"I'm Here, Aren't I?" (Debunking Plant Medicine <Mis>information, Myths, and Lies)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOnENVylxPI&ab_channel=AnthonyKalamut

I grew up in an era believing that any substance the government deemed dangerous would fry my brain. They called these dangerous substances, illicit drugs. I, along with millions of others who viewed such television commercials, grew up believing blatant misinformation (and propaganda), causing us to live in even more fear.

No doubt, there are some illicit drugs which can and will destroy one’s health, their life, and personal finances. Obviously, there is nothing good about heroin, crack cocaine, crystal meth, and many other super addictive substances which kill people. I get it.

But not all drugs are illicit. Take psychedelics for instance. Commonly referred to as hallucinogens, they are a ‘class’ of psychoactive substances that produce changes in perception, mood, and cognition, the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

It’s been scientifically proven that psychedelics affect all human senses. They can alter a person’s thinking, sense of time and emotional state. They can also produce experiences that may not physically exist or are distorted perceptions of reality. There are different kinds of psychedelics. Some like ayahuasca (‘vine of the soul’), psilocybin (‘magic mushrooms’), and cannabis (‘marijuana’) occur naturally, found in trees, vines, seeds, fungi and leaves. Evidence of their use has been well documented worldwide, found painted on prehistoric cave walls, colorfully drawn pictures on ancient manuscripts, carved as rock sculptures, or made into primitive art pieces and jewelry.

Other psychedelics are made in laboratories, substances like LSD (derived from the ergot fungus), DMT (often called the ‘spirit molecule’—it is the main active ingredient found in ayahuasca, traditionally prepared by using two plants called Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis), and Ketamine, which like MDMA is chemically synthesized.

Of course, in the modern era, Ken Kesey’s LSD-fueled bus trip created the psychedelic 60’s, causing more harm to the perception of psychedelics than the reality of them. Ancient practices aside, psychedelics have inspired new hope for treating brain disorders and mental illness. They are showing broad therapeutic potential and efficacy for treating people who suffer from depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse disorders, alcohol addiction, anxiety disorders, brain injuries, among others.

The time for stopping misinformation and increasing valid education about psychedelics is now. It’s up to us, people who have used them to heal, to speak out collectivity about their legitimate benefits, some lifesaving. Without them, I would not be here. I was that guy who called a suicide hotline for help to come down from the ledge. Chronic insomnia and angry mood swings, resulting from an alcohol-fueled traffic accident a few years earlier, took me down into that dark emotional abyss. The proverbial cocktail of legal anti-depressant drugs, prescribed to control my erratic emotional states and sleep patterns, only made things worse, I became even more suicidal.

Not until I found a medical doctor who could prescribe alternative plant medicines, did things turnaround for the better. Pharmaceutical-grade CBD compounds (or cannabidiol, the second most active prevalent active ingredient in cannabis), helped to control my insomnia. This allowed my brain to get the rest I badly needed to heal the damaged parts. Later, psilocybin micro-dosing helped me with my mood swings, making me more emotionally stable. My plant medicine treatments worked, they brought me through the darkest, most desperate, moments of my life.

Currently, I no longer take CBDs and only use psilocybin as an occasional positive-mood enhancer. My sleep patterns are normal, usually getting between 6-8 hours a night; my drastic mood swings no longer occur; I have a real handle on my anger, and suicidal ideation is no longer a thought. These days, I think about my future, how I can help others to heal, and to make the world a better, a much mentally healthier place. It starts with the truth, telling our real-life healing stories, true facts that de-bunk the misinformation, myths, and outright lies about plant medicines and psychedelics.

I’m here, aren’t I? And, my brain is not fried! ????