Editor’s Letter
The return of psychedelic medicine
COVID-19 has played a significant role in the rise of mental health issues. Promising studies and destigmatization are making psychedelics an increasingly viable treatment for conditions such as PTSD, depression and addiction. The use of substances listed below, should only be used after consultation with your health care provider, and taken in a supervised setting, if the law in your country allows.
Psychedelic medicine such as peyote (Lophophora williamsii); datura (Datura stramonium); psilocybin mushrooms (magic mushrooms) and the seeds of morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor) have been used for thousands of years by Native Americans, the Algonquin people from Eastern Canada, the Huichol and Tarahumara (indigenous people from Mexico) and pre-Mayan cultures.
Bwiti practitioners in Western Africa and the tribes of Gabon conducted ceremonies for at least 1 000 years using Iboga. The Bushmen of Botswana used kwashi (Pancratium trianthum) juice rubbed into incisions into tribesman scalp. San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus pachanoi) has been used in Peru since 1 300 BCE and the ayahuasca brew was used by indigenous groups in Peru, Brazil, and other South American countries since at least 1 000 AD.
In 1970 US president Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act into law, effectively eliminating the scientific study of the effects of psychedelics. In 1986, the non-profit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies was founded, representing the return of the field of psychedelic medicine. Uncovering the potential of psychedelic medicine is something we will definitely follow up on. For now, we invite you to read the article on ayahuasca in this week’s newsletter.
THANK YOU TO OUR EXPERTS
Our authors receive no payment or any other form of remuneration from us or from the industry. They take time out from their busy schedules to write articles – and then we insist that they meet our deadlines, submit extra references, answer endless queries from reviewers and copy editors, and respond to the letters we receive from you, our readers. Here’s to all of them! May their tireless and tremendous efforts bring them well-deserved rewards.
Yours in Healthy Living
A Dedication to Margaret Roberts
Table of Contents ↑|Margaret Roberts, our queen of hearts and herbs, an expert on our panel for over 10 years and much-loved and respected herbal pioneer. Her passion for plants is reflected in the diverse range of culinary, aromatic and medicinal herbs she cultivated and shared with people both locally and internationally.
Say No! To Nasties in Cosmetics
Table of Contents ↑|The many beauty products available to us come in pretty packaging, but don’t be fooled – wise up and check those labels for the chemical nasties lurking in the ingredients that will only do long-term harm to both you and the environment.
Raise Your Energy Levels with Yoga
Table of Contents ↑|There are many different yoga styles, as there are hundreds of various yoga postures. Each style and posture has its own set of benefits and reasons why it is a valuable and a ‘feel good’ exercise for your body, mind and soul.
Our Allergic Pet Epidemic
Table of Contents ↑|More dogs visit the vet for skin allergies than for any other health problem. In fact, some vets have gone so far as to call it an allergy epidemic.
Ayahuasca – Spirit Plant Medicine Divine
Table of Contents ↑|The name Ayahuasca means ‘vine of the soul’. Long used in religious and healing ceremonies by the shamans of the Western Amazonian tribes, the plant has hallucinatory and visionary effects and stimulates powerfully transcendent experiences. Laura Jones tells about her journey to Peru in search of healing.
Understanding Addiction in Children and Adolescents
Table of Contents ↑|Addictive behaviour has become one of the most critical socio-cultural problems of our time affecting children as much as adults. Never before has a civilisation been affected by addictive tendencies as is happening today, and never has addiction affected children as much as it is doing so today.
