Resources for Further Study
Movies
The Sunshine Makers (documentary)
Orange Sunshine (documentary)
Aya: Awakenings (documentary)
Dirty Pictures (documentary)
A New Understanding: The Science of Psilocybin (documentary)
Hoffmans Potion (documentary):
Videos
Terence McKenna discusses the stoned ape theory
A Conversation on LSD – In a video from the late 1970s, Al Hubbard, Timothy Leary, Humphry Osmond, Sidney Cohen and others reflect on LSD’s heyday
Alison Gopnik and Robin Carhart-Harris at the 2016 Science of Consciousness Conference
The Future of Psychedelic Psychiatry – a discussion between Thomas Insel and Paul Summergrad
Books
The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide – James Fadiman
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction – Gabor Mate
Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream – Jay Stevens
Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD from clinic to campus – Erika Dyck
The Natural Mind: A Revolutionary Approach to the Drug Problem – Andrew Weil
Acid Hype: American News Media and the Psychedelic Experience – Stephen Siff
Acid Dreams: The complete social history of LSD – Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain
Drugs: Without the Hot Air – David Nutt
Psychoactive Sacramentals: Essays on Entheogens and Religion – Thomas B. Roberts, ed.
LSD, My Problem Child – Albert Hofmann
Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences — William A. Richards
Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World: An Identification Guide – Paul Stamets
Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World – Paul Stamets
A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life – Ayelet Waldman
The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love—Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits – Judson Brewer
Neuropsychedelia: The Revival of Hallucinogen Research Since the Decade of the Brain – Nicolas Langlitz
The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America – Don Lattin
One River: Explorations and Discoveries in the Amazon Rain Forest -Wade Davis
Mushrooms, Russia, and History [PDF] -Valentina Pavlona Wasson and R. Gordon Wasson
Seeking the Magic Mushroom – A reproduction of the LIFE magazine article by Gordon Wasson
The Strange Case of the Harvard Drug Scandal – A reproduction of Andrew Weil’s 1963 Look magazine article
Documents, Articles & Artifacts
Remembrances of LSD Therapy Past – Betty Grover Eisner’s unpublished memoir about her role in developing psychedelic therapy
LSD, Insight or Insanity – Transcript of excerpts from hearings of the Subcommittee
on the Executive Reorganization of the Senate Committee on Government Operations [concerning federal research and regulation of LSD-25] May 24, 1966
The Brutal Mirror: What an ayahuasca retreat showed me about my life —A Vox writer’s first-person account
How to Get Involved
Clinical Trials
Research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics is underway at a number of institutions. Here are some resources for those interested in serving as a volunteer:
MAPS keeps a page for people interested in participating in research using psychedelics, MDMA and marijuana.
ClinicalTrials.gov is a database of clinical studies maintained by the National Institutes of Health. Search for studies involving psilocybin, MDMA or other substances.
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Psilocybin-facilitated Smoking Cessation study is accepting volunteers.
Johns Hopkins University Psilocybin Cancer Project is not currently accepting volunteers but expects to in the future.
New York University Cancer Anxiety Study is not currently accepting volunteers.
Guides and Therapists
While I cannot recommend therapists or guides, you may find your way into these communities through meetup groups, holotropic breathwork practitioners and by attending conferences organized by MAPS and similar organizations.
Psychedelics Societies
There are also more than 100 psychedelic societies and groups in the U.S. and across the world. A psychedelic society is a local group that meets regularly to provide peer education about the psychedelic experience. Psychedelics may be currently illegal in most places but talking about them openly is not. Psychedelic societies vary widely in format based on community needs and desires. They may host documentary viewings, book clubs, visiting speakers, group discussions, or more. Meetings may be large or relatively small, held frequently or only on special occasions. Typically, events tend towards the topical, exploring some aspect of science, history, therapeutic value, or culture surrounding psychedelics. They are community groups convened to fill a lacuna in society at large: a public place to discuss and share information about psychedelics. Many societies incorporate storytelling into their meetings to reduce stigma surrounding psychedelic use and to share wisdom. Solicitation or distribution of illegal substances is not welcome at psychedelic society events.
Psychedelic societies are by nature open to the public but can be expected to be organized and attended by people with personal experience with psychedelic substances, or at minimum a healthy curiosity about the subject. People’s experiences with psychedelics may have been recent or occurred many years previous. The powerful nature of the psychedelic experience is sufficient to leave a clear impression regardless of when it happened. However, psychedelic societies typically do not welcome individuals under the influence of psychedelics at their meetings.
Here is a long list of psychedelic societies in the U.S. and across the world.
Forums
Ayahuasca.com: Includes experience reports, discussion of spirituality, ecology, healing, and recovery by means of the vine are collected here. A place to learn from members of ayahuasca churches, as well as a few foreign language channels.
Bluelight: A 20 year old online harm reduction forum that fosters open and factual discussion of drugs and provides support for those seeking recovery from addiction.
DMT Nexus: A hub for underground psychedelic research on botanical sources of tryptamines and other psychedelic compounds.
5Hive: A newer forum devoted specifically to 5-MeO-DMT — synthetic, botanical or toad-derived.
Mycotopia: All things mycological — discussions of edible, wild, and psychoactive fungi.
The Shroomery: A forum devoted to cultivating psilocybin-containing mushrooms and sharing trip reports.
TRIPSIT: A 24/7 online harm reduction resource. Users can chat instantly with someone about their drug experience, or questions they may have about about the safe(r) use of a wide variety of controlled substances.