The Psychedelic Handbook: A practical guide to Psilocybin, LSD, Ketamine, MDMA, and DMT/Ayahuasca

This week's book hit my radar courtesy of The Joe Rogan Experience, when he had author Dr. Rick Strassman on, making this week's book The Psychedelic Handbook: A practical guide to Psilocybin, LSD, Ketamine, MDMA, and DMT/Ayahuasca.  

So, let's do this. Actually, let me get disclaimers out of the way. This covers both Dr. Strassman and me. He literally says, in the book, “If you plan to use my book as a resource to help guide others, you should give all of these cautions to the people with whom you work.”  

The psychedelics covered in this book are psilocybin; LSD; mescaline, peyote, or San Pedro; Ketamine; salvinorin A or Salvia divinorum; MDMA; 5-methoxy-DMT aka the venom of the Colorado River/Sonoran Desert Toad; Ibogaine; and DMT or ayahuasca. He is not discussing any other psychedelics. Period. Full stop. Any other drug not specifically mentioned above is NOT being discussed.  

There are possible positive health effects, which are still being evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One, a proprietary blend of Ketamine, has already been approved for use in those with treatment resistant depression. As yet, there is not any scientific evidence supporting claims that micro dosing is helpful. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence, but Dr. Strassman truly is a man of science, and he goes where the science leads. Until studies are approved in regard to micro dosing, it’s all anecdotal.  

As with all things, there are possible negative health effects. If you are under the care of a physician, whether it's for mental health or physical health, discussing your desire to experiment with psychedelics should 100% be discussed with your doctor first. There may be interactions with your existing medication regime, and those interactions can be extremely negative. A lot of people like to paint psychedelics as all rainbows and unicorns...sometimes literally, but the fact is, a very real chemical reaction occurs when you use these. And if you are already altering your body chemistry, whether it’s with anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, or antihistamines, if you are under the care of a doctor, they need to know your intentions. Additionally, if you DO decide to experiment, and something goes awry and you end up in an ER, for the love of God tell the ER doctor what you took. Dr/Patient confidentiality is actually not A Hollywood fiction. And if you don’t tell them what you took, they can’t help you.  

There are very real legal risks to engaging in experimentation with the psychedelics listed herein. All but two of them are classed as schedule 1 controlled substances by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which means it literally does not matter if you live in a city, county, or state that has either decriminalized or even legalized psychedelics. Ultimately, the DEA, under the authority of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, has the ability to throw your butt in jail if you get caught. Additionally, even if you live somewhere where it is legal or decriminalized, if you are a federal contractor or in any way connected to the federal government, use of these substances could cost you your job. So be aware of the legal repercussions of your decisions to experiment. One solid piece of advice in the book: if you are going to experiment, program the telephone number of an attorney versed in drug laws into your phone. Just in case.  

Finally, Dr. Strassman, and myself for that matter, are not in any way shape or form endorsing the use of illicit drugs. He wrote this book following years of both FDA and DEA approved scientific studies. And I am only reading the book and telling you what information is contained herein. Information is still free. Or rather, available. That has not yet been banned by the media or the government, only buried.   

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, what did I learn this week? I learned that Dr. Strassman didn’t just conduct these studies as a scientist. They were scientifically conducted in full legal compliance with the FDA, the National Institute of Health, and the Drug Enforcement Agency, probably because like most of us, he doesn’t want to go to jail. But in addition to being an actual medical doctor, he has also gone through a four-year, intensive course of psychoanalysis, I believe wherein he was the one being analyzed. Additionally, he was raised Jewish and has been a practicing Buddhist for 20 plus years. So, his approach to psychedelics has been holistic in the purist sense of the term, both philosophically, meaning characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole, and medically, meaning characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease.  

And by and large, the results, when taken and studied holistically, are remarkable. The book breaks down specifically what is happening medically, what part of your brain is being activated by the psychedelic, depending on WHICH psychedelic you have taken. And for several of them, I think the most promising being DMT/ayahuasca, although psilocybin may have also been as promising, it actually helps heal traumatic brain injury. Something about the chemical interactions activates your stem cells to start creating new neurons. Which means brain damage as a result of stroke or concussion, could start healing. Several of these psychedelics have proven beneficial to people suffering from PTSD, so much so that I believe it is MDMA that has been approved experimentally for use with the Veterans Administration in counseling veterans.   

I’m throwing in the “could” and “possibly” because the studies are still early on that. But the early indications are really exciting. Ibogaine specifically has been useful in combating drug addiction. Like it stops the urge cold. It was either Psilocybin or DMT that helps with nicotine and alcohol addiction, as well as end of life fear. 

And frankly, the indications are not exactly early. Some of this information is 50 years old, predating the creation of the Controlled Substances Act and the DEA to enforce it. The book covers, sort of, in a roundabout way, why these things are illegal, and the irony is too rich. Basically, it’s all Timothy Leary’s fault. The impact LSD had on him and his call to turn on, tune in, and drop out, led an entire generation to rebel. And in reaction, the government outlawed the substances that were encouraging that rebellion. And now, those rebellious assholes are the ones in congress and rather than overturn the Controlled Substances Act, they want to make damn sure the rest of us don’t rebel against them in turn, and so very helpful “Drugs” are kept on the schedule 1 list. He does break down what the classifications are, and that is also painfully ironic.   

So, schedule I, which includes the classical psychedelics, i.e., mescaline, peyote, San Pedro, LSD, psilocybin, DMT and Ayahuasca, The Toad, and Ibogaine, as well as MDMA and marijuana, are so scheduled because their abuse potential is high, they have no accepted medical use, and even under medical supervision, lack accepted safety. Now, Dr. Strassman points out that literally no one has overdosed on psychedelics alone. This is not to say adverse effects don’t happen and he carefully spells out that a “bad trip” IS an adverse effect. But stories of people overdosing, I think it said occur when the person who overdosed on a psychedelic in conjunction with another substance. Which means, we don’t know if it’s possible to overdose on psychedelics alone. It has literally never been tested. Also why, incidentally, he does not recommend taking a psychedelic in conjunction with alcohol or any other substance. Or rather, one of the reasons. The other reason I’ll get to in a bit.   

And while marijuana is not covered in this book, is there anyone out there who still genuinely believes there is no medical purpose to marijuana?  

Schedule II: how’s this for an example of how thick and corrupt our unelected leaders are? Schedule II includes cocaine, methamphetamines, and fentanyl. These are all characterized as having medical use; in order, eye anesthesia, ADHD treatment, and pain treatment. Still highly prone to abuse, but at least medically recognized.  

Schedule III are less prone to abuse and have accepted medical use. Ketamine falls on this list for its anesthetic properties, although generic ketamine for depression is an off-label use, meaning the patients have to be informed of risks before being prescribed the medicine.  

Schedule IV Controlled Substances: Substances in this schedule have a low potential for abuse relative to substances in Schedule III. Examples of Schedule IV substances include: alprazolam (Xanax®), carisoprodol (Soma®), clonazepam (Klonopin®), clorazepate (Tranxene®), diazepam (Valium®), lorazepam (Ativan®), midazolam (Versed®), temazepam (Restoril®), and triazolam (Halcion®). Nope...no one has ever abused those before... 

 Schedule V: Substances in this schedule have a low potential for abuse relative to substances listed in Schedule IV and consist primarily of preparations containing limited quantities of certain narcotics. 

Examples of Schedule V substances include cough preparations containing not more than 200 milligrams of codeine per 100 milliliters or per 100 grams (Robitussin AC®, Phenergan with Codeine®), and ezogabine.  

So, of the psychedelics discussed in this book, only ketamine and salvinorin A or Salvia divinorum are not Schedule I. Ketamine is Schedule III and Salvinorin A or Salvia Divinorum is not classified. Yet. Individual states may have prohibitions, so google your state to see if that’s legal, but so far, if you want to stay on the right side of a set of bars, salvinorin A is your psychedelic of choice.   

So, we’ve talked about possible benefits, possible negative effects in interactions and bad trips, we’ve talked about the legalese, let's get to the meat and potatoes. He had an entire section describing what you can expect with each type of psychedelic as well as the best way to use it. I'm going to repeat again here, for those who skipped the disclaimers, neither Dr. Strassman nor myself, are endorsing or encouraging this use. However, as Dr. Strassman says, people are going to use psychedelics regardless. So, he wants you all to be safe. And so do I. No one wants to have a bad time, especially if your goal is to seek a better mental head space. So be safe if you are going to experiment. 

 And then is, what I think, is the most important chapter. How to Trip. Dr. Strassman says repeatedly throughout this book that there are three things that are paramount when deciding whether or when to use psychedelics. Set, Setting, and Dose. And by far, the most important of these is Set.  

Set is our psychological, physical, and spiritual state, as well as our intention, when deciding to trip. Psychologically, where is your head at? Again, if you are under the care of a therapist, especially one who is medically licensed to and has prescribed you medication for whatever you are being treated for, it is crucial that you discuss your desire to use psychedelics with them to avoid adverse interactions. Similarly, if you are under the care of a specific provider for health conditions, talk to your doctor. Some psychedelics can cause heart palpitations or increased blood pressure. If you are on medication for high blood pressure, for example, your doctor needs to know your intentions. But if you’re not on any medications and reasonably healthy, then how is your spiritual state? Note, no one is saying you should talk to a priest or have a come-to-Jesus moment before tripping. But generally, Dr. Strassman has found that those who believe in SOMETHING have a more profound experience than those who believe in nothing. And then intention: what do you hope to get out of this? And will you be ok if you don’t get it? I mean, if you are going on a DMT trip expecting to converse with otherworldly beings, and they DON’T show up, is this going to crush you? Or will you take whatever the experience offers and learn from it?   

Setting is where will you be during the trip? Will you be at home? In nature? There are pros and cons to both, and Dr. Strassman discusses this, as well as why you might want a sober sitter to watch over you in case of adverse effects.   

And then finally dose, which is not necessarily a simple thing to calculate, especially when trying to determine full dose or micro dose.   

Overall, I think this book was highly informative. A little frustrating when you consider the power the DEA has; but however much I might rail about the unelected bureaucrats who run the country, ultimately, it’s constitutional. Look, quick civics lesson here for my libertarian family. Congress I.e., the legislative branch, passes the law, in this case the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The president, I.e., the executive, then has to execute the law. In the case of President Nixon and every president since, this means outsourcing enforcement to the DEA. So, what can you do?   

While marijuana is still Schedule I, 21 states have fully legalized it. And the DEA hasn’t really pushed too hard on that one. In 2005, when only 11 states had legalized for medical US, the US Supreme court heard a case on this matter, Gonzalez v Raich, and voted 6 to 3 that medical marijuana was still illegal. But given the state’s 10th amendment push to ignore the court's ruling and popular opinion in general, the DEA has mostly ignored state legal dispensaries. So, they might do the same for psychedelics, as they gain popular traction. But if you think psychedelics should be legalized, reach out to your congress critters, both house of representatives and senators.

It ain’t much, those self-centered assholes really don’t want we the people seeing what they saw that made them rebel in the 60’s. But maybe we can force the issue? But seriously, if congress legalizes and the president doesn’t veto, then the DEA can’t do anything about it. Just something to think about before the next election cycle. Hell, even if you don’t ever intend to use psychedelics yourself, why do you care what someone else does?  

Anyway, I can’t use psychedelics. I’m working towards my Federal Firearms License, and I’m pretty sure that unless they’re federally legalized, being a known user of psychedelics will preclude my obtaining that goal. But you all have fun out there. Read this book and stay safe with your experiments.... if you experiment. Again, not endorsing or encouraging, just putting the information out there.

This book was originally reviewed on YouTube on December 4, 2022, but is now available on Rumble and PodBean.