Psychedelics

Double Blind Article: Colorado Psychedelic Advocates are Confused About Who Was Chosen to Roll Out the State’s Psilocybin Program

Published

2 years ago

February 16, 2023

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Among dozens of well-known psychedelic applicants, many folks who are unknown to the community were chosen write Double Blind

olorado voters passed in November the “Natural Medicine Health Act,” which will create “healing centers” where adults over 21 can take mushrooms with a licensed sitter. The Department of Regulatory Agencies is slated to oversee the program, and the office of the Colorado Governor Jared Polis recently announced the 15 board members who will advise on rules.

The board is filled with the resumes of folks seemingly well-regarded in their fields, including a long-time paramedic, a Purple Heart recipient, three experts on indigenous use, five PhDs, two lawyers, a county commissioner, and a sheriff. On seeing the list, the collective response from the local psychedelic community—including a dozen or so people interviewed by DoubleBlind—could be summarized as: “Who?”

“No one known to us in the Colorado plant medicine and psychedelic communities received an invitation to serve, even while many were interviewed,” said Shannon Hughes, a professor at Colorado State University who has been organizing the monthly Psychedelic Professionals meetups in four cities for years through The Nowak Society. Dozens of people applied who openly live and breathe psychedelics: therapists and researchers, mushroom growers, retreat leaders, doctors, and advocates in political movements. This perceived snub of psychedelic applicants rankled many, especially folks who’d been around the scene for decades.

“I was disappointed that Colorado’s deep knowledge and experience with psychedelics is not well represented on this board,” said Dr. Scott Shannon. He’s a psychiatrist with a 40-year history in the field, having done MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the 1980s—before the drug was scheduled—and decades later as a part of trials, conducted by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.

DORA said 225 people applied. Being on the board is a crucial way to influence the look, feel, cost, and viability of the healing centers. The board will help set rules for sitter training programs, growing licenses, costs, and more. Three years from now, the board will also help decide whether to expand the roster of medicines at healing centers beyond psilocybin to DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline. The members await senate confirmation.

“The panel is not, publicly at least, a visibly well-informed group around psychedelics,” said Dr. Case Newsom, an emergency physician who speaks and teaches about psychedelics.

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Colorado Psychedelic Advocates are Confused About Who Was Chosen to Roll Out the State’s Psilocybin Program

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Psychedelics

Alert: We are just over a week away from the Natural Medicine Division opening our application process to individuals who are interested in becoming business Owners or Natural Medicine Handlers, and to business applications for Healing Centers, Cultivations, Testing Facilities and Product Manufacturers.

Published

1 month ago

December 27, 2024

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Dear Interested Parties:

We are just over a week away from the Natural Medicine Division opening our application process to individuals who are interested in becoming business Owners or Natural Medicine Handlers, and to business applications for Healing Centers, Cultivations, Testing Facilities and Product Manufacturers.

This week, we wanted to share some logistical information about the application process.

We encourage you to submit your application online, and there will be instructions on how to submit applications on the Natural Medicine Division website.

However, based on stakeholder feedback, we will be opening up limited appointment slots for in-person assistance at our Lakewood office starting on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. At this time, Fridays will be the only day that we will be offering in-person natural medicine licensing application assistance. We will be open from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for in-person Friday appointments.

We are finalizing the applications and will be sharing those prior to our application process coming online. You can always check out our Public Resources folder to find information and compliance tools.

As always, please reach out to us at [email protected].us if you have any questions.

Stay tuned!

The Natural Medicine Division

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Psychedelics

Mexican “Shamen” on The Run After Actress Dies In Frog Ceremony

Published

2 months ago

December 9, 2024

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An actress in Mexico tragically lost her life after she ingested Amazonian frog venom as a part of a cleansing ritual while at a spiritual retreat. She experienced severe diarrhoea after taking part in the ceremony and was rushed to a hospital, but the doctors failed to save her life.

A shaman at the spiritual retreat where the actress took the Amazonian frog venom that caused her death has fled.

The 33-year-old actress Marcela Alcázar Rodríguez took part in the traditional South American Kambo ritual, which involves drinking water, getting burns on the body, and ingesting frog venom to cleanse the body of toxins, reported the Mirror. However, this ritual is known to have deadly consequences.

How is the Kambo ritual performed?

The participants in the ritual are made to drink more than a litre of water. Small burns are then created on their skin, following which frog mucus is applied on the wounds.

The mucus, which contains venom, increases blood pressure and induces vomiting, reported the outlet. It also causes diarrhoea in some cases. Other symptoms involve fainting, dizziness, swollen lips and face. Usually, the symptoms last for nearly half an hour. However, extended exposure of the venom to the blood stream can cause seizures and also death.

What happened to Marcela Alcázar Rodríguez?

Soon after beginning the ritual, Rodríguez reportedly started throwing up and eventually suffered from severe diarrhoea – these symptoms are often considered the body’s “healing” reactions during the cleansing process. Initially, she refused help but gave in when her friend visited her.

According to the Metro, a shaman at the retreat in Mayocoyani, Durango, told her she couldn’t leave. However, after her condition worsened, the person fled. Reportedly, police are now searching for the shaman.

Tribute to the actress

In a social media post, Durango Film Guild paid tribute to the actress after her untimely demise. They remembered her as “a young woman who worked in various short films, series and movies filmed in Durango.”

The guild added, “She leaves a void in the hearts of the people who knew her working in what she loved: cinema.”

https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/actress-dies-after-taking-amazonian-frog-venom-during-cleansing-ritual-at-spiritual-retreat-101733371832107.html?ck_subscriber_id=1050193520

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Dutch police find gnome made of MDMA during drug bust

Published

2 months ago

November 23, 2024

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BBC

Officers in the southern Netherlands have found a garden gnome weighing nearly 2kg (4lb) and made of the drug MDMA.

“Drugs appear in many shapes and sizes, but every now and then we come across special things,” Dongemond Police said in a translated social media post.

The gnome was found among suspected narcotics during a large drug search.

“In itself a strange place to keep your garden gnome,” the force said. “That’s why we decided to test [it] for narcotics”.

“The gnome himself was visibly startled,” police said, referring to the gnome having its hands covering its mouth.

It is not known which area the gnome was recovered in, but the Dongemond Police covers the municipalities of Oosterhout, Geertruidenberg, Drimmelen and Altena.

MDMA – which is an illegal substance in the Netherlands – is a synthetic party drug also known as ecstasy.

As of 2019, the Netherlands was among the world’s leading producers of MDMA.

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