OPEN Foundation

Day: 1 October 2017

The relationships of classic psychedelic use with criminal behavior in the United States adult population

October 1, 2017 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Other subjects, Papers, Psychology, Publications, Sociology / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

Criminal behavior exacts a large toll on society and is resistant to intervention. Some evidence suggests classic psychedelics may inhibit criminal behavior, but the extent of these effects has not been comprehensively explored. In this study, we tested the relationships of classic psychedelic use and psilocybin use per se with criminal behavior among over 480,000 United States adult respondents pooled from the last 13 available years of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2002 through 2014) while controlling for numerous covariates. Lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with a reduced odds of past year larceny/theft (aOR = 0.73 (0.65-0.83)), past year assault (aOR = 0.88 (0.80-0.97)), past year arrest for a property crime (aOR = 0.78 (0.65-0.95)), and past year arrest for a violent crime (aOR = 0.82 (0.70-0.97)). In contrast, lifetime illicit use of other drugs was, by and large, associated with an increased odds of these outcomes. Lifetime classic psychedelic use, like lifetime illicit use of almost all other substances, was associated with an increased odds of past year drug distribution. Results were consistent with a protective effect of psilocybin for antisocial criminal behavior. These findings contribute to a compelling rationale for the initiation of clinical research with classic psychedelics, including psilocybin, in forensic settings.
Hendricks, P. S., Crawford, M. S., Cropsey, K. L., Copes, H., Sweat, N. W., Walsh, Z., & Pavela, G. (2017). The relationships of classic psychedelic use with criminal behavior in the United States adult population. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 0269881117735685.
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N,N-dimethyltryptamine and the pineal gland: Separating fact from myth

October 1, 2017 / DMT, Mystical experiences, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Publications / By /

Abstract

The pineal gland has a romantic history, from pharaonic Egypt, where it was equated with the eye of Horus, through various religious traditions, where it was considered the seat of the soul, the third eye, etc. Recent incarnations of these notions have suggested that N,N-dimethyltryptamine is secreted by the pineal gland at birth, during dreaming, and at near death to produce out of body experiences. Scientific evidence, however, is not consistent with these ideas. The adult pineal gland weighs less than 0.2 g, and its principal function is to produce about 30 µg per day of melatonin, a hormone that regulates circadian rhythm through very high affinity interactions with melatonin receptors. It is clear that very minute concentrations of N,N-dimethyltryptamine have been detected in the brain, but they are not sufficient to produce psychoactive effects. Alternative explanations are presented to explain how stress and near death can produce altered states of consciousness without invoking the intermediacy of N,N-dimethyltryptamine.
Nichols, D. E. (2017). N, N-dimethyltryptamine and the pineal gland: Separating fact from myth. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 0269881117736919.
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30 April - Q&A with Rick Strassman

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