Guest speaker: Alicia Danforth
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PROGRAM NOTES:

Alicia Danforth, who is Dr. Charles Grob’s research assistant, leads a Playalogue at the 2007 Burning Man Festival. In this wide-ranging group conversation, Alicia skillfully guided our eclectic audience through the intricacies of FDA-approved psychedelic research.

“I’m hoping to spark ideas in other people’s minds about what can be done to get a foothold in advancing psychedelic research.” –Alicia Danforth

“I tend to think of music [in a therapeutic psychedelic session] as a little boat you can hop on when you’re journeying and ride to wherever you need to go.” –Alicia Danforth

ALSO SEE:
Ecstasy : The Complete Guide : A Comprehensive Look at the Risks and Benefits of MDMA by Julie Holland, M.D.

Guest speaker: Charles S. Grob, M.D.
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PROGRAM NOTES:

(Minutes : Seconds into program)
03:20 Charlie talks about how he got into psychedelic research.

07:47 Charlie: “My interest has always been in studying the potential therapeutic effects of MDMA. I’ve always had concerns about use and abuse of the recreationally drug ecstasy. Now early on in the history of this drug, ecstasy was almost always MDMA, but over the years there has been more and more drug substitutions, to the point where now with ecstasy I think there’s less reliability in regards to it being the drug you think it is than for any other drug I’m aware of.”

09:25 Charlie describes the process of obtaining approval to conduct clinical research using psychedelic drugs.
» Continue reading “Podcast 096 – “Psychedelic Research, MDMA Safety Issues, and more””

Guest speaker: Dr. Preet Chopra
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PROGRAM NOTES:

(Minutes : Seconds into program)

02:56 Preet describes the study he is working on at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center where he and Dr. Charles Grob are giving psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) to end-stage cancer patients who are also suffering from anxiety.

05:17 A description of the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the study.

11:01 Preet takes us through a typical session with a study participant.

12:04 “According to some of the research that was done before prohibition, it was found that people who had more internal experiences were more likely to get the psychological intervention we’re going for with this.”

24:03 “In my treatments as a psychiatrist I’ve never treated a psychedelic addiction. I’ve treated a lot of addicts who are addicted to a lot of stuff and who also used psychedelics, but that [psychedelic addiction] has never come into my emergency room or office.”
» Continue reading “Podcast 088 – “Status of Psilocybin Study at Harbor-UCLA””

Guest speaker: Dr. Charles Grob
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PROGRAM NOTES:

A talk by Dr. Charles Grob in July 2005. The topic was his current FDA-approved research project using the active ingredient from “magic mushrooms” to treat anxiety in cancer patients.