The Psychedelic Handbook – Dr. Rick Strassman

Ever wondered about the uses for psychedelic medicines such as LSD, psilocybin, Ayahuasca, and MDMA? How to use them, how to integrate their effects in to your every day life, or what potential health risks there are? Our guest this week – Dr. Rick Strassman – has the answers, fresh off of his marathon 4-hour-long appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience. Well, we only went for 2 hours, but that was a new record for my program.

Following the release of his newest book, The Psychedelic Handbook: A Practical Guide to Psilocybin, LSD, Ketamine, MDMA, and Ayahuasca, Strassman discusses his ideas on the big four and everything in between.

“I think you need to be open-minded about your experiences.”

A native of Los Angeles, Dr. Strassman obtained his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. He trained in general psychiatry at UC Davis in Sacramento and took a clinical psychopharmacology research fellowship at UC San Diego. Joining the faculty at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in 1984, his clinical research with melatonin discovered its first known function in humans. Between 1990-1995 he performed the first new US clinical research with psychedelic drugs in a generation. His studies involved DMT, and to a lesser extent psilocybin, and received federal and private funding. From 1995-2008 he practiced general psychiatry in the community mental health and the private sectors. He has authored or co-authored nearly 50 peer-reviewed papers, has served as guest editor and reviewer for numerous scientific journals and consulted to various government, non-profit, and for-profit entities. 

His book DMT: The Spirit Molecule (2001) has sold more than 250,000 copies, been translated into 14 languages, and is the basis of a successful independent documentary that he co-produced. In 2008, he co-authored Inner Paths to Outer Space. He has also written DMT and the Soul of Prophecy (2014) and his first novel, Joseph Levy Escapes Death, appeared in 2019. His latest book, The Psychedelic Handbook, came out in August 2022. Dr. Strassman is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the UNM School of Medicine and lives in Gallup, New Mexico.

Show notes:

* A visionary in psychedelic medicine, Dr. Rick Strassman

* Leo Zeff and Richard’s interaction with him

* Good vs. evil in the world

* How a medicine that facilitates empathy (MDMA) can bolster racism, misogyny, white supremacy, and hate

* Rick Strassman’s motivation for writing the Psychedelic Handbook

* The four major psychedelic medicines

* Ketamine for treatment-resistant depression and other conditions

* The difference between a “guide” and a “sitter”

* The benefits of psilocybin and LSD

* The risk of coming unraveled

* Richard’s experience with DMT and the universe

* The hallmark of any full psychedelic experience is that it is more real than real

* Marijuana paranoia

* The cardiovascular effects of MDMA

* Stimulated imagination that comes from psychedelics

* Is "psychedelic tourism" safe?

* Salvia Divinorum

* The importance of reading, studying psychology, and religion

* Three important questions to ask yourself when taking psychedelics

* Micro-dosing

* Let’s talk integration

Links and references:

* Psychedelic Wisdom

* Psychedelic Medicine

* Secret Chief Revealed (Leo Zeff)

* The Psychedelic Handbook

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