BACKGROUND: The ceremonial use of psychoactive/hallucinogenic plant based drugs, such as ayahuasca, psilocybin and others, is a growing trend in the United States (US) and globally. To date, there has been little research documenting how many people are using psychoactive substances in this context, who the users are, what benefits/risks exist in the use of these drugs and the relationship...
Since the mid 1990's a number of publications have appeared in the UK and Europe and stimulated interest in a number of psychoactive plants native to South and Central America that had previously been relatively obscure outside of their places of origin. While information describing the effects of these together with extraction techniques was widely available, the plants themselves remained...
The central proposition of this article is that if people are thoughtful, well-prepared and aware of the means and best environments for using a particular drug, then the risks associated with the use of a particular drug – any drug – can be minimal. The types of drugs discussed in this context focus on those assumed to be the most ‘addictive’ – heroin and cocaine – to those less well-known but...
Since being classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine; "ecstasy") has been the subject of controversy regarding its potential therapeutic usage, increased use by young people in the "Rave" culture, and issues of potential neurotoxicity. This review article summarizes much of the animal and human studies of the general behavioral effects of...