Here researchers summarize the potential of the Diviner's Sage as a tool to treat addiction. Salvia is easily among the most potent and bizarre of the plant psychedelics. It has unfortunately been severely misunderstood and is often used irresponsibly, so it is encouraging to see it get the attention it deserves. Salvia has a long history of medicinal usage and perhaps still has something to teach humanity, if we are able to learn how to work with it and listen.

The Psychedelic Frontier summarizes new findings from research published late last year in The Bryologist. A lichen sample collected over 30 years ago in South America by ethnobotanist Wade Davis was determined to be a new species. Chemical analysis suggests the presence of both psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT. 

An interesting take on the recent study that found psilocybin actually decreases brain activity in certain regions, the connection this has with other instances of decreases leading to expanded awareness, and the possible implications for materialist interpretations of consciousness. It also highlights how it is necessary to read the studies themselves, as interpretations by journalists and media can at times be quite inaccurate.

Part five of James Oroc's informative analysis of the unfolding of the second psychedelic revolution. Here he covers  some of our more ancient psychedelic history as well as recent developments.

This article from The Atlantic analyzes the troubling relationship between science, propaganda, and drug policy. It highlights the recent Harvard study that claimed to have found brain "abnormalities" among marijuana users compared to controls, along with other studies involving MDMA.

Yesterday, June 2nd, 2014, Sasha Shulgin left this world at the age of 88. The contributions of this great man are inestimable.

In a study titled 'Psilocybin-Induced Decrease in Amygdala Reactivity Correlates with Enhanced Positive Mood in Healthy', researchers at the Psychiatric University Hospital of Zurich found that psilocybin influences the amygdala, thereby weakening the processing of negative stimuli.

 "Trips, like dreams, can be both informative and deceptive, speaking a language of symbols and emotions. And like dreams, there is a middle path between cherishing them as divine revelations and ignoring them altogether."

Imaginatrix is an experimental and extremely psychedelic film by Ken Adams, friend of the late Terence McKenna and the creator of Strange Attractor and Alien DreamTime. This kickstarter will help put the final touches on this long project and release Imaginatrix into the world.

No, this is not a re-discovered story by Philip K. Dick. It's a drug dispensing computer...inside a cockroach. Needless to say, the implications of nano-technology are both incredibly interesting and incredibly terrifying. Reality really is stranger than science fiction. 

Physicists have begun to sound more and more like wild-eyed psychonauts these days. What with matter consisting of mostly "empty" space (where particles pop in and out of existence)...Electrons behaving as waves and particles...Particles in different locations simultaneously...The majority of the universe consisting of "dark matter" and "dark energy"...Multiple dimensions...And now the possibility of multiple universes.

Key to the psychedelic resurgence we are currently in the midst of is the dramatic increase in academic research on their capacity to transform human health, often in ways many of us have known about all along. Instead of a daily pharmaceutical regime alleviating the symptoms of certain psychological conditions, we are finally rediscovering the tools that help us address the root of such issues. 

Transforming Medicine is a mini-documentary showcasing the exciting, multidisciplinary field of psychedelic science through interviews with attendees of Psychedelic Science 2013, an unprecedented event that gathered more than 100 of the world's leading researchers and over 1,900 international attendees to share knowledge about the risks and benefits of psychedelic substances.

..."It was quite extraordinary," Grof tells NPR's Arun Rath. "This was a tremendous deepening and acceleration of the psychotherapeutic process, and compared with the therapy in general, which mostly focuses on suppression of symptoms, here we had something that could actually get to the core of the problems."...

Jungle Svonni has been wrongly accused of a crime. He has been acquitted twice. But still the threats from the Swedish State continue. He is currently awaiting a third trial. This is a story about the struggle for recognition...And for the right of a people to express their own culture as they see fit; to tell their own story.

A new paper titled, "Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases," published yesterday (March 4, 2014), represents what is being called, "the first controlled trial of LSD in more than 40 years."  

In this recent presentation at ERIE's Cross-Cultural Entheogenic Practices, anthropologist, author, adventurer, and plant medicine expert, Steven Beyer, talks about the transmission of Ayahuasca from the Upper Amazon to North America and Western society. 

Dr. Rick Strassman is widely known for his pioneering study on the effects of DMT on human volunteers, chronicled in his book, DMT: The Spirit Molecule, that played a key role in jump starting psychedelic drug research after a 20 year hiatus. In addition to later co-authoring Inner Paths to Outer Space in 2008, he has finished a new book, DMT and the Soul of Prophecy, and released this sneak peak of the first chapter.

In this article, James Oroc gives a fascinating overview of Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin's life and contributions to the psychedelic revolution. From the popularization of MDMA, which became synonymous with electronic dance music and fuels the ever-growing rave culture of today, to an unnoted secretive hand in making sure that the LSD culture persisted through the sixties and beyond.

In central West Africa grows a special plant called Tabernanthe iboga. Its root bark has a fundamental role in rites of passage and healing ceremonies...Gabon banned the export of Iboga, but instead of ending the problem it gave birth to an illicit iboga trading market...