Dr Gail Bradbrook - Extinction Rebellion and the Role of Psychedelics - Personal and Beyond Breaking Convention 2026-09-26 | Dr Gail Bradbrook - Extinction Rebellion and the Role of Psychedelics - Personal and Beyond
Rick Doblin - MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD Breaking Convention 2023-07-17 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukMDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSDTwo Successful Phase 3 Studies and the Path Toward Potential FDA, EMA, and MHRA Approval.BIOGRAPHYRick Doblin, Ph.D., is the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he wrote his dissertation on the regulation of the medical uses of psychedelics and marijuana and his Master’s thesis on a survey of oncologists about smoked marijuana vs. the oral THC pill in nausea control for cancer patients. His undergraduate thesis at New College of Florida was a 25-year follow-up to the classic Good Friday Experiment, which evaluated the potential of psychedelic drugs to catalyze religious experiences. He also conducted a thirty-four year follow-up study to Timothy Leary’s Concord Prison Experiment. Rick studied with Dr. Stanislav Grof and was among the first to be certified as a Holotropic Breathwork practitioner. His professional goal is to help develop legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics and marijuana, primarily as prescription medicines but also for personal growth for otherwise healthy people, and eventually to become a legally licensed psychedelic therapist. He founded MAPS in 1986, and currently resides in Boston with his wife and puppy, with three empty rooms from his children who have all graduated college and begun their life journeys. Learn more about Rick by listening to his Origin Story and watching his TED Talk.
Norma Burton - The Shadow in the Psychedelic movement and what can be done about it Breaking Convention 2023-07-17 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukThe shadow in the psychedelic movement - and what we can do about itBIOGRAPHYNorma J. Burton is a CEO of Lucid Living, Inc. and Founder of the Journey to Completion shadow work training program. She is a Depth Psychology Therapist, Educator, Executive Coach, Hospice Chaplain, with over 30 years of experience studying with indigenous elders, extensive graduate studies in comparative religions and Jungian psychology. Her work background includes being CEO of International NGOs and Director of Mental Health treatment centers. Through her unique trauma healing modality she has trained countless corporate executives, university professors, and individuals to lead with impeccability. She has a deep understanding of the concept of shadow work and has conducted research and led individuals and groups in shadow integration work through psychedelic-assisted therapy. As an expert teacher of psychonavigation skills, Norma is passionate about sharing her insights and experiences with others. She is a leader in the Oregon psychedelic movement, having served on the Oregon Rules Committee, where she provided recommendations on how psilocybin assisted therapy can be most effectively implemented. She is an internationally acclaimed educator regarding the transformative power of psychedelics having formulated curriculum and taught professional training programs. Norma is excited to share her insights and experiences with the conference attendees, and hopes to inspire a deeper exploration of the unconscious dynamics within the psychedelic movement. With a wealth of knowledge and experience in this field, she is well-equipped to offer a nuanced and informed perspective on the hidden aspects of the psychedelic movement.
Vincent Verroust - A critique of indigenous reciprocity Breaking Convention 2023-07-17 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukA critique of indigenous reciprocity.As the psychedelic treatment industry has grown, there have been calls for a fair share of the profits from the exploitation of indigenous knowledge. The concept of indigenous reciprocity appeared relatively recently in a number of academic papers, conferences and websites in the global psychedelic space. Now, with psilocybin being by far the most important molecule used in clinical trials, Westerners who discovered (or rather rediscovered) the sacred mushrooms of Mesoamerica are sometimes seen as biopirates. Where they ? Indeed, as soon as psilocybin was identified and synthesised, patents to protect psilocybin and psilocybin were filed. This raises the question of intellectual property. Are the companies that continue to file patents on synthetic psilocybin and psilocin and that seek profit from their trade despoilers of Native Mexican people? By the way, the ethnographer Wasson is often described as having betrayed the trust of the curandera Maria Sabina and as being responsible for the decline of the traditional cult of sacred mushrooms in Huautla de Jimenez, where he was initiated, for having brought these practices to the attention of the Western world. In this respect, it is interesting to carry out a historian's work by delving into sources such as the correspondence between Wasson, the mycologist Heim and the chemist Hofmann, to clarify what their intentions were. Anyway, who are the repositories of therapeutic knowledge on psychedelics? I suggest that this question is based on ethnocentric thinking that implies the acceptance that everything in the world is a commodity. If, as a result of globalisation, all societies are forced to fit into our way of life through the market, this does not mean that they share its values. Moreover, it is impossible to identify the owners of the intellectual property rights of psychedelic plants and mushrooms, unless we simplify things and essentialise people. A little historical and anthropological approach calls for nuance before endorsing discourses that victimise Native American peoples, when it comes to analysing the naturalisation by European and Euro-American cultures of American psychedelics: peyote/mescaline, mushrooms/psilocybin, ayahuasca/DMT. More generally, we would do well to consider different ways of thinking about cultural diversity, and also to be aware of ethnocentric biases and a certain form of condescension towards indigenous peoples.BIOGRAPHYVincent Verroust is a PhD candidate in the history of sciences at the Université Picardie - Jules Vernes (Amiens, France) and an associate researcher at the Paul Brousse hospital. His investigations focus on the discovery of psilocybin fungi and are based on the archives of Prof. Roger Heim (1900 - 1979), which are kept at the French National Museum of Natural History, and contain a large volume of correspondance with R. Gordon Wasson and Albert Hofmann.For the past four years, he has been coordinating the first academic course in psychedelic studies in France. Vincent Verroust is involved in the recognition of the therapeutic value of psychedelics in France.He took an active part in the creation of a working group for the resumption of clinical trials with psilocybin, gathering researchers from different public hospitals, and he assists various doctors, psychologists and students in their discovery of the field. He is the founder and a board member of the French Psychedelic Society ("Société psychédélique française"), a NGO of scientific mediation aimed at the general public, health professionals, journalists and politicians, which advocates for the reasoned integration of psychedelics in the society and which brings together activists as well as patients, doctors, and researchers from different disciplines.He is currently working for the Network of Health Establishments for the Prevention of Addiction in France ("Respadd"), where he coordinates the work on psychedelics in the framework of a research-action partnership with the PsyCommAdd team at Paul Brousse Hospital.
Shayla Love - Patents and psychedelics, past and future Breaking Convention 2023-07-17 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukPatents and psychedelics, past and future.As a science journalist, I never had a huge interest in patent law—until I began to write about all of the patents being filed on psychedelics. Patents are not evil, they are legal tools: important ones that incur investments and fund research. Yet they are also tools that are widely known to be abused in the pharmaceutical world, and are connected to high drug prices and monopolies. This talk will provide an overview of what's been going on with patents and psychedelics in the last couple years, and discuss possibilities of what will happen in the future. I'll be going over the basics and history of the patent system, why patents are so often coupled with research, the real relationship between patents and innovation, and how some people in the psychedelic community are trying to problem solve—not just moralise about patents. The creative IP strategies they come up with could have implications for patent use in biotech/biomedicine more broadly, and influence patent reform on a larger scale.BIOGRAPHYShayla Love is a journalist based in Brooklyn. She writes about science, health, and the intersection of history, culture, and philosophy with present day research. She has a master's degree in science journalism from Columbia University, and her work has appeared in Vice, The New York Times, Scientific American, Wired, The Washington Post, Stat, The Atlantic, Mosaic, and more.
Paul Stamets - How Psilocybin Mushrooms Can Help Save the World Breaking Convention 2023-07-17 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukPaul Stamets is the author of seven books. He is an invention ambassador for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and was inducted into The Explorer’s Club in 2020. He has received numerous awards, including the National Mycologist Award (2013) from the North American Mycological Association (NAMA) and the Gordon and Tina Wasson Award (2015) from the Mycological Society of America (MSA). He has named four new species of psilocybin mushrooms. In 2023, he received "The Disruptor" award from NextMed. A new species of psilocybin mushrooms has recently been named after him, Psilocybe stametsii.He is a dedicated Earthling, Knowledge Keeper, and is a leader in protection of ecosystems focusing on the roles of mycelium and mushrooms.In addition, his work has entered the mainstream of popular culture: In the new Star Trek: Discovery series on CBS, the science officer is portrayed by an astromycologist, Lt. Commander Paul Stamets. His work with mycelium has become a central theme of this series. He served as the primary guide to the mushroom documentary Fantastic Fungi, which first appeared in theaters in fall 2019 and currently on Netflix with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sara Reed - Centering identity, culture, and relationship in psychedelic therapy Breaking Convention 2023-07-17 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukCentering identity, culture, and relationship in psychedelic therapy.ABSTRACTCultural and social identities shape how we navigate and experience the world. While many psychedelic training programs now include a curriculum on the importance of cultural sensitivity, very few focus on how to implement culturally sensitive practices. As the facilitator's journey can impact a participant's journey, space holders must examine personal biases and blind spots to provide quality care for those in need. How can we reimagine health equity in the psychedelic therapy space? How does the legacy of colonisation impact how facilitators show up and deliver treatment in medicalised psychedelic therapy? Join this panelist as she discusses how she centres identity, culture, and relationship as a Black therapist and researcher in psychedelic therapy.BIOGRAPHYSara Reed is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and psychedelic research therapist at Imperial College London. Her prior research work includes participation as a study therapist for a Phase 2 MDMA clinical study of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). She additionally received training at Yale University for the Psilocybin-Induced Neuroplasticity in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder study and is listed as a contributor to the therapist training manual for this treatment. Sara has spent her early career examining ways culture informs how we diagnose and treat mental illness. As a mental health futurist, she reimagines what mental wellness can look like in this digital era. In addition to her work as a research therapist, Sara lectures on topics fusing culturally sensitive practices within mental health care and co-facilitates integrative psychedelic retreats with Kiyumi.
David Erritzøe - Update on psychedelic treatments for depression Breaking Convention 2023-07-17 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukUpdate on psychedelic treatments for depression.BIOGRAPHYDavid qualified as a medical doctor at Copenhagen University Medical School in 2001 and currently holds an Academic Clinical Lectureship in Psychiatry at Imperial College London. Alongside his clinical training in medicine/psychiatry, David has been involved in psychopharmacological research, using brain-imaging techniques such as PET and MRI. Initially working at Columbia University in New York, he then undertook a PhD at University Hospital Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen.Since 2009, under the mentorships of Profs Anne Lingford-Hughes and David Nutt at Imperial College London, he has conducted post-doc imaging research in the neurobiology of addictions and major depression. Together with Prof Nutt and Dr Carhart-Harris he is also investigating the neurobiology and therapeutic potential of MDMA and classic psychedelics.
Pedram Dara - Improving Impact of MDMA-assisted Therapy for PTSD: Participant Perspectives 4 Yrs on Breaking Convention 2023-07-17 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukImproving the Impact of MDMA-assisted Therapy for PTSD: Participant Perspectives 4 Years After Open-Label Phase 2 Trials.ABSTRACTPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental health condition that not only causes suffering for individuals but also poses a significant public health challenge. Despite available solutions, the efficacy of current treatments is often limited. However, MDMA-assisted psychotherapy has shown promising results as a potential treatment for PTSD and is currently in the final phase of research, with plans for FDA approval in the U.S. in 2024, followed by approvals in Canada, Israel, and Europe. This presentation is based on an in-depth understanding of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, gained from personal experience as a participant in an open-label phase 2 clinical trial in Canada in 2019. Through self-reflection and consultation with other study participants and experts, the presentation highlights the most effective components of the treatment and identifies areas for improvement. Despite encouraging results, the pool of MDMA therapy participants is limited. Fewer than 500 people globally have received the treatment, including in the largest phase 3 clinical trials. There is a lack of qualitative long-term follow-up studies that go beyond 2-4 years post-treatment. Currently, the majority of positive results published are based on 2-month follow-up after final MDMA sessions, causing uncertainty about the durability of the positive effects and the risk of relapse, and need for ongoing treatment. The current MAPS protocol may not fully address the needs of patients due to lack of comprehensive measurement of progress and sufficient therapist training. Moreover, it may overlook important personal factors, such as socio-economic status, race, and culture. The protocol also lacks practical tools for patients to apply in daily life and tackle long-term challenges after treatment. Improving the protocol with a participant-centric approach could reduce adverse effects and increase treatment efficacy, leading to better long-term outcomes. The inclusion of patients' perspectives at conferences is crucial for humanising participants and providing qualitative insights to supplement quantified research results. Despite limitations in participant pool, long-term follow-up, and MAPS protocol, the aim of this presentation is to offer valuable feedback while recognising the potential of this therapy where current treatments fall short, and to enhance the quality of care and ultimately patients' quality of life.BIOGRAPHYPedram Dara is a passionate advocate for the potential of psychedelics in mental healthcare, with a deep understanding honed through personal experience. As a participant in a Phase 2 clinical trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD through MAPS, he embarked on a transformative healing journey. Using this experience as a catalyst, Pedram has shared his ongoing story and insights at various conferences, trainings, and meetings, including at the European Parliament, alongside prominent researchers in the field such as David Nutt, Matthew Johnson, Bill Richards, Rick Doblin, and Michael Mithoefer. His participation in the Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research (ICPR) in 2020 led to him joining the leadership team of the OPEN Foundation to further advance psychedelic science and therapies. At ICPR 2022, he organised the world's first dedicated panel for participant perspectives in clinical trials at a major psychedelic science conference, which was well received and provided a platform to amplify the voices of research participants and mental health patients. Dedicated to research participant safety and wellbeing, Pedram is committed to ensuring that safe, beneficial, and accessible applications of psychedelics are ethically and responsibly integrated into science, healthcare, and society. He is well aware of the potential benefits and risks associated with psychedelics and is constantly working towards effectively communicating and addressing them.
Anne Katrin Schlag - Researching Psychedelics: Real word evidence, naturalistic studies and Rando... Breaking Convention 2023-07-17 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukResearching Psychedelics: Real word evidence, naturalistic studies and Randomised Controlled Trials.ABSTRACTPsychedelic assisted therapy (PAT) is increasingly regarded as a novel treatment for a broad range of hard to treat mental health conditions, with both efficacy and safety shown in- relatively small- clinical trials the past decade. As in medical research generally, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the “gold standard” for developing the evidence base on psychedelics. Yet in addition to the standard limitations of RCTs, such as their lack of ecological validity, psychedelic RCTs face further challenges related to blinding and expectancy effects, therapeutic alliance and the importance of set and setting, which may make it difficult to isolate drug effects per se. This indicates the value of including additional research methodologies to develop the scientific evidence base. We outline a range of approaches which can be pursued, and which may address some of the shortcomings of current RCTs. These include traditional Real World Evidence (RWE) methods, such as large scale registries, as well as naturalistic approaches, such as case studies, population-based epidemiological work, and Bayesian analysis. Further, we highlight the potential of novel data capture approaches which could offer both large scale data sets and longitudinal outcomes in real world participants. We conclude by outlining recommendations for the development of future psychedelic research, which needs to be able to show the degree to which these medicines are beneficial in the real world. This is crucial to determine the way in which psychedelic medicines should best be developed and ultimately administered in clinical settings. (paper under review).BIOGRAPHYDr Anne Katrin Schlag is a Chartered Psychologist and Head of Research at Drug Science. She completed her PhD in Psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, before working as Lecturer at King’s College London, and she holds Honorary Fellowships at both Imperial College London and King’s College London. Within her role at Drug Science, she leads the research for the Medical Cannabis Working Group, and the Medical Psychedelics Working Group. The Drug Science Medical Psychedelics Working Group is a cross-sector collaboration that includes scientific experts, academics, policymakers, leaders of patient advocacy groups and industry representatives, collectively aiming to create a rational and enlightened approach to psychedelic research and clinical treatment.
Zoe Cormier - Ketamine: Miracle Cure, or the Next Addiction Epidemic? Breaking Convention 2023-07-17 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukKetamine: Miracle Cure, or the Next Addiction Epidemic?ABSTRACTThanks to ketamine's ability to produce a "rapid anti depressant effect", some researchers are heralding it as a "miracle cure" for treatment resistant depression and a host of other conditions, from childhood trauma to anxiety and more. Doctors are endorsing the treatment - and clinics and drug companies are looking to cash in. But should they be paying closer attention to the history of recreational ketamine use in the UK, Hong Kong and Taiwan? The drug can be profoundly addictive, with an extremely high tolerance profile - epidemics of addiction were recorded around the world as far back as 2000, with horrific consequences for those ensnared by its hooks. Lest we forget, "heroin" was sold as a non-addictive to morphine, and Oxycontin was sold on the basis of it too being "non addictive". Will ketamine just be the next source of an uncontrollable epidemic in America?BIOGRAPHYZoe Cormier is an author, journalist, science writer, broadcaster and public speaker with an academic training in zoology coupled with an upbringing in the music industry. Her first book, Sex, Drugs and Rock n’ Roll: The Science of Hedonism and the Hedonism of Science, was published by Profile Books in 2014, hand-picked by The Guardian as a “must-read science book”, and ranked as the 7th best book of 2014 by legendary record shop Rough Trade. Her journalism has appeared in the BBC, The Times, The Guardian, Nature, Scientific American, Wired, Vice, and more. She is the only writer in the world who can say with full honesty, "Rolling Stone magazine paid me to take acid" - and she is the only person who has posed naked for New Scientist.
Maria Balaet - Effects of psychedelics on the brain...before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic Breaking Convention 2023-07-17 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukEffects of psychedelics on the brain and behaviour – before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.ABSTRACTThe Great British Intelligence Test (the largest computerised cognitive testing initiative in the world) commenced in December 2019, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and recruited approximately 500k participants during the first 6 months of its release. Out of these participants, 100k agreed to share their emails and be contacted for follow up. From December 2020 one arm of the study surveyed participants who agreed to be recontacted on their recreational drug use patterns at 6-monthly intervals up until January 2023. We identified that 1 in 3 respondents were recreational drug users, and 1 in 10 respondents were psychedelics users. Having collected one of the largest longitudinal datasets in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to model the relationship between recreational drug use (and their fluctuations), cognitive abilities, mental health, scepticism about authorities, compliance with guidelines and resilience during difficult times, relative to the general population. Our results help answer key questions in the field of psychedelics research – are users of psychedelic drugs displaying better mental health and higher resilience levels than users of other drugs or those who never used drugs before? Is there a cognitive fingerprint characteristic to the brains of psychedelics users? Is there any relationship between the use of psychedelics and behaviour during acute COVID-19 restrictions, or scepticism against authority? Importantly, at the time of recruitment, none of the participants in our sample who are psychedelics users were aware that we were going to survey them on this aspect of their lifestyle at follow-ups, therefore mitigating self-selection bias characteristic to studies looking at psychedelics use. This talk is going to cover key results from our study, and discuss their place in the wider scientific literature and public discourse around psychedelics.BIOGRAPHYMaria Balaet is a computational neuroscientist at Imperial College London. She specialises in using super scale cognitive testing and advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to understand how cognitive processes such as memory, attention, problem solving and language differ from the general population in those who use drugs (such as psychedelics) recreationally or suffer with either neurological or psychiatric conditions. Notably, during the past three years she led one arm of the Great British Intelligence Test (the largest computerised cognitive testing initiative in the world), looking at how and why the pandemic impacted drug use patterns in the UK, and with what consequences on the cognitive abilities and mental health of recreational users. Outside of her research work, she is passionate about public engagement with science, and has delivered dozens of public lectures across the UK as well as abroad, with a focus on the mechanism of psychedelic drugs as well as harm reduction.
Anya Ermakova - Naturally-occurring 5-MeO-DMT: a review of plants, animals and fungi Breaking Convention 2023-07-17 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukNaturally-occurring 5-MeO-DMT: a review of plants, animals and fungi.ABSTRACT5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a naturally-occurring, short-lasting psychedelic tryptamine that is currently undergoing clinical trials for various mental health conditions. It has been reported in many plants, several fungi, one amphibian, rodents and endogenously in human body fluids. Archaeological evidence shows 5-MeO-DMT-containing plant use in South America as long as 4500 years BP. Several of these plants (particularly Anadenanthera and Virola spp.) are still of ethnobotanical significance today. The talk aims at critically reviewing the data on all living organisms known to contain 5-MeO-DMT, summarising current knowledge about biology, ethnopharmacological significance and conservation status for each species.BIOGRAPHYAnna is interested in nature conservation, ethnobotany, neuroscience and psychiatry, interweaving these diverse paths through psychedelic science. Deep love for nature motivated Anya to study biology at the University of Edinburgh, while a quest to understand altered states of consciousness prompted her to complete PhD in psychiatry at Cambridge. Anna worked at the forefront of psychedelic science, starting in 2015 as a science officer for the Beckley Foundation. She then decided to pursue her passion for nature, researching peyote ecology and conservation at Imperial College London. Anna is a board member of the Chacruna Institute and a research scientist working on 5-MeO-DMT clinical trials in collaboration with King's College London and Beckley Psytech.
Rayyan Zafar & Jaime Brambila Medi cannabis & psychedelics as adjunctive treatment in breast cancer Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.meRaising awareness: The implementation of medical cannabis and psychedelics used as an adjunct to standard therapy in the treatment of advanced metastatic breast cancer.ABSTRACTA 49-year-old woman was diagnosed with an ER + , PR-, HER2 + , BRCA- invasive ductal carcinoma which progressed metastatically to include bone, liver, and lymph node involvement. Standardised care included a 26-month treatment period with targeted chemotherapy and a ketogenic diet. The patient also began a course of cannabinoid-based therapy, consisting initially of a titrated high-dose protocol of mixed cannabidiol (CBD) and d9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) chemotypes, as well as psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy at macro and intermittent micro-doses. At the end of the five-month treatment period PET/CT investigations revealed no evidence of metastatic disease and chemotherapy was withdrawn. A one year follow up CT investigation concluded no evidence of residual or recurrent disease. A recurrence of disease was noted at 18 months follow up. Over these 18 months the cannabis regimen was titrated down to 60% of the initial protocol. This was subsequently increased to the initial dosing protocol following detection of recurrent disease and this titration occurred over a 10-month period where it remained stable. 16 months following the detection of recurrence of disease, favourable results were observed in the patient with evidence of receding cancer progression. Over the last 15 years there has been a considerable body of in-vitro and in-vivo evidence supporting the anti-neoplastic properties of cannabinoids and more recently psychedelics. Indeed, growing anecdotal and real-world evidence is reported of the therapeutic effect of cannabinoids and psychedelics in reducing both tumour proliferation and aiding as a palliative medicine to treat pain and psychological distress associated with cancer and chemotherapy. The data presented here indicate the potential therapeutic utility of such adjunctive pharmacological interventions in an individual with metastatic breast cancer.BIOGRAPHYRayyan has previously completed undergraduate studies in BSc Biomedical Sciences at Newcastle University and an MSc in Clinical Neuropsychiatry from Kings College London, IOPPN. He is currently undertaking his Ph.D. at Imperial College after being awarded the Medical Research Council Doctoral Training 3.5 year fellowship (MRC DTP). As a member of the Centre for Psychedelic Research and Neuropsychopharmacology group, he is working with Prof David Nutt and Dr David Erritzoe complete a series of multimodal neuroimaging investigations in addicted populations and to investigate the role of psychedelics in treating these populations. He also works for the charity Drug Science conducting scientific, healthcare and policy research in the field of medical psychedelics and medical cannabisJaime Brambila: A respected endocannabinologist, Jaime is deeply versed in endocannaboinoid system physiology, cannabis pharmacology, and dosing. Jaime began his foray into cannabis research in 2014 while searching for alternative treatments for his mother who has Lupus, and his father-in-law, who had COPD and congestive heart failure. His practice is to coach and educate patients and physicians about the clinical use of cannabinoids and other plant-based medicines. The principal aspects of our mission are to democratize plant-based medicine and democratize the science, taking the complex pharmacological information and breaking it down so everyone can understand the therapeutic potential.
Javier Hidalgo Jiménez - Significance of mammalian DMT: A 60-year-old debate Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukSignificance of mammalian DMT: a 60-year-old debate.N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a potent psychedelic naturally produced by many plants and animals, including humans. Whether or not DMT is significant to mammalian physiology, especially within the central nervous system, is a debate that started in the early 1960s and continues to this day. Research on endogenous DMT is messy and controversial: this paper integrates historical and updated literature providing a comprehensive and intentionally honest overview of the state of the art. Special attention is given to the most confrontational subjects of DMT’s biosynthesis, its storage in synaptic vesicles and the activation receptors like sigma-1. Less discussed topics like DMT's metabolic regulation under hypoxia or the biased activation of serotonin receptors are highlighted. It is concluded that most of the arguments dismissing endogenous DMT’s relevance are based on obsolete data or misleading assumptions. By contrast, data suggest that DMT can be a neurotransmitter and a neuromodulator with relevant functions to our physiology. To end speculation, future research is oriented and encouraged.BIOGRAPHYJavier Hidalgo Jiménez completed a degree in biomedical sciences at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Having met Dr. José Carlos Bouso in the final year of his degree, he did an internship with ICEERS (International Center of Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Services) where he also met Genís Oña with whom he conducted a public health study on cannabis users that has been published recently. His final year thesis was published last July in the Journal of Psychopharmachology under the title “Significance of mammalian DMT: a 60-year-old debate”.
Yvan Beaussant - Acceptability of psilocybin-assisted group therapy for cancer-related depression Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukAcceptability of psilocybin-assisted group therapy for cancer-related depressionThe present study explored the acceptability of psilocybin-assisted group therapy from the perspective of patients with cancer and depression who participated in a clinical trial assessing the safety and efficacy of this novel intervention. Method: Guided by the conceptual framework of acceptability, we conducted semi-structured interviews with participants of the psilocybin trial. Data were analyzed using template and thematic analyses. Results: Participants’ (n = 28) perspectives on the acceptability of the group and simultaneous sessions was generally positive, both in terms of safety and efficacy: first, the groups contributed to increase participants’ sense of safety and preparedness as they were engaging in the therapy; second, the groups fostered a sense of connection and of belonging, which served to enrich and deepen the meaning of participants’ experience, ultimately opening a dimension of self-transcendence and compassion. Other findings related to acceptability include the following themes: 1) the importance of the therapeutic framework, 2) the complementary value of individual sessions, 3) disruptive factors related to the group/simultaneous setting and 4) opportunities and challenges related to group size and how to structure interactions. Discussion: This study demonstrates that a group model of PAT is acceptable in a community cancer center and might enhance safety and efficacy, suggesting new ways PAT may be scaled and integrated into cancer care.BIOGRAPHYA hematologist and palliative care physician, Dr. Beaussant currently serves as faculty in the Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and as an instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He graduated from the Certificate Program in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research at the California Institute of Integral Studies in 2018, where he now serves as a mentor. Dr. Beaussant’s research focuses on developing and assessing psychedelic-assisted therapy to address psychological and existential distress in patients with serious illness. In particular, he investigates different models of psilocybin- and MDMA-assisted therapy to address depression, adjustment disorder, pain, and existential distress in this population.
Pamela Kryskow - Group Therapy with Ketamine Assisted Therapy Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukGroup Therapy with Ketamine Assisted Therapy - Pamela discusses experiences treating PTSD in group settings in firefighters in Vancouver with ketamine assisted therapy.BIOGRAPHYDr. Pamela Kryskow is a medical doctor and the medical lead of the Non Profit Roots To Thrive Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Programs that treats people with PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance use challenges and with end of life distress.She is a founding board member of the Psychedelic Association of Canada and the medical chair of the Vancouver Island University Post Graduate Certificate in Psychedelic Medicine assisted Therapy.Ongoing research includes psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, microdosing, front line health care workers and first responders mental wellness. Prior to studying medicine she was a City of Coquitlam Firefighter for 8 years and provincial forestry firefighter for 4 seasons.In real life she loves hiking in the forest, ocean kayaking, growing kale and daydreaming in the hammock. Her heritage includes Polish, Ukrainian, and German. She currently resides in the traditional unceded territory of the Klahoose First Nations.
Mia Debidin - Delivering Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy in a Clinical Setting Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukUsing ketamine combined with acceptance and commitment therapy in individual treatment in the UK.Mia will describe clinical perspectives on using ketamine combined with ACT to treat multiple mental health disorders in a private treatment setting in the UK.BIOGRAPHYDr Mia Debidin, clinical psychologist, CBT somatic therapist and breathworker. Currently working at Awakn Clinic London and in NHS Complex Needs Service.
Joost Breeksema - Letting go: Patient experiences on control and care in ketamine for depression Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukLetting go: Patient experiences on control, context, and care in ketamine treatment for depression.This will discuss a novel qualitative analysis of experiences of people given standalone ketamine in the treatment of depression in the Netherlands.BIOGRAPHYJoost is a philosopher and PhD candidate based at the Department of Psychiatry (UMCG) where he conducts qualitative research into the experiences of patients and therapists involved in treatments with different psychedelics (ketamine, MDMA, psilocybin) for severe mental disorders. His aim is to deepen our understanding of the therapeutic mechanisms involved and how set, setting, therapy, and other contextual factors influence these treatments.He is also executive director of the OPEN Foundation. This Amsterdam-based non-profit has been advocating psychedelic research and therapies since 2007, where Joost organizes the biannual Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research. ICPR is Europe’s longest-running conference on psychedelics, focusing on high-quality scientific research, therapeutic innovations, and critical discussions around ethics, policy, industry boom, and more. Underlying all his work is a deep-seated belief in the scientifically grounded, responsible and ethical integration of psychedelics that respects the multiplicity of other, non-medical approaches.
Celia Morgan & Milena Marinković - We need to talk about ketamine Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukJanus in the K-hole: the two sides of ketamine in problematic substance use.Ketamine assisted therapy has been gaining ground as a promising new therapy for drug and alcohol problems. Simultaneously since the emergence of non-medical ketamine use, dependence on the drug has been reported. Ketamine has been growing in popularity and now one of the most popular recreational drug in the UK. Ketamine is relatively unique amongst psychedelic like drugs both for its widespread medical use and also for its potential for problematic use.This talk will present data on these two aspects of ketamine, data from a recent clinical trial using ketamine in addiction treatment as well as a new study showing ketamine induced increases in engagement with mindfulness in people with alcohol problems as well as national UK data on people presenting to treatment for ketamine problems, and global levels of ketamine problems.BIOGRAPHYCelia Morgan is a Professor of Psychopharmacology at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. She completed her undergraduate degree and Ph.D. at University College London (UCL) and completed a scholarship programme at Yale University. After competing her Ph.D., Professor Morgan worked at University of Melbourne as a visiting research fellow, returning to UCL for a fellowship and then Lectureship. She joined University of Exeter as a Senior Lecturer in 2013 and was given a Chair in Psychopharmacology in 2015. Professor Morgan also holds an Honorary Readership at University College London. She is the academic lead for both the Exeter Translational Addiction Partnership (ETAP) and Ketamine for Reduction of Alcoholic Relapse (KARE).Milena Marinkovic is a molecular biologist and PhD candidate at the University of Exeter. Her doctoral research has focused on the evolution of monoaminergic signalling in Bilateria. Additionally, she is working as a researcher for EDP Together Drug & Alcohol Services, where she focuses on identifying patterns underlying differential addiction treatment outcomes.
Dennis Walker- Psychedelics in the Age of Social Media: A Satirical Goldmine Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukPsychedelics in the Age of Social Media: A Satirical Goldmine.Social media and the rush to be relevant in the ‘psychedelic renaissance’ has created a class of overnight authorities pushing anecdotal evidence as indisputable fact and pseudoscience as objective reality. 22-year-old Tik Tok plant medicine influencers, dubiously qualified Microdosing coaches, and profit-motivated corporate carnival barkers populate our social media timelines across numerous platforms - and while they may provide turn-key satirical panache, what are the actual risks to the credibility of the psychedelic movement that they pose?BIOGRAPHYDennis Walker is a journalist, podcaster and puppeteer who is primarily known for his satirising of the psychedelic space. He is the founder and host of the Mycopreneur Podcast, with which he has published over 100 interviews platforming underground mushroom entrepreneurs and psychedelic executives from 14 countries on 6 continents. He's written for numerous platforms and has been featured in Rolling Stone, Honeysuckle Magazine, Psychedelic Alpha, and numerous other media outlets.
Daan Keiman - Moving at the Pace of Trust: Rethinking the Bottleneck Problem Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukMoving at the Pace of Trust: Rethinking the Bottleneck Problem.As the 'psychedelic renaissance' is ushered into mainstream society, we are faced with different questions and challenges pertaining to the training of professional guides, therapists and facilitators. Although some experts argue that the main bottleneck problem in the timely roll-out of psychedelic care is not having enough qualified psychedelic therapists and facilitators, I will argue that the main bottleneck is the speed with which we seek to roll out psychedelic care. This 'breakneck' speed is a direct expression of systemic dynamics that lead us to forgo the development of specific key competencies. Lessening professional requirements, shortening training, and lowering competencies—all to meet demand, minimise costs, or increase profit—has the potential to cause serious harm to clients while also reinforcing pre-existing systemic inequalities. Moreover, the divorce of psychedelic care from community, and the prevalence of neoliberal and hyper individualist notions of healing could exacerbate the very problems psychedelic care seeks to address. In this presentation I seek to offer some alternative principles that could help shape and reimagine psychedelic care.BIOGRAPHYDaan Keiman has supported people preparing for, moving through and integrating psychedelic experiences for over 15 years in a wide variety of settings - ranging from offering psychedelic harm reduction at festivals and leading group ceremonies at the Synthesis Institute, to his private practice as a Buddhist and psychedelic chaplain. He recently co-founded the Communitas Collective, a not-for-profit psychedelic think-and-practice tank dedicated to developing, refining and disseminating ethical approaches and best practices to delivering psychedelic care.
David Luke - Fear & Trembling in Lost Vagueness: The Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukFear & Trembling in Lost Vagueness: The Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project.While much of the psychedelic research focuses on the benefits, especially psychological, of taking psychedelics or having psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, only very limited research is available into the nature and prevalence of challenging experiences, and even less has explored coping strategies and prognosis. This presentation provides a discussion of the preliminary quantitative and qualitative results of a survey of 600+ psychedelic users who have experienced prolonged difficulties following a psychedelic experience. It explores what made the experience challenging, how long the challenges lasted, and who and what methods helped with coping and integrating these experiences. Some discussion is also given to the limitations of the research and directions for future research.BIOGRAPHYDr David Luke is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Greenwich, UK, where he has been teaching an undergraduate course on the Psychology of Exceptional Human Experience since 2009, and he is also Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, and Lecturer on the MSc Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology for Alef Trust and Liverpool John Moores University. His research focuses on transpersonal experiences, anomalous phenomena and altered states of consciousness, especially via psychedelics, having published more than 100 academic papers in this area, including thirteen books, such as Otherworlds: Psychedelics and Exceptional Human Experience (2nd ed., 2019). When he is not running clinical drug trials with LSD, conducting DMT field experiments or observing apparent weather control with Mexican shamans he directs the Ecology, Cosmos and Consciousness salon at the Institute of Ecotechnics, London, and is a cofounder and director of Breaking Convention: International Conference on Psychedelic Consciousness. He has given over 400 invited public lectures and conference presentations; won teaching, research and writing awards; organised numerous festivals, conferences, symposia, seminars, retreats, expeditions, pagan cabarets and pilgrimages; and has studied techniques of consciousness alteration from South America to India, from the perspective of scientists, shamans and Shivaites. He lives life on the edge, of Sussex.
Neşe Devenot - You Can Be Both Pro-Psychedelics and Anti-Hype Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukYou Can Be Both Pro-Psychedelics and Anti-HypeOver the past decade, excited media coverage of psychedelic clinical trials has promoted narratives about psychedelics that are not in line with the existing scientific evidence base. Although preliminary research has presented signals about the potential for psychedelics to treat a broad range of diagnoses, more research is necessary to determine the safety and efficacy of psychedelics as medicines. In 2022, responding to widespread claims about clinical benefits, the American Psychiatric Association released an official position statement emphasising that there is currently “inadequate scientific evidence” to support claims about psychedelics as a mental health treatment for any indication. Despite this disconnect between the hype and the evidence, some commentators have celebrated the hype as a welcome change after decades of stigma and a virtual moratorium on psychedelic research. Yet psychedelic hype is dangerous for both the science and the public: scientists captured by "true belief" in the efficacy of psychedelics can introduce biases into their research, while vulnerable groups are flocking to an underground that is increasingly filled with grifters and charlatans promising miracle cures.This talk presents an overview of recent efforts to push back against the psychedelic hype, focusing on an Open Letter written by Psymposia in response to John Oliver's Last Week Tonight segment on Psychedelic Assisted Therapy. We argue that any coverage of the field that omits the potential risks and harms associated with psychedelic-assisted therapy increases the risk to the public by fueling unrealistic expectations about experimental treatments.BIOGRAPHYNeşe Devenot, PhD is a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Cincinnati's Institute for Research in Sensing, an Affiliate Scholar at The Ohio State University's Center for Psychedelic Drug Research & Education, and a Research Fellow with Psymposia. Dr. Devenot works at the intersection of health humanities, psychedelic bioethics, neuroethics, and comparative literature. Their research examines changes to self-concept alongside the function of metaphor and other literary devices in narrative accounts of psychedelic experiences. They were a 2015-16 Research Fellow at the New York Public Library's Timothy Leary Papers and a Research Fellow with the New York University Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Study, where they participated in the first qualitative study of patient experiences. Their book project, "Chemical Poetics: The Literary History of Psychedelic Science," is under contract with Columbia University Press.
Graham Hancock - Psychedelics and the Quest forLife After Death:A Lost Key to Prehistory? Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukPsychedelics and the Quest for Life After Death: A Lost Key to Prehistory?With its profoundly materialistic-reductionist bias (made all the worse because it is largely an unconscious and unacknowledged bias), with its methodological focus on weighing, measuring and counting, and with its disrespect -- indeed complete disregard -- for indigenous ways of knowing, Western science has desensitised itself to huge areas of reality. Ancient mythology, for example, ancient traditions of sacred places, and the ancient use of psychedelics, are largely dismissed as objects of inquiry by archaeologists seeking to understand the human past. Thus, while the recent scientific renaissance exploring the therapeutic potential of psychedelics is to be welcomed, it is to be hoped that materialist-reductionist prejudices will not prevent its extension to a thorough investigation of the ancient use of psychedelics and the place that psychedelic experiences may have had in beliefs about the supernatural, in the origins of religion, and in shaping human history and civilisation itself.BIOGRAPHYGraham Hancock is the writer and presenter of the 2022 hit Netflix documentary TV series Ancient Apocalypse and the author of the major international non-fiction bestsellers The Sign and the Seal (1992), Fingerprints of the Gods (1995), The Message of the Sphinx (1996), Heaven’s Mirror (1998), Underworld (2002), Supernatural (2005), Magicians of the Gods (2015), and America Before (2019), and also of the epic adventure novels Entangled and War God (written between 2006 and 2014, both have psychedelic sub-themes). His books have sold more than seven million copies worldwide and have been translated into thirty languages. His public lectures, radio and TV appearances, including several major TV series, as well as his strong presence on the internet, have put his ideas before audiences of tens of millions. He has become recognised as an unconventional thinker who raises resonant questions about humanity’s past and about our present predicament. In January 2023 Hancock was voted No 23 in the Watkins list of “The 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People”.
Alexander Beiner - Artificial Entities: How DMT can help us make sense of AI and The Internet Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukArtificial Entities: How DMT can help us make sense of AI and The Internet.We're on the cusp of an AI revolution that may impact our lives at the same level as the industrial revolution. In his upcoming book 'The Bigger Picture: How psychedelics can help us make sense of the world', Alexander Beiner explores how the psychedelic experience can help us navigate the strange and dangerous times we live in, from climate change to political polarisation and runaway technology. In this talk, he'll explore the cognitive science and phenomenology of the DMT experience to argue that the techniques, practices and attitudes that help us navigate it well can be applied directly to navigating the changing internet; a realm that is increasingly populated by AI entities that we can't distinguish from human beings. Drawing on indigenous knowledge systems as well as his own experiences on Imperial's DMT extended state trial, this talk will ask how DMT can help us adapt to a world that's getting weirder day by day.BIOGRAPHYAlexander Beiner is a writer and podcaster. He’s one of the executive directors of Breaking Convention, and the author of the upcoming book The Bigger Picture: How Psychedelics can help us make sense of the world.In 2018, he co-founded Rebel Wisdom, an alternative media and events platform that grew to a quarter of a million subscribers, and became an influential node in the systems change, personal growth and sense-making communities. His work explores how psychedelics can be used to elicit sustainable cultural change, the complexities of psychedelic capitalism and mainstreaming, and how differing beliefs and value systems affect psychedelic culture.
Natasja Pelgrom - Journeying with 5-MeO-DMT and Space Holding: Navigating Profound Experiences... Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukJourneying with 5-MeO-DMT and Space Holding: Navigating Profound Experiences for the Benefit of Community.In this session, we will explore the intriguing substance known as 5-MeO-DMT and the concept of "space holding." 5-MeO-DMT is a powerful psychedelic compound that has gained popularity in recent years due to its profound effects on consciousness and spirituality. Space holding, on the other hand, refers to the practice of creating a safe and supportive environment for individuals undergoing intense psychedelic experiences. Through a combination of personal anecdotes and lessons learned through this teacher, we will delve into the unique effects of 5-MeO-DMT and how space holding can be a core teaching in group setting for the purpose of reconnecting to our shared humanity and communitas consciousness.BIOGRAPHYNatasja Pelgrom is a visionary leader and the founder of AWAKEN THE MEDICINE WITHIN, retreats and education, supporting people with psycho-spiritual approaches since 2017.Natasja is a highly intuitive guide and has held training, assisting, and facilitation roles in over 800 psychedelic ceremonies. Natasja has held multiple leading roles psilocybin assisted wellness retreats and key curator transformational retreat programs. She also oversaw psychedelic facilitation teams development and training. She currently advises and supervises executives in the (psychedelic) wellness industry. Natasja is also a mentor to leaders, coaches, therapists, and healers where she focuses on the mind & heart coherence to prosper in their services. Natasja’s multifaceted mentorship approach is paired with 20+ years of entrepreneurial experience.
Jonathan Ott- Shamanic Snuff Tryptamines Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionuk
Li Chun Lin Marina Lin- Formosahuasca, Acacia Confusa ayahuasca analog from Asia: Notes toward ... Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukFormosahuasca, Acacia Confusa ayahuasca analog from Asia: Notes toward Re-enchantment, ancestral healing and creative expression.Formosahuasca is a combination of the name of the island, "Formosa," which is the former name of Taiwan, and "ayahuasca." It is an ayahuasca analog using Acacia Confusa and Syrian Rue. Acacia Confusa, a plant native to Taiwan, has a high concentration of DMT up to 2% in its bark. It is suitable for a sustainable ayahuasca source plant as it is very common, able to be harvested with little impact on the ecosystem, and is easy to work with. The speaker has been trained in Peru with Ayahuasca and has facilitated Acacia ceremonies around the world since 2012. In her presentation, she will share her experience working with Acacia Confusa as an ayahuasca analog. This journey has not only connected her to her roots but also inspired her to become a contemporary artist. We will delve into the little-known history of Formosahuasca and also highlight the differences between Ayahuasca and Acacia.Echoing the waves of psychedelic feminism and occult revival, the speaker will offer insights into the magical power of Acacia and its unique character as a plant spirit to heal, inspire, and transform individuals. On the other hand, we will also discuss the dark side of the frenzy as well as the development of the Ayahuasca scene in Asia. We will explore the ways in which Formosahuasca has been used for re-enchantment, including its role in helping individuals to reconnect with their ancestral roots and facilitate healing. The speaker will also discuss the creative expression that arises from working with Formosahuasca, including how the Acacia plant spirit has guided her through dreams and inner voices to create her art exhibition “Sonic Driving” at ICA Shanghai and assisted her to facilitate the creative process of “Notes on Psychedelics III:2-19-20” by artist Yin-Ju Chen at Taipei Fine Arts Museum.BIOGRAPHYLi Chun (Marina) came from Taiwan and she has a diverse background in shamanism, occult, arts, and journalism. As a former travel journalist, Li Chun embarked on a shamanic journey during a spontaneous vision quest in a desert in the Middle East. Li Chun is fully trained in both Shipibo and Mestizo Ayahuasca lineages. And has a deep understanding of the use of plant medicine, including the use of Acacia Confusa, a local Taiwanese plant (ayahuasca analog) in her work.She has been teaching both plant-assisted and non-plant-assisted shamanic workshops for over a decade and has traveled the world to facilitate Acacia ceremonies since 2012. She draws on core shamanism teachings to develop unique shamanic world experiences.Li Chun's experiences working with plant medicine have also guided her creative pursuits, leading her to become a contemporary artist. She has been invited to give lectures on shamanism at galleries in China and Taiwan. She has spoken on ayahuasca training at the Ayahuasca—Kosmik Journey VR show by Jan Kounen in Taiwan. Her collaborative artwork has been exhibited at the Gwangju Biennale (2021) in Korea, ICA Shanghai, and around the globe.Li-Chun has maintained a deep connection to and studied plant spirits intensely. Believing in the non-duality of body and earth (身土不二, literally: “body soil no two,” which means that the body’s present condition is the result of its environment), she continuously refines approaches of touching another person's soul through the five senses and consciousness expansion. Her passion for exploring the intersection of shamanism, occult and contemporary art has earned her a reputation as a visionary in her field.Under the guidance of Israeli and British occultists, she has received initiation into a magical group. She is also skilled in traditional Chinese tea ceremonies and Japanese Butoh.
Chris Timmermann - The Neuroscience of DMT: Past, Present, and Beyond Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukThe Neuroscience of DMT: Past, Present, and Beyond.DMT and 5-MeO-DMT are potent psychedelics known for inducing immersive experiences that surpass those of other classic psychedelics. Their rich phenomenology and historical uses are associated with experiences of "alternate realms", communication with sensed presences or "entities", near-death experiences, and profound shifts in metaphysical beliefs. I will present findings from eight years of DMT and 5-MeO-DMT research at Imperial College London, involving neuroimaging and phenomenological methods to investigate the effects of these compounds on the brain and subjective experience. The talk will also discuss preliminary findings from our latest investigations extending the DMT experience via continuous infusion. By gaining a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying the DMT experience, our work aims to pave the way for new therapeutic interventions and a better understanding of the nature of consciousness itself.BIOGRAPHYChristopher Timmermann (PhD) obtained a BSc in Psychology in Santiago, Chile and an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Bologna in Italy. He is currently a post-doc at Imperial College London at the Centre for Psychedelic Research, where he leads the DMT Research Group, specialised in the potent psychedelics N,N-DMT and 5-MeO-DMT and their effects on the human brain and consciousness. His empirical and theoretical work focuses on the neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, pharmacology, beliefs and ethics of psychedelics, their relationship to consciousness and applications in mental health. His work has been covered by the BBC, CBC, Wired, The Times, and New Scientist.
Andy Gibson - What can mental health services learn from festival welfare? Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukWhat can mental health services learn from festival welfare?The psychedelic renaissance has enormous potential to revolutionise the treatment of a range of mental health issues but the focus has been almost exclusively on affective and addiction related problems. Less attention has been given to the management of crisis situations, particular those that are related to psychosis, which are some of the most significant factors that lead to admission to psychiatric inpatient units. However, these inpatient units rarely feel like therapeutic environments and rely heavily on the use of psychotropic medications to manage the issues. In this talk I will explore how integrating approaches to managing crises in festival settings, caused by drugs or otherwise, and the experience charities like PsyCare UK have gained from supporting people in these situations, could be transformative for mental health care provision across a range of care settings.BIOGRAPHYAndy studied Biological Sciences at Imperial College London from 2006 to 2009. He then started on the UCL/Birkbeck College MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience course and joined the UCL ClinicalPsychopharmacology group looking at the impact of combing D-cylcoserine with cue response and prevention therapy in heavy smokers. He trained in medicine at Warwick medical school from 2011 to 2015. After completing his foundation medical training, he gained further experience in hospital medicine, with a particular focus on managing the medical complications of addiction issues. He started training in psychiatry in Thames Valley in 2022. Since 2017 he has volunteered at PsyCare UK, a charity specialising in drug harm reduction and mental health/psychedelic crisis intervention at UK and European music festivals. He has been part of the core management team since 2018 was appointed a trustee in early 2022. His primary research interests are in the management of addiction issues, psychedelic medicine, the endocannabinoid system and its therapeutic modulation and the role of neuroinflammation and psychoneuroimmunological mechanisms in psychiatric illness.
Joann Mallett- How the practice of nursing can inform the art & science of psychedelic space holding Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukJo Mallett has been a Mental Health Nurse for nearly thirty years, working across many sectors, settings and specialities, including Adults, Children & Families, Eating disorders, Autistic Spectrum Disorder & Psychedelic Medicine. She is an experienced psychedelic caregiver , in both individual and group ceremonial contexts. She has also guided at Imperial College London, on psychedelic trials for Chronic Pain (Fibromyalgia) & Eating Disorders. Jo is concerned with ideas of harm reduction, training, supervision and mentorship, within the psychedelic space. She argues for person centred approaches to care and training that can safely support people with different backgrounds, experiences, presentations and needs. She suggests the values, skills and practices of nursing, could have application within many western psychedelic settings, trainings & apprenticeships. You can find Jo via her website and instagram:www.nursejo.co.uk@joann.mallett (instagram & Facebook)
Julian Vayne - Psychedelic Ceremony & My Magical Things Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukPsychedelic Ceremony & My Magical Things.In this presentation I'll be in sharing thoughts, history, tips and tricks on the curation of psychedelic ceremony by introducing some of the objects I use in this work. I'll explore how we can draw on the wisdom of ancient entheogenic traditions while being mindful of cultural appropriation. I'll describe how we can resist the rise of quasi-scientific obfuscation in the field of psychedelic healing and maintain a wider appreciation of the beneficial ways in which psychedelics may be used. I'll look at the role of humour and gentleness in curating a supportive psychedelic ceremony and will share techniques which we can intervene to support transformative processes during a trip. I'll consider the role somatic and experiential integration in relation to the desire to generate and share the narrative of our experiences with others. Finally, I will explore how trip sitting can become a decentralised activity rather than becoming part of the pharmacological-industrial complex and what a peer-support model of psychedelic healing might mean for society.BIOGRAPHYJulian Vayne is a British independent scholar and author with over four decades of experience within esoteric culture: from Druidry to Chaos Magic, from indigenous Shamanism through to Freemasonry and Witchcraft. Growing up in the Britain of punk and then rave culture Julian immersed himself in the philosophy and techniques of magic. His journey into group ritual practice began within the Western Esoteric Tradition when he was 16. Since then he has worked in ceremony with practitioners from many different lands and lineages. Julian is a senior member of the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros and widely recognised as one of Britain’s leading occultists. In the 1990s Julian edited Britain’s best selling pagan newspaper Pagan Voice and in 2001 published one of the first books of the modern psychedelic renaissance, Pharmakon: Drugs and the Imagination. In addition to exploring traditional sacred medicines, Julian’s work includes the first published accounts of the entheogenic ritual use of ketamine and several novel psychedelic sacraments. Today Julian is the author of books, essays, journals and articles in both the academic and esoteric press. He sees his work as part of the process to help re-imagine an earth-centered, non-dogmatic, open-source spirituality. He shares his practice through mentoring, workshops, online teaching and retreats. Julian’s style is highly collaborative. With an academic background in teaching and learning, and as co-author of numerous texts, Julian’s style emphasises curiosity, collaboration and creativity. His approach is informed by chaos magic, deep ecology and lineages within Wicca and Tantra. Julian is a co-organiser of the psychedelic conference Breaking Convention, and a Trustee of The Psychedelic Museum Project. A founding member of the post-prohibition think-tank Transform, Julian sits on the academic board of The Journal of Psychedelic Studies, and has been a visiting lecturer at several British universities. He is an advocate of post-prohibition culture and supporter of psychedelic prisoners through the Scales project. Julian facilitates psychedelic ceremony, as well as providing one-to-one psychedelic integration sessions and support. He is the author of the celebrated Getting Higher: The Manual of Psychedelic Ceremony. Since 2011 he has been sharing his work through The Blog of Baphomet.
Thomas Hatsis - The Science of Psychedelic History Breaking Convention 2023-07-14 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukThe Science of Psychedelic History.As psychedelia hits the mainstream, ideas about its global history are addressed more and more by "influencers" instead of experts. As a result, erroneous ideas about the past have become so embedded in society that believing the lie becomes easier than believing the truth. If we care about truth as a cultural psychedelic more, what can we do to guard ourselves against it?"The Science of Psychedelic History" will outline the criteria that historians use to separate fact from fiction as best as possible. These historical criteria are applicable not only to psychedelic history, but can also be used as a lens to gauge the validity of all contemporary social claims in a world drowned in fake news.After discussing some of the more lighthearted (albeit erroneous) issues in psychedelic history, I will then turn my attention to some of the more serious key issues in current psychedelic culture. For example, the racist origins of the war on drugs and how that affects the psychedelic Renaissance today; and the way contemporary Western peoples whitewash indigenous cultures' historic psychedelic use and perpetuate harmful stereotypes like the "noble savage" (among others).BIOGRAPHYThomas Hatsis is a public speaker and author in the field of psychedelic history with four books to his credit: "The Witches' Ointment" (2015), "Psychedelic Mystery Traditions" (2018), "Microdosing Magic" (2018), and "LSD The Wonder Child" (2021). He has articles published in both PsyPress UK and the Journal of Psychedelic Studies and has appeared on the GaiamTV shows "Beyond Belief with George Noory," "Psychedelica" and "Open Minds with Regina Meredith," and in the cannabis documentary "Kaneh Movie" (2019).With co-founder Eden Woodruff, he runs the Psanctum Psychedelic Education Center and curates the Psanctum Psychedelic Library. As recently as Nov. 2022, Psanctum was entrusted with the task of digitizing and preserving materials from the last thirty three boxes of the Timothy Leary archive still in private collection. Through our shop, Psanctum Thrift (a quality secondhand and vintage thrift store), Woodruff and Hatsis raise money to assist those who desire psychedelic therapy but for whom cost is a barrier. They also run the weekly Psanctum Open Mic, the largest open mic in Portland, OR, and host the Psanctum Psychedelic Speaker Series and The Gaian Mind Psychedelic Conference.
Oliver Davis - - The politics of healing trauma Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukThe politics of healing trauma.The treatment of traumatic after-effects has been key to the success of the psychedelic renaissance in so far as MAPS’s capacity to forge cross-party consensus in an otherwise highly polarized US climate around veterans’ mental health has been essential to advancing regulatory and legislative change. The concerns raised in their ‘Power Trip’ podcast series (2022) by the Psymposia collective focus retrospectively on the alleged mistreatment of individual cases in clinical trials of MDMA therapy. By contrast, this paper advances a prospective structural critique: the aspiration for a ‘zero-trauma’ society facilitated by psychedelics raises significant philosophical, political and ethical questions. For instance, while the success of psychedelic therapy in treating veterans has been remarkable (Moghaddam 2021) and those involved have clearly benefited, the likely cost of making conflict less costly in this way may well ultimately be more conflict, less reluctance to have recourse to violence, indeed perhaps even the rehabilitation of violence as a tool of government. Socially and politically, it will be argued that such use of psychedelics to treat the aftereffects of trauma tends towards an undoing of political communities grounded in ‘wounded attachment’ to ‘injured identity’ (Brown 1995). Notwithstanding almost a century of functionally very effective ‘postcolonial healing’ (Calabrese 2013) by the Native American Church using peyote, in healing traumatic symptoms psychedelics tend to strengthen the ‘one-dimensional’ (Marcuse 1964) unity of the technocratic society by reintegrating dissensual communities of injured identity. While some of us may yearn for a politics free from ressentiment on Left and Right alike and for a world in which there is generally less obsession with traumatic injury, particularly in its commodified and bureaucratised forms (Davis & Dean 2022), the deployment of a biomedical cure for wrongs which are primarily political, historical or criminal, is still a disturbing prospect. Viewed from a slightly different perspective, the prevalence of trauma-based thinking today provides psychedelic therapies with numerous commercialisable holds on contemporary society. subjects of psychedelic neoliberalism. With this paper I aim to demonstrate the pertinence of a ‘micropolitical’ and ‘transversal’ (Guattari 1977, 1972) approach to the politics of psychedelics.BIOGRAPHYOliver Davis is based in the Arts Faculty at Warwick University, UK. His research spans Continental Philosophy, queer theory, critical security studies and the cultural politics and history of psychoactive drugs. He has published two books on one of France’s most prominent contemporary philosophers, Jacques Rancière, and more recently, together with Tim Dean, Hatred of Sex (Nebraska UP, ‘Provocations’ Series, 2022), a critique of the cultural aversion to sex and the commodification of traumatised identity. He is currently completing a monograph on the politics of psychedelics. Together with Tehseen Noorani, Alex Dymock, Nick Langlitz, Anne-Katrin Schlag and Erika Dyck, he is Co-Editing a forthcoming Frontiers in Psychology series on ‘The Psychedelic Humanities’, which seeks to delineate the contours of that new domain.
Giulio Sica - The Psychedelic Culture Wars Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukThe Psychedelic Culture Wars.The utopian vision and revolutionary political spirit of the hippie counterculture of the late 1960s gave way to the economic austerity and neurosis of the 1970s and to a redefining of multinational corporate power facilitated by the neoliberalism of Reagan and Thatcher. This normalisation of corporate power as the only game in town has been called Capitalist Realism by the late culture theorist Mark Fisher and the recent popularity of psychedelics has tended to fall into this category.While science has succeeded in demonstrating environmental and climate crisis as well as the medicinal value of many psychedelics and other banned psychoactive substances, political voices from within those psychedelic and social justice countercultures wishing to challenge corrupt power and reductionist thinking and to protect indigenous cultures and spiritual expression have been diminished and often erased and more recently these subcultures have been overwhelmed by more conspiratorial and rightwing thinking which has grown unchecked further alienating these groups.My presentation will form part of my studies in Environmental Humanities, seeking to find creative solutions to the marginalisation of ecospiritual and social justice voices in the psychedelic community and beyond. I hope it is the beginning of a collaboration with other voices sharing similar psychedelic, political and spiritual perspectives.BIOGRAPHYHaving studied Critical Theory for my English literature degree, to 15 years working in mainstream media for newspapers such as the Times and the Guardian, I moved to Glastonbury in 2013 to delve into the remnants of the new age counterculture, living there through the anarchic and often conspiratorial resistance to the biopolitics of the pandemic and eventually to my present studies at Bath Spa, a master's degree in Environmental Humanities, which I hope to complete later this year.My research centres around the interplay between psychedelic culture, postmodern spirituality and an anti-capitalist, ecofeminist and ecospiritual politics which seeks to understand the present destructive influence the reductionist, exploitative corporate system of governance is having on the so-called psychedelic renaissance and indeed in the wider world. My perspective attempts through dialogue with others to highlight the spiritual and ecological value of psychedelics and rave culture as intrinsically a communal and progressive influence on society in our collective attempt to meet the challenges of post-capitalist environmental crisis.
Rob Harper - Healing the narcissistic wound: Psychedelics & the search for authentic self experience Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukHealing the narcissistic wound: Psychedelics and the search for authentic self experience.We live in an increasingly superficial and fragmented social landscape - where presentation of a successful self image is prioritised over depth and meaning, and the myth of the lone entrepreneur is valued above connection and interdependence with others. This picture is underpinned by the huge existential anxieties of a desacralised society. Many say that we are now living in a narcissistic age.Psychedelics are incredibly powerful tools, equally capable of inflating or deflating our narcissistic bubbles, depending on the context and intention surrounding their use. Various ancient spiritual traditions and existing psychotherapeutic modalities offer us detailed maps on the developmental roots of narcissistic behaviour, and the human journey from false self to authentic self. What new insights can psychedelics potentially offer on the understanding and healing of narcissistic tendencies? What narcissistic pitfalls await psychedelic practitioners who fail to ground their work in these existing systems of understanding?In this context we will explore the idea of what an open-hearted dialogue between an American Psychoanalyst, a German Body Psychotherapist, a Brazilian Shaman and a Psychedelic Psychiatrist would look and feel like? What could they offer us in our struggles to understand and heal the underlying wounds that lead to narcissistic behaviour? The aim is to explore how these various approaches can enrich and inform both our theory and our practice, leading us to a deeper, more compassionate and more integrated understanding of the narcissistic position - and how to work with it when encountered in ourselves and others.
Haley Dourron - Psychedelics & Psychosis: The Latest Science Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukPsychedelics & Psychosis: The Latest Science.Historically, psychedelic-induced states have been proposed to be a model of psychosis, and many of the most influential psychedelic science theories, such as the Entropic Brain Theory and thalamic gating, have drawn heavily on this potential comparison. This talk, rather than relying on theoretical comparisons, will directly examine how people with a history of psychosis perceive psychedelic-induced states compare to psychosis and the impact psychedelic use has had on their symptoms. This will include an overview of an in-depth ongoing phenomenological interview-based study with people with a history of psychosis who have then used a classic psychedelic. This talk will explore both the perceived negative and positive impacts of psychedelic use on this historically excluded population, as reported in the study. Additionally, further survey-based research exploring how people with both a personal and family history of psychosis will be presented to examine the potential impact of psychedelic use on psychotic symptoms and whether this population reports similar mental health benefits to the general population of naturalistic psychedelic users. Finally, these results will be considered in light of the recently proposed Self-Entropic Broadening Theory, which provides some preliminary conceptual frameworks for how psychedelic-induced states and psychosis display both similarities and distinctions.BIOGRAPHYHaley Maria Dourron is a Ph.D. student in the Drug Use and Behavior Lab at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her work focuses on understanding how psychedelics can induce lasting changes in people’s lives from a neurophenomenological behavioral perspective and how they compare to other extreme experiences, particularly psychosis. She is currently conducting an interview-based study of how people with a history of psychosis respond to psychedelics, which is being funded by the Source Research Foundation. She is also utilizing real-time fMRI neurofeedback in the post-acute effects of psilocybin to understand more about how flexibility within key large-scale brain networks might change after psilocybin-assisted therapy. She is also currently working with Dr. Peter Hendricks on a trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy for cocaine dependence, which is the first-ever psilocybin-assisted therapy trial for any substance use disorder with a neuroimaging component. In addition to this, she recently proposed Self-Entropic Broadening Theory as a potential transdiagnostic mechanism of how psychedelics can facilitate enduring change and also compare to psychosis.
Roberta Murphy & Jonny Martell- Psilocybin assisted... clinical trials for depression and anorexia Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukPsilocybin assisted psychotherapy in clinical trials for depression and anorexia: relational and contextual complexities.Drawing on our experience of working in psilocybin assisted psychotherapy trials at Imperial College London we will explore the unique opportunities and challenges this approach presents for clients, therapists and health services. The emergence of deep psychic material from the psychedelic experience needs containing and integration within a therapeutic frame and alliance that are tightly constrained by the demands of clinical research. The intense attachment dynamics stirred by the work add a further layer of complexity to be navigated and worked through, presenting powerful opportunities for growth and healing, as well as risks. We will critically examine the impact of the current cultural context including growing commercial interests and the scientific paradigm on this work. Evidence supporting the importance of the therapeutic relationship in this work from the recent paper 'Therapeutic Alliance and Rapport Modulate Responses to Psilocybin Assisted Therapy for Depression' will be presented.BIOGRAPHYDr Roberta Murphy is an Irish psychiatrist based in London. She is currently training as medical psychotherapist in South West London and St George's NHS Trust. She is a member of the Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research. She worked as a study doctor and therapy guide on trials of psilocybin for healthy volunteers, severe depression and eating disorders. She has helped to train other research teams and offers support around issues pertaining to screening. She is interested in alternative approaches to severe and enduring mental health issues. She has published a recent paper exploring the impact of the therapeutic alliance on the acute psychedelic experience and clinical outcomes. She has trained with Open Dialogue UK, The Institute of Group Analysis, The Institute of Psychoanalysis and in Ecotherapy. Her work is informed by experiences of Holotropic Breathwork.Jonny Martell is a trainee medical psychotherapist in Devon. He has worked as study doctor and therapist on psilocybin for depression, anorexia and healthy volunteer studies, as well as on DMT imaging studies at Imperial’s Centre for Psychedelic Research. Prior to medical training he spent time working in Afghanistan and for a literary agency. His main interests in psychedelics are with how broader cultural, historical and political contexts shape the current research renaissance; and western bio-medicine’s capacity to serve as a cultural container.
Timmy Davis - Undreamt-of possibilities: the drugs work, but how? Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionuk 'Undreamt-of possibilities': a genealogy of 'psychedelic' therapeutics - or - the drugs work, but how?In this talk I will sketch four major ways in which psychedelics have been used in western psychiatry. Psychedelic therapy, psycholytic therapy, radical psychotherapy, and pseudodelic psychotherapy each posit a distinct methodology and theory of therapeutic efficacy. By situating them in relation to one another, their precursors and contemporaries, and within historical context, I will argue that there is no one size fits all way of using psychedelics in therapy and nor should there be.The history of psychiatry is a history of ideas about the nature of distress and its treatment - and the placebo. The popularity of these various models and their efficacy, is not only determined by, but determines, what is considered to be 'true'. This history is an ongoing negotiation between seekers and providers of treatment, which results in many therapeutic modalities falling by the wayside whilst others gain in popularity and thrive, only to be themselves surpassed by novel or revived therapeutics which capture the popular imagination. The waxing and waning of effect sizes over the lifespan of a treatment is at least in part due to changes in the popular imagination too, with novel treatments often perceived to be the result of scientific progress and touted by 'experts' to be the answer to the suffering of desperate patients - consider for example the drop in cases of possession and exorcism simultaneous to the increasing popularity of mesmerism during the enlightenment, or the rise and fall of effect sizes in trials of SSRI antidepressants since the 1980s.Psychedelic therapeutics are of course not immune to these forces. Arguably the vicissitudes of the personal and popular imagination (for example hope and expectation, hype and stigma - set and setting) may have more power in determining their effects and efficacy than other treatments, leading some researchers to conceive of psychedelics as suggestive technologies, or super-placebos, and to note their power as tools of belief transmission and enculturation.I will argue that the move towards standardisation and manualisation of psychedelic therapeutics is not only ethically problematic but could possibly limit their potential efficacy. Could a focus on the specificity of each seeker of treatment mitigate these issues? Research, regulation, and provision of these treatments should lean into a plurality of containers, each to be determined in dialogue between seeker and provider. What might this look like?BIOGRAPHYTimmy Davis is a trainee at the Site for Contemporary Psychoanalysis and the Psilocybin Rescheduling Project manager at the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group. He is a contributing member of Drug Science's Medical Psychedelics Working Group and provides psychological support on the psilocybin for treatment resistant depression trials at Kings College London. Timmy also leads teams of volunteers in welfare and harm reduction spaces such as Boom Festival in Portugal and many music festivals in the UK. He graduated from Birkbeck, University of London with an MA in Psychoanalytic Studies and with a BA Hons in Philosophy and Religion from the university of Kent, where he was president of the psychedelic society for three years. Timmy co-authored a chapter entitled The Feminine Enshadowed: the Role of Psychedelics in Deconstructing the Gender Binary in the book Psychedelic Mysteries of the Feminine (2019) and The Medicinal Use of Psilocybin: Reducing Restrictions on Research and Treatment (2020). He also authored THOU ART NOT THAT - Towards a Psychoanalytic Understanding of the Bad Trip (2022) and New, Strange, Odd and Weird Perceptions - A Lacanian Approach to Psychedelic Experience (2020).
Uma Chatterjee - Psychedelics, PTSD, & Comorbid OCD: Considering the implications of comorbid OCD... Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukPsychedelics, PTSD, & Comorbid OCD: Considering the implications of comorbid OCD in the psychedelic-assisted treatments of PTSD.Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are often comorbid psychiatric disorders within patients. Approximately 40% of patients diagnosed with PTSD are also diagnosed with OCD, which far supersedes the estimated 1-3% rate of general OCD prevalence. First-line psychotherapies fundamentally differ for both conditions, with traditional PTSD psychotherapies generally being contraindicated for OCD treatment. Especially in cases where patients' PTSD and OCD diagnoses present a dynamically-related functional relationship, treatments for both conditions often result in both parallel and inverse results, such that PTSD treatment can often worsen OCD symptoms. Furthermore, patients with comorbid PTSD and OCD are shown to experience more severe symptomology of OCD than typical OCD populations. Therefore, PTSD patients with comorbid OCD are a highly vulnerable, at-risk population when studying and administering PTSD treatments.Thus, when studying the potential of psychedelic-assisted therapies for PTSD, a notable point of consideration is the potential challenge of comorbid OCD in PTSD patient populations. This talk will orient the audience to the comorbid nature of dynamically-related PTSD and OCD diagnoses, assess current psychological and pharmacological treatments of comorbid PTSD and OCD, and discuss the potential biological and pharmacological mechanisms of psychedelics that impact PTSD and OCD as comorbid conditions. This talk also evaluates the current paradigm of psychedelic-assisted therapy for PTSD in consideration of comorbid OCD through the comprehensive and multidisciplinary analysis of current trials across neurobiology, psychology, neuropharmacology, clinical trial/research design, and phenomenology. Finally, this talk discusses several directions for further investigations into this topic across a wide range of relevant disciplines, and closes with numerous recommendations to implement for addressing this critical comorbidity.BIOGRAPHYUma R. Chatterjee, MHPS is a neuroscientist, board-certified Mental Health Peer Specialist, mental health advocate, and psychedelic organizer. Uma will complete her M.S. in neuroscience this spring at the University of Texas at Dallas, working in the Kolber Lab to elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms driving the central amygdala’s hemispheric lateralization. Uma is also board-certified Mental Health Peer Specialist, in practice since 2021. Her MHPS practice serves peers in individual and group capacities, including through her global support group system for cancer survivors, the Cancer Thriver Collective. She also holds a B.S. in Psychology.Uma also conducts award-winning psychedelic research, bringing together her interdisciplinary background to study the effects of psychedelic-assisted therapy on comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder across several disciplines, including neurobiology, neuropharmacology, psychology, clinical trial/research design, and phenomenology. Uma has presented her research at numerous scientific conferences and has received several accolades for her novel findings, including winning first place in the PsychedelX 2022 conference competition and several presentation, research, and travel grant awards. The culmination of Uma’s project has resulted in a published abstract by the Society for Neuroscience and an accepted first-author manuscript for publication, currently in preparation with collaborators.Uma's neurobiology research and global MHPS practice are both informed by her lived experience with lifelong OCD, comorbid PTSD, young-adult cancer, chronic illnesses, and her South Asian heritage. Her survivorship serves as the bedrock of her advocacy, carried out through her work as an educator, organizer, and creator. Uma serves on the board of directors for the Intercollegiate Psychedelics Network (IPN), spearheading equitable educational and mentorship initiatives for students in the psychedelic field. She also serves as a global advocate for the International OCD Foundation, facilitating IOCDF initiatives through neurobiology education projects and raising awareness for OCD and mental health in historically excluded populations. Uma’s interdisciplinary background and life experiences all inform her perspective as an emerging researcher in the field of psychedelic neurobiology, and she will continue researching psychiatric disorders and psychedelics through her upcoming doctoral studies.
Nicolas Sireau - The use of psilocybin to treat OCD & future OCD treatments Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukThe use of psilocybin to treat OCD & future OCD treatments.In this talk, I will talk about the pressing need for OCD treatments and how psychedelics such as psilocybin play a role in treating OCD. OCD is a common, chronic and long-lasting mental health condition in which a person experiences uncontrollable, intrusive and reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviours (compulsions) where they feel the urge to repeat over and over, in the attempt to temporarily relieve the unpleasant feelings brought on by the obsessive thought.It affects 2-3% of the world population. BIOGRAPHYNick Sireau, PhD, is co-founder and Chair of Orchard OCD, a medical charity that funds research into obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a common yet debilitating mental health condition. Orchard OCD is funding the first ever study in the UK of psilocybin for OCD, under the leadership of Prof David Nutt at Imperial College. Nick suffers from OCD himself and has experience of taking psychedelics for mental health. He is also the CEO and Chair of Trustees at the AKU Society, a patient group that helps people with AKU, a rare genetic disease affecting both his children. He is also co-founder of Sirgartan Therapeutics, a biotech that focuses on new treatments for OCD. Nick has a BA from Oxford University, an MSc in management studies from the Lyon Graduate School of Business and a PhD in social psychology from City University. He is a fellow of the Ashoka Fellowship of Social Entrepreneurs. Nick is also a psychedelic trance DJ and producer under the artist name NIXIRO.
Jonathon Ott - Obsequies for the Psychodelic Renaissance: Non–Oblivious Semantics for the Psychop... Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukObsequies for the Psychodelic [sic] Renaissance: Non–Oblivious Semantics for the Psychoptic Resurgence.ABSTRACT - PRIMARY TALKAn examination of the history and derivations of various terms commonly used for psychoptic drugs, whether shamanic–inebriant–derivatives or not. Why Psychedelic/Psychodelic is the worst possible term: it is confused and imprecise; etymologically anomalous; and faulty… mostly, it is pejorative and prejudices the uninitiated (such as Parliamentarians, Justices and the Neighbour down the street) aforethought, against the subject! Psychedelic/Psychodelic [sic] is in fact a synonym of Hallucinogen[ic] and Psychotomimetic; is not a synonym for Entheogen[ic]; and there is no general agreement as to its meaning, nor as to which drugs it encompasses.BIOGRAPHYJonathan Ott is an ethnobotanist, writer, translator, publisher, natural products chemist and botanical researcher in the area of entheogens and their cultural and historical uses, and one of a group of researchers who coined the term 'entheogen'.Ott has written eight books, co-written five, and contributed to four others, and published many articles in the field of entheogens. He has collaborated with other researchers like Christian Rätsch, Jochen Gartz, and the late ethnomycologist R. Gordon Wasson. He translated Albert Hofmann's 1979 book LSD: My Problem Child (LSD: Mein Sorgenkind), and On Aztec Botanical Names by Blas Pablo Reko, into English. His articles have appeared in many publications, including The Entheogen Review, The Entheogen Law Reporter, the Journal of Cognitive Liberties, the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (AKA the Journal of Psychedelic Drugs), the MAPS Bulletin, Head, High Times, Curare, Eleusis, Integration, Lloydia, The Sacred Mushroom Seeker, and several Harvard Botanical Museum pamphlets. He is a co-editor of Eleusis: Journal of Psychoactive Plants & Compounds, along with Giorgio Samorini.Ott has experience of field collecting in Mexico, where he lives and manages a small natural-products laboratory and botanical garden of medicinal herbs. A number of his ethnobotanical products have been studied to determine their possible benefits to individuals suffering various mental aberrations. In his book Ayahuasca Analogues, he identifies numerous plants around the globe containing the harmala alkaloids of Banisteriopsis caapi, which are MAOIs, and plants containing dimethyltryptamine, which together are the chemical base of the South American Ayahuasca brew.
Rupert Callender - Raving in the Grave Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Raving in the grave.BIOGRAPHYRu Callender is a radical undertaker, an author and an old school raver, whose 23 year career has been influenced by a variety of unlikely things, including crop circles, Haitian voodoo, chaos magic and acid house. Ru will be talking about how some of these things informed his practice as an undertaker, and where he dreams the future might lie for empathogens and psychedelics in relation to death, bereavement and trauma.
Giorgia Gaia - Kaos, Kilowatt & Ketamine: Spiritualities and Psychedelics in the Free Tekno Movement Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukKaos, Kilowatt & Ketamine: Spiritualities and Psychedelics in the Free Tekno Movement.Following the Second Summer of Love in the late 1980s, rave culture was born in the UK on the notes of acid house and Roland 303. Illegal rave parties started spreading around Europe throughout the 90’s giving birth to a syncretic counter-cultural phenomenon known as ‘teknival’. Drawing from Hakim Bey’s TAZ theory and subversive subcultures, this phenomenon was characterised by ideas of ontological anarchism, freedom from institutionalised and centralised powers, induced chaotic experiences and various levels of alterations of consciousness. Kaos, Kilowatt and Ketamine are central cultural elements of the free tekno scene, and as such played a pivotal role in inducing spiritual experiences in ravers serving the creation of utopian landscapes, where dance culture and social activism merged in a collective dream. Gaia’s extended participant observation as DJ and anthropologist, her interviews with core members of the movements, DJ's and musicians function as inspiration for this talk.BIOGRAPHYGiorgia Gaia is an independent researcher - with MA degrees in Cultural and Social Anthropology and in Theology and Religious Studies (Spirituality and Esotericism in Western Culture) at the University of Amsterdam. Since her early twenties she has been involved in the underground scene of rave culture, as DJ and cultural producer. Her academic research has focused on subcultures/countercultures, esoteric communities, magic and psychonautic. She spent several years doing participative observation in various cultural and spiritual scenes - such esoteric intentional communities or the worldwide rave scene. Following extensive fieldwork and participant observation, Gaia wrote ‘Damanhur, the Ecology of Spirit'. In 2015 she released a short documentary called ‘Chai, Charas and Changa’. In 2016, Gaia published open source the first historical and anthropological investigation on the cultural phenomenon of Changa, in a text titled 'Changa's Alchemy'. Being herself continuously involved in the creation of alter(n)ate realities & practical magickal experimentations, she has been party/event organizer and DJ since 2008. In 2018 she founded Occulture Conference, an important cultural event happening yearly in Berlin, which explores the occult and esoteric realities.
Jacqueline Anderson - I’m Only Dancing: Believing in the Energy of Dance – UK psytrance culture Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukJack, I’m Only Dancing: Believing in the Energy of Dance – psychedelic trance culture in the UK.Psychedelic trance culture has been labelled in recent years as an amalgam of religious, shamanism, and ritualistic beliefs and practices both global and local in a gnostic melting pot whether participants are conscious of a sacred ritual or not. Are they practising a timeless and universal shamanic trance dance practice evoking a sacred experience in a liminal space of possibility? Is there a re-enactment of a secular pilgrimage to the woods to unlock from the restrictions of mainstream society running free with nature in their own natural state aided by music, dancing, and each other? The universal and timeless return to the source of a collective consciousness is the religion itself by dancing together since the dawn of civilisation. Or are participants merely returning to the weird dancefloor to get twisted while free of dogma replacing ritual and symbol with dance shoes and sweat? Recent research suggests that the return to our own nature in nature could be the blueprint for a healed humanity presently hidden in remote gatherings by an underground culture that hotly debates where the underground should go overground. The lack of religion, spirituality, and the incumbent rituals and ceremonies with the loss of connectivity, sociality, a sense of belonging and being with others may have led to growth industries in festival culture and the phenomenal expansion of the healing industries. Does psychedelic trance dance culture and practices hold the answers? Have psytrance dancers found the key to ultimate transformation on the dancefloor? Psychedelic trance may have many benefits for the wider community progressing exponentially with the legalisation and acceptance of entheogens in society and the phenomenal progress of the psychedelic renaissance. It is timely that psychedelic culture starts to experience the same acknowledgement, acceptance, and legal freedom particularly in the UK. Greater understanding of the practices and beliefs within psychedelic trance culture may contribute to the possibility of a better world for humanity. Fascinatingly within psytrance culture is an acknowledged symbolism and practice surrounding mushrooms extant within its décor, imagery and substances with philosophical analogies about the similarity between the entwined entanglement of the mycelium and the practices of psychedelic culture in natural locations in a possible synchronising of man and nature in an ancient return to the source of true spirituality.BIOGRAPHYJackie is a current PhD researcher at UCLan undertaking research in cultural anthropology comparing ancient and modern day trance dance practices with an ethnographic focus on psychedelic trance culture called Daning with Ancestors. She has been an elder member of the psytrance community in the UK for several decades and a dancer in the house scene since the start of acid house scene in the eighties. As a passionate and lifelong dancer her perspective is from the dancefloor where her embodied experiences are key to her focus. Jackie has been an active Festival organiser, attached to several Northern tribes, a pro-active contributor at many events, a volunteer for Psycare UK, a provider of Jackus Dream and Dance Healing Workshops, the manager of Psynergiser Dance Foundation, the administrator of various social media groups such as Psyculture UK, Global Psyculture and the Centre for Research in Psyculture and Psytrance. She is noted as an elder of the scene, and of Psybase Northern Collective in particular since 2004 and a valuable pace dancer and participant. She has worked for many years as a College Lecturer teaching English, Sociology, Humanities, Psychology and teaching training courses. I have a Masters in English Literature and a Masters in Music. She is currently working in further education teaching sociology. She has a keen interest in politics and the environment having set up Salford Green Party and Salford Friends of the Earth. She set up the Reality Party with Bez from Happy Mondays and came second as a candidate in the local elections. Her main involvement in the fracking movement protests on Barton Moss in Salford started because she was a local resident and succeeded in stopping peat extraction on Barton Moss in Salford.
Graham St John - Terence McKenna: Apocalyptic Poet and Raving Medium Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukTerence McKenna: Apocalyptic Poet and Raving Medium.This presentation draws on research from my forthcoming biography Terence McKenna: The Strange Attractor (MIT Press). The underground rave scene of the early nineties sought its champions and there was no bard more willing, more vocal, and more weird, than Terence K. McKenna (1946-2000), a figure for whom acid house was a novelty signal in his forecasted apocalypse. A slate of collaborations with McKenna between 1991-93 – i.e. The Shamen, Space Time Continuum/Rose X and Zuvuya – had one feature in common. They featured performances of McKenna emulating the “elf chatter” that had poured out of him in trance states on Psilocybe mushrooms and DMT. Subsequently, electronic music producers mined the elven sprechen of this surreal psychopomp as if it were precious sonic ore. McKenna himself held that rather than “channelling” intelligible messages, the spontaneous emissions enabled him to uncover “the source of meaning before it is contextually located.” This “translinguistic” notion took hold within psychedelic electronica, where McKenna’s mind became iconic for going out of one’s mind – a circumstance magnified in the fraught global present in which McKenna’s appeal remains undiminished. As digital alchemists sample from a vast archive of spoken word material to sculpt epic audio-narratives of dream travel, soul flight, and cosmic transit, McKenna’s voice became a medium of the unspeakable and a sonic template for the unknown. As his mellifluous voice retains appeal within psychedelic electronica two decades after his death, McKenna remains the voice of the apocalypse. As I will suggest, McKenna’s sampledelic apocalyptica has interwoven trajectories. First, the sampling evokes the “apocalypse” of the self, mind and culture that is the perennial desire of ecstatic dance movements. Second, McKenna’s raves are prolific in an era of accelerating crisis and uncertainty, a posthumous circumstance with uncanny echoes of his prophesied “Eschaton” and theory of novelty. As evident in psychedelic electronica, these transcendent strands are woven into a McKennaesque aesthetic.BIOGRAPHYGraham St John, PhD, is a cultural vibeologist specializing in transformational events, movements, and figures. Graham has authored ten book, including the forthcoming biography Terence McKenna: The Strange Attractor (MIT Press, 2023), as well as Mystery School in Hyperspace: A Cultural History of DMT (NAB/Evolver, 2015), Global Tribe: Technology, Spirituality and Psytrance (Equinox, 2012), Technomad: Global Raving Countercultures (Equinox, 2009) and the edited collection Rave Culture and Religion (Routledge 2004). Graham is founding Executive Editor of Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, where he is currently co-guest editing the issue “Psychedelica and Electronica”. He has held postdoctoral fellowships in Australia, the U.S., Canada, Switzerland, and the UK, where is currently a Marie Curie Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Music and Design Arts at the University of Huddersfield.
Q&A with William Leonard Pickard Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukIn conversation with Julian Vayne.William Leonard Pickard:Alleged to have produced "90% of the world's LSD," William Leonard Pickard is a former drug policy fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, research associate in neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, and deputy director of the Drug Policy Analysis Program at UCLA. With two life sentences without parole, he served 20 years in maximum security federal prisons, and was released in 2020. His book celebrated psychedelic novel The Rose of Paracelsus - written in pencil while imprisoned - was first published in 2015. Currently he is a senior advisor, scientific advisory boards, of JLS Fund LP, PsyGen, and the Fireside Project.Julian Vayne: Julian Vayne is a British independent scholar and author with over four decades of experience within esoteric culture: from Druidry to Chaos Magic, from indigenous Shamanism through to Freemasonry and Witchcraft. Growing up in the Britain of punk and then rave culture Julian immersed himself in the philosophy and techniques of magic. His journey into group ritual practice began within the Western Esoteric Tradition when he was 16. Since then he has worked in ceremony with practitioners from many different lands and lineages. Julian is a senior member of the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros and widely recognised as one of Britain’s leading occultists. In the 1990s Julian edited Britain’s best selling pagan newspaper Pagan Voice and in 2001 published one of the first books of the modern psychedelic renaissance, Pharmakon: Drugs and the Imagination. In addition to exploring traditional sacred medicines, Julian’s work includes the first published accounts of the entheogenic ritual use of ketamine and several novel psychedelic sacraments. Today Julian is the author of books, essays, journals and articles in both the academic and esoteric press. He sees his work as part of the process to help re-imagine an earth-centered, non-dogmatic, open-source spirituality. He shares his practice through mentoring, workshops, online teaching and retreats. Julian’s style is highly collaborative. With an academic background in teaching and learning, and as co-author of numerous texts, Julian’s style emphasises curiosity, collaboration and creativity. His approach is informed by chaos magic, deep ecology and lineages within Wicca and Tantra. Julian is a co-organiser of the psychedelic conference Breaking Convention, and a Trustee of The Psychedelic Museum Project. A founding member of the post-prohibition think-tank Transform, Julian sits on the academic board of The Journal of Psychedelic Studies, and has been a visiting lecturer at several British universities. He is an advocate of post-prohibition culture and supporter of psychedelic prisoners through the Scales project. Julian facilitates psychedelic ceremony, as well as providing one-to-one psychedelic integration sessions and support. He is the author of the celebrated Getting Higher: The Manual of Psychedelic Ceremony. Since 2011 he has been sharing his work through The Blog of Baphomet.
Christine Hauskeller - Dimensions of a decolonial ethics for psychedelic studies Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukDimensions of a decolonial ethics for psychedelic studies.Psychedelic studies is an emerging multidisciplinary field including clinical, philosophical, bioethical, political and social science analyses with special regard to the large-scale medicalisation of mind- altering substances. For critical research on the psychedelic renaissance, critical awareness of colonial practices and decolonizing ethics is crucial. This talk aims to highlight three branches of culture in which colonialism left its mark. This talk will discuss three dimensions of such an ethic, from general to specific. Dimension 1. Biocultural colonisation. This medicalisation process itself aims to carve out pathways to comply with the principles of scientific medicine and its ethics whilst adopting aspects of indigenous practices to improve clinical success rates. This entails acts of appropriation, extractivism and biopiracy. Knowledge and practices created in an indigenous cultural context are erased by detachment and transference into the context of clinical medical care. There is a non-reciprocal transference of knowledge. Dimension 2. Clinical colonisation. Inherent in this process of a scientific medicalisation of psychedelics is a colonisation of the intimate experiences of consciousness by the medico- pharmaceutical complex – the medicalisation of psychedelic experiences alienates and commodifies psychedelic states of mind. This raises ethical questions regarding personal liberty in relation to psychedelics, complementing those raised in the debate over decriminalisation. Dimension 3. Psychological/internal colonisation. For a decolonizing ethic, these questions appear in addition to the more conventional medical ethics issues that are raised by the growing hype around psychedelic psychotherapy as a miracle cure and the hope this awakens in suffering and vulnerable people. The growing “psychedelic tourism” sector is one expression of this hype. Analysing the sociological elements of internal colonialism will shed light on this issue. A decolonizing ethic will be varied and radically contextual, rethinking relations of power old and new, in order to do justice to these themes and to provide better philosophical frameworks for the design of public policies focused on decriminalisation, harm reduction and management of pleasures. Decolonial ethics within psychedelic studies can encourage critical thinking regarding the power relations embedded in the clinical and spiritual uses of psychedelic organisms at a large-scale medicalisation.BIOGRAPHYProf. Christine Hauskeller is a philosopher at the University of Exeter with training in sociology and psychology. Her research interests include a range of topics in Moral Philosophy and Empirical Ethics, Feminist Philosophy and Decolonizing Approaches; Frankfurt School Critical Theory, Philosophy of Medicine and the Life Sciences (especially psychedelic psychotherapy, genetics and stem cell research), as well as Science and Technology Studies.
Claudia Schwarz Plaschg - Decolonizing psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy through relational ethics Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukDecolonizing psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy through relational ethics in the clinic?The development of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in clinical trials has accelerated in recent years, making the regulatory approval of this new type of therapy in the US and Europe likely within the next few years. The great enthusiasm accompanying the psychedelic revival in the clinic has, however, been slightly disturbed by stories about abuses of power in clinical trials and underground therapy communities. These stories raise serious ethical issues and highlight that instead of following the idealizing narrative of ego dissolution as a magic bullet for psychological healing, boundary-dissolving psychedelic experiences might necessitate an adaptation of existing ethical approaches in psychotherapy. In this talk I will explore which ethical issues are currently identified in studies on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, and how they are tackled mainly through mechanisms deriving from established Western moral theories such as deontology and utilitarianism with their overemphasis on reason. I argue that the discussion about ethics in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy could serve as an ideal entry point for a decolonizing lens by integrating Indigenous ethics with feminist care ethics into a broader relational approach. What could a decolonized understanding of caring offer for creating responsible relationalities in and through psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy settings?BIOGRAPHYDr Claudia Schwarz-Plaschg is a social scientist, activist, and science communicator based in Vienna, Austria. She is currently a digital visiting scholar in the Social Dimensions of Biomedicine Lab at the University of Edinburgh. In her research and praxis, she dives into the socio-political dynamics of (re-)emerging scientific fields and technologies, ethical and legal issues, the role of psychedelics and healing modalities in society, gender studies and feminism, social movements and community building, and the entanglements of science, spirituality, and art.
Maziyar Ghiabi - The epistemology of the intoxicated: some thoughts from the Islamicate world Breaking Convention 2023-07-13 | Please support our work and enable us to continue to share these talks for free by donating at www.paypal.me/breakingconventionukThe epistemology of the intoxicated: some thoughts from the Islamicate worldIn this presentation, I aim to unearth a historical and epistemic figure of intoxication from thirteenth-century Iran, known as the rend. I argue that the rend embodies an ethics-of-life that bears the potential to move our understanding of intoxication beyond West-centric scripts. It is an experiment in thinking intoxication as a form of world building, showing how non-Western knowledge and practice made other realities—and experiences —possible. In this way, I position the Islamicate world beyond the myths of the quintessential intoxicated Orient or as the inherent space of religious prohibitions. Rather than contention with existing critical scholarship, this article tries to air and ground the possibilities of new conversations about intoxication and human experience by reclaiming the historical and ethical potentials of unorthodox lives in the Islamicate world. In turn, this approach attempts to take the study of intoxication and drugs beyond the question of objects, commodities, assemblages, or “lost and unheard voices” and to traverse into ambiguous territories where our understanding of intoxication involves a form of life, not a judgement.BIOGRAPHYDr Maziyar Ghiabi is Wellcome Senior Lecturer in Medical Humanities and Politics at the University of Exeter and the Director of the Centre for Persianate and Iranian Studies (CPIS) at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (IAIS). He works on the politics of health by mobilising historical, ethnographic and visual methodologies through a transdisciplinary approach. Over the past 15 years he has carried out archival and ethnographic fieldwork in Iran and Lebanon as well as in/on South and Central América, Central Asia and North Africa. Maziyar's first monograph, Drugs Politics: Managing Disorder in the Islamic Republic of Iran (Cambridge University Press, 2019), was awarded the Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA) Nikki Keddie Award for best book on 'revolution, society and/or religion'. He is the Principal Investigator of a Wellcome University Award on Living 'addiction' in states of disruption: a transdisciplinary approach to drug consumption and recovery in the Middle East (2021-2026). Prior to joining Exeter, Maziyar held research and teaching positions at the departments of Development Studies at SOAS, the Paris School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (aka EHESS), the Oriental Institute at Oxford University, and SciencesPO. He completed his MPhil and DPhil degree in Politics at Oxford, St Antony’s College in 2017. Maziyar has produced research output in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, and Farsi. His forthcoming book co-authored with Billie Jeanne Brownlee is titled States without People under contract with McGill-Queen’s University Press (2024).
