Vancouver Cannabis Conference 2015 website

http://vancouvercannabisconference.com/

 

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-june-8-2014-1.3104270/scientists-push-to-renew-psychedelic-drug-research-for-psychiatry-1.3104349

With David Nutt, Mark Haden and Erika Dyck

 

In the 1950s, scientists did serious research into LSD, and other psychedelic drugs.  Some of the studies from that time were ethically problematic. But many of them had encouraging results.

When researching LSD, staff took the drug to stimulate chemical empathy as a proxy to understanding psychosis. (Blek, Flickr cc)

It was the experimentation with LSD outside of hospitals and universities, however, that derailed that sort of research for half-a-century. When LSD became a recreational, counter-culture drug, the entire category of "psychedelics" became stigmatized and serious medical research into those substances all but disappeared.

But now, they are being revisited, and showing new promise in the world of psychiatry.That's thanks in large part to David Nutt. He is a professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College in London, England who is at the forefront of this renewed push to study psychedelic drugs.  He is also the former chief adviser on drug policy to the British government. 

Beyond the U.K., this renewed interest in the use of psychedelics is happening around the world, including here in Canada. Mark Haden is chair of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies Canada and an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia's School of Population and Public Health. We reached him in Vancouver.

To put the current research into some historical context, we were joined by Erika Dyck. She is Canada Research Chair for the History of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. We reached her in Saskatoon.

 

 

 

 

Hi all,

I read a lot of books on drug policy, and the one I am currently reading is one of the best. It is very hard to put down.  I would highly recommend this as an informative and compelling read.

Cheers,

Mark Haden

 

http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_17?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=chasing+the+scream&sprefix=chasing+the+screa%2Caps%2C275

 

Chasing the Scream: The First And Last Days Of The War On Drugs

by Johann Hari (Author)

It is now one hundred years since drugs were first banned in the United States. On the eve of this centenary, journalist Johann Hari set off on an epic three-year, thirty-thousand-mile journey into the war on drugs. What he found is that more and more people all over the world have begun to recognize three startling truths: Drugs are not what we think they are. Addiction is not what we think it is. And the drug war has very different motives to the ones we have seen on our TV screens for so long.

In Chasing the Scream, Hari reveals his discoveries entirely through the stories of people across the world whose lives have been transformed by this war. They range from a transsexual crack dealer in Brooklyn searching for her mother, to a teenage hit-man in Mexico searching for a way out. It begins with Hari's discovery that at the birth of the drug war, Billie Holiday was stalked and killed by the man who launched this crusade--and it ends with the story of a brave doctor who has led his country to decriminalize every drug, from cannabis to crack, with remarkable results.

Chasing the Scream lays bare what we really have been chasing in our century of drug war--in our hunger for drugs, and in our attempt to destroy them. This book will challenge and change how you think about one of the most controversial--and consequential--questions of our time.

 

Psychedelic

Psychotherapy

From the Couch to the Cosmos

With:

 

Gabor Maté, Andrew Feldmar, Yalila Espinoza, Mark Haden, Kenneth Tupper,

Richard Yensen, Donna Dryer, Bruce Tobin, and more...

After nearly 40 years of prohibition, a new wave of research has emerged in the past decade

exploring the efficacy of psychedelic substances (LSD, Ibogaine, Ayahuasca, MDMA and

Psilocybin) in the treatment of addictions, trauma, PTSD, end of life anxiety, and depression.

This groundbreaking and interactive forum provides opportunities to engage with

researchers, academics, and therapists from a variety of disciplines

whose interest in this field is changing the face of psychotherapy.

To encourage early registrations, we have just launched a special offer – paid
registrants in the month of June will qualify for $35 off a single floatation
session at Float House – valid in their Victoria as well as Vancouver locations.
In addition, we have introduced a special student rate of $195 + GST for the
full forum (Oct 2 – 3).

At this point, where our focus is marketing/promotions of the forum, we would
appreciate the following:

- listing your participation in this event on your website/associated websites;
linking to http://www.psychedelicpsychotherapy.ca – if appropriate
- posting/distributing this forum flyer at schools/universities/locations where
you may be giving a presentation; or other locations (attached)
- forwarding info about this forum to your network via social media/email etc.

Kevin Parker, MA, RCC
Integral Counselling BC
Nanaimo & North Vancouver
Tel: 250-323-3233, 778-918-2188
http://www.integralcounsellingbc.com


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