by Veronica Castillo
“Know thyself—and know your medicine. As with any important new relationship in your life, take your time getting to know each other, learn your dose, and get familiar with the fundamentals of “set and setting.” – Zoe Helene, Cosmic Sister
Known as a “class of drugs” psychedelics are defined as: a hallucinogenic class of psychoactive drug whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness and psychedelic experiences, via serotonin 2A receptor agonism.
They are natures medicine, and a few of them include:
Psilocybin/magic mushrooms: found in about 180 species of mushrooms that contain the chemicals psilocybin. Mushrooms have been used in native or religious practices for centuries.
DMT: sound in many plants, used in spiritual practices in South America, and similar to psilocybin, DMT is an alkaloid found in psilocybin mushrooms.
Ayahuasca: also known as the tea, the vine, and la purga — is a brew made from the leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub. The drink is/was used for spiritual and religious purposes.
LSD: also known as acid, is derived from a fungus that grows on rye and other grains and mirrors the chemical structure of serotonin.
Psychedelics are friends because, though the American government made the masses fearful with their Schedule 1 ridiculousness, psychedelic plants do in fact heal, more than just diagnosed conditions. Zoe Helene Cultural activist, Founder of Cosmic Sister (@CosmicSister), and originator of the term “Psychedelic Feminism,”, says this about what psilocybin does for her:
“Psilocybin mushrooms have helped me understand and appreciate my place in nature on a deep soul level, by showing me how I play a part in Gaia’s eco-system—and that even if it’s a microscopic role when compared to the vast universe, all roles are genuinely important.”
Psychedelics are medicine and research is proving it. Recently, Yale News, discussed new research by Yale, confirming the lingering mood benefits of psychedelics:
“The team found that people who recently took psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin, more commonly known as magic mushrooms, were more likely to report having “transformative experiences”, so profound that they came out of the experience radically changed, including changes to their moral values. Transformative experiences, in turn, were associated with feelings of social connectedness and positive mood.”