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Rain gently patters the leaves outside of the forest hut deep within the forest of the ancient Amazon. A shaman humming an alien yet familiar tune hands you a wooden cup containing a deep maroon liquid, a light steam coming off its surface. The smell of wet earth fills your nostrils as the shaman gently places his hand underneath, urging you to drink until your cup is empty. This is your third helping, and you hand it back to him and he begins to fill it again. Your family shakes and rattles bundles of leaves called chakapas, which rhythmically accompany the shaman’s deep encaptivating melody. As you continue to drink, a euphoric sensation blossoms across your body, your abdomen filling with butterflies.

Haley Dourron is a Ph.D. candidate in the Drug Use and Behavior Lab at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her research focuses on the neurophenomenological effects of psychedelics and their potential for inducing lasting behavioral changes. Haley pioneered the creation of IPN’s PsychedelX program in 2020 and 2021 along with the rest of IPN’s Research and Professional Development team (now called IPN Labs). Currently, she is working on a pioneering psilocybin-assisted therapy trial for cocaine dependence. Haley’s work also delves into the parallels between psychedelic-induced states and psychosis, contributing to innovative approaches in mental health treatment. Explore her research publications here: Haley Maria Dourron – Google Scholar.

“It was my destiny to join a great experience”- This quote by Herman Hesse welcomed attendees to the 2023 biannual Psychedelic Science Conference hosted by MAPS in Denver, Colorado. Like hundreds of others in the crowd, I was filled with excitement and awe at being present for the world’s largest gathering of psychedelic enthusiasts.

A setting sun paints the San Diegan marine clouds a pastel palette as onlookers atop a coastal bluff wait for the famous green flash. Down below on the beach two gentlemen anticipate a different flash. Both have exited their wheelchairs for seats on the sand, the beach a purposeful setting for a ritual they’ve practiced before. They’ve ingested psilocybin-containing mushrooms and, while the Pacific Southwest is surely a beautiful natural setting they might aim to reflect into the mindset they’re about to occupy, there is a more profane reason they’ve come to the beach.

In this spooky Halloween-themed blog post, we explore some of the most disturbing and shocking cases of psychedelic use gone wrong. From cults to MKUltra, these stories will make you think twice about psychedelic stereotypes!

In the corner of the dark, cold storage room of my family’s basement, a collection of fascinating books awaits. Broadly about altered states of consciousness, but mostly about psychedelics, this collection covers the history, science, and cultural impact of psychedelics and altered states. Almost entirely non-fiction – with the exception of the semi-fictional narrative portions of PIHKAL and TIHKAL – the collection contains diverse formats, including hardcopies, paperbacks, digital copies, a signed copy, and limited-edition publications. Stacked precariously on top of a dresser, they await their next psychedelic-curious reader. This is their story.

Psychedelics allow us to move away from this three-dimensional world – a place where we usually only believe what our five senses can perceive, where time plays out in chronological order, where our logical minds usually lead us to answers, and where we usually rely on proof and data over intuition – to a place of logical fallacy, mystery, wonder, magic, dreams, oneness, fullness, and more fantastical ideas.

As I continued deeper into NIO-5, my direct experience became akin to watching the falling of leaves. Just as my gaze cannot dictate the spin of falling leaves, I could not dictate movements of my body – yet, I moved forward.

As the ship approached NIO-5, the engine was turned off, allowing the ship’s inertia to carry it to the destination on the surface. Despite my best efforts to cultivate psychological poise in the face of this journey, I was occupied with a nervous habit of clicking my teeth together in a repeating pattern: twice on the left, once on the right, and three times altogether.