to use psychedelics? If a person with diabetes is going to use psychedelics, how could their experience be made more safe and what should facilitators, providers, or organizations delivering psychedelic experiences consider?   I've been getting more and more questions relating ..read more

Persisting Perceptual Phenomenon after Psychedelics Psychedelic drug intoxication is hallmarked by changes to our sensory experience and hallucinatory type activity. In most cases, effects of psychedelics are transient and end as concentrations of drug in the body fall. However, this is not true in all cases of use. There has been much debate, controversy, and misinformation about post-use effects of psychedelic drugs. There’s also likely much more to be discovered about how these effects occur and how we could manage or prevent them. In this article we’ll aim to have a balanced conversation a ..read more

Choosing a Psychedelic Retreat   Attending a psychedelic retreat can be a great way to experience and benefit from psychedelics. The opportunity to travel, change scenery, take time and space for yourself, and experience psychedelics in controlled or ritualistic environments can create powerful effects. Yet, I've noticed that oftentimes when I'm consulting with a person that is considering attending a psychedelic retreat, that they are often unsure how to evaluate if the retreat is a good fit for them. Many persons are being introduced to psychedelics and they may have limited awareness a ..read more

How often should I use psychedelics? It's both a good and commonly asked question so I decided to put together this video blog and accompanying text to help persons understand more of what my thought process is when approaching this question and share some insights depending on the method or indication for psychedelic use.  The short answer would be 'as often as is good for you'. Of course that's a little circular since the question is how often is good for me, but really highlights that there's no wrote schedule to being your personal best. I find that persons are oftentimes thinking or ..read more

How can the effects of psychedelics be differentiated from adverse effects or serotonin toxicity?   It’s a good question! This one I wanted to address in both a video and written blog post.  It’s an important discussion both in terms of psychedelic safety and in terms of persons understanding what happened to them in certain experiences or whether to proceed on the psychedelic healing path. I’ve noticed that oftentimes when persons are perhaps taking some medication or have recently stopped taking medication or are using recreational substances in unhealthy ways that their ..read more

In this video blog I wanted to address the pharmacologic mechanisms of 5-MeO-DMT in reference to classic psychedelic tryptamines like LSD, psilocybin, and DMT.    Psychedelic Tryptamines are Serotonin 2A Stimulating Substances A common feature of all psychedelic tryptamines is their ability to bind and stimulate serotonin 2A (5HT2A) receptors. Experiments that pre-treat persons or rodents with 5HT2A receptor blocking antipsychotic medications have all demonstrated that psychedelic effects are greatly reduced or abolished when this receptor is not available. Both classic psy ..read more

Pharmacology and Drug Interactions of 5-MeO-DMT   Mystery and 5-MeO-DMT One compound I seem to get more questions about than others is 5-MeO-DMT. It makes sense given there is very little data available, a few cases of death reported involving use, and may be the most reliable in occasioning mystical or transformative types of experiences. In short, it's a substance that  appears to have a lot of potential for both benefit or harm due to its incredibly powerful effects.    5-MeO-DMT: A Molecule on the Rise 5-MeO-DMT is a short-acting and naturally occurring tryptamine ..read more

  Bridging the Gap: Navigating Psychotropics and Psychedelics   As psychedelics therapies rapidly emerge as treatments for mental health conditions, many are interested in use. However, some psychotropic medications can interfere with benefits or increase risks.   Sometimes these interactions are significant enough to warrant taper and discontinuation, whereas sometimes they aren't. Sometimes the user is benefitting from existing medication or wants to stay with it, other times they don't.   In short, the decision to stop or change medications to use psychedelic therapies ..read more

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7 Questions about Psychedelics and the Pharmacist Friends, pharmacists, and media often ask me questions about psychedelics and pharmacy or psychedelic and the role of the pharmacist. So I thought to compile a list of 7 commonly ask questions and answer them! Take a look below or watch the video above to get my thoughts on these important questions relating to psychedelics and pharmacist. 1. What is the role of pharmacists in the area of psychedelic medicine? From a big picture angle, the role of the pharmacist in medicine or on the healthcare team is the drug expert that focuses on two primar ..read more