We are on the precipice of a Psychedelic Renaissance proclaims Michael Pollan in his best-selling book, “How To Change Your Mind.”

But are we ready to re-engage these soul-manifesting medicines in a mature way, with the respect that they deserve?

The War on Drugs has been a war on people, particularly the poor and People of Color. The end of the prohibition of certain substances can be a positive thing.

As the Psychedelics and Addictions Fellow for the CIIS Center for Psychedelic Treatments and Research, I am interested in how some psychedelics can support Recovery, along with PTSD, depression, and other ailments.

But any medicine when mis-used can be a poison. Some can develop a psychological addiction to psychedelics, compulsively chasing after exciting experiences, attempting to escape consensual reality, or merely to boost “performance”, at times leading to ego-inflation and many other problems. In indigenous traditions, plant medicines all have a shadow side, which the Shipibo of South America call their shitana. To learn about the indigenous tribes who for thousand of years inhabited the land where you have settled and live, check out the Native-Land Tool.

I am currently providing Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy with the team at the Kensho Wellbeing Center which is near Lake Tahoe, California.