The Psychedelic Handbook: A Practical Guide to Psilocybin, LSD, Ketamine, MDMA, and DMT/Ayahuasca

by Rick Strassman

Overview

Learn everything you need to know about psychedelics with this ultimate guide packed with information on popular psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, ketamine, MDMA, DMT and LSD—plus practical tips for microdosing and how to safely "trip"—from bestselling author Dr. Rick Strassman.

Entering the world of psychedelic drugs can be challenging, and many aren’t sure where to start. As research continues to expand and legalization looms on the horizon for psychedelics like psilocybin, you may need a guide to navigate what psychedelics are, how they work, and their potential benefits and risks.

The Psychedelic Handbook is a complete manual that is accessible to anyone with an interest in these “mind-manifesting” substances. Packed with information on psilocybin, LSD, DMT/ayahuasca, mescaline/peyote, ketamine, MDMA, ibogaine, 5-methoxy-DMT (“the toad”), and Salvia divinorum/salvinorin A, this book is your ultimate reference for understanding the science and history of psychedelics; discovering their potential to treat depression, PTSD, substance abuse, and other disorders, as well as to increase wellness, creativity, and meditation; learning how to safely trip and explaining what we know about microdosing; and recognizing and caring for negative reactions to psychedelics.

Clinical research psychiatrist, founding figure of the American psychedelic research renaissance, and best-selling author of DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Dr. Rick Strassman shares his experience and perspectives as neither advocate nor foe of psychedelics in order to help readers understand the effects of these remarkable drugs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781646043811
Publisher:	Ulysses Press
Publication date:	08/09/2022
Series:	Guides to Psychedelics & More
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

A native of Los Angeles, Rick Strassman obtained his undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Stanford University and his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. He trained in general psychiatry at the UC Davis Medical Center and took a clinical psychopharmacology research fellowship at UC San Diego. At the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, his clinical research team discovered the first known function of melatonin in humans. Between 1990 and 1995, he performed the first new US clinical research with psychedelic drugs in a generation.

From 1995 to 2008, Strassman practiced general psychiatry in community mental health and the private sector. He has authored or coauthored nearly fifty peer-reviewed papers, served as guest editor and reviewer for numerous scientific journals, and consulted various government, nonprofit, and for-profit entities. His book DMT: The Spirit Molecule (2001) has been translated into fourteen languages and is the basis of a successful independent documentary of the same name. Strassman coauthored Inner Paths to Outer Space and is the author of the novel Joseph Levy Escapes Death. He is currently clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the UNM School of Medicine and lives in Gallup, New Mexico.

Table of Contents

Author's Note ix

Preface 1

Introduction 7

Part I What Are Psychedelic Drugs? 11

Chapter 1 What Are Psychedelics? 12

History 12

Set and Setting 16

Human Research Resumes 18

Types of Psychedelic Drugs 19

Physical Effects 20

Psychological Effects 21

The Near-Death and Alien Contact Experiences 23

Chapter 2 The Many Names for Psychedelics: Why They Matter 25

Hallucinogen, Psychotomimetic, and Schizotoxin-Psychedelics and Psychosis 26

Oneirogen: Psychedelics and Dreams 29

Entactogen and Empathogen 30

Entheogen and Mysticomimetic: Psychedelics and Spiritual Experience 31

Psychedelic: Mind Manifesting or Mind Disclosing 34

Again, Set and Setting 35

Chapter 3 What are Psychedelics Good For? What are Their Risks? 37

Potential Benefits 37

Potential Risks 41

Part II How Do Psychedelics Work? 53

Chapter 4 How Psychedelics Work: The Brain 54

How Psychedelics Get Into the Brain 55

Psychedelics and Neuroscience 58

Pharmacology 60

Neuroendocrinology 62

Brain Networks and Connectivity 63

Psychoplastogens 65

Immune and Anti-Inflammatory Effects 67

Chapter 5 How Psychedelics Work: The Mind 69

Freud's Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Model 70

Buddhist Abhidharma Psychology 73

Medieval Metaphysics 75

A Note on the Beings 79

Subjective Experience and Outcome 80

Chapter 6 Psychedelics, Panaceas, Placebos, and Psychoplastogens 83

Panacea and Placebo 84

A Closer Look at Set and Setting 85

Psychedelics and the Placebo Effect 87

Non-Psychedelic Psychoplastogenic Psychedelics 89

Part III The Psychedelic Drugs 93

Chapter 7 Classical Psychedelics 94

Mescaline, Peyote, and San Pedro 94

LSD 99

Psilocybin 101

DMT and Ayahuasca 106

"The Toad"-5-Methoxy-DMT (5-MeO-DMT) 113

Ibogaine 117

Chapter 8 MDMA 122

Psychopharmacology 123

Dose and Routes of Administration 123

Effects/Side Effects 124

Tolerance and Addiction 125

Neurotoxicity 126

Legal 128

Summary 128

Chapter 9 Ketamine 129

Pharmacology 130

Dose and Routes of Administration 131

Subjective Effects 133

Therapeutic Uses 134

Adverse Effects 135

Legal 137

Chapter 10 Salvia Divinorum/Salvinorin A 138

History 138

Chemistry/Pharmacology 139

Dose and Routes of Administration 139

Effects/Side Effects 140

Adverse Effects 141

Legal 141

Part IV Practical Guidelines 143

Chapter 11 How to Trip 144

Long-Term Preparation 145

Short-Term Preparation 147

Health 148

Deciding on Dose 149

Clarifying Intention 150

Last-Minute Plans 151

Setting 152

Tripping with Others 156

The Sitter 158

The Trip 160

The Bad Trip 164

The Research Setting 165

Integration 168

Now What? 170

Chapter 12 Microdosing 172

Microdose Doses 173

Substances 174

Regimen 175

Results from Surveys 176

Clinical Research data 177

Cardiac Effects? 178

Conclusions 178

Chapter 13 The Law 179

The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 179

Decriminalization and Legalization 181

Chapter 14 Final Words 183

Recommended Reading 185

Resources 199

Acknowledgments 202

About the Author 203