Psychedelic medicine, presently, has a great PR campaign for their legitimation and eventual integration into clinical medicine.
With millions of dollars being funded into clinical research and event the recent opening of two psychedelic-focuses research centers — in Baltimore, Maryland and London, England — and the soon to launch a campaign to legislative Psilocybin Services in Oregon it seems clear that the future for psychedelic medicine is looking very bright.
The science and clinical research has played an indispensable role in this process, yet there is another realm of support that has played an important role as well: anecdotal reports. We, as reasonable thinkers on any subject, would do well not to take anecdote as fact and in the era of ‘search engine medicine,’ it is all too easy to fall prey to sloppy thinking and covert advertising that use anecdote as evidence for the absolute efficacy of this “cure” or the next. That said, the stories of people whose lives have been transformed by psychedelics come in such vast quantities that reasons dictate we take those stories seriously and I don’t doubt it was those droves of anecdotes that helped support the early science to start taking a serious look at this medicines again.
Now, let’s slide a bit from there because if you are a family participant in Adventures Through The Mind, you are likely well familiar with the current reporting trend on psychedelic medicine and perhaps, like myself, a bit tired of re-reading the same overview of the so-called renaissance over and over again. Where I want to slide is specifically into obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCD, and the potentials of psychedelics to treat it.
Some science refers to it, but we don’t hear much talk about it as the research simply isn’t being done on psychedelics for that specific illness, just yet. However, discussion of treating OCD with psychedelic medicines is getting some serious traction over the last couple of years because of the many anecdotal reports coming out of the underground. That said, there is one report that has gone way above ground and has gotten some severe mainstream press. That report is from Adam Strauss, and it’s a highly-regarded, one-man called The Mushroom Cure, starring Strauss himself.
The Mushroom Cure is the true story of how Adam Strauss treated his debilitating OCD with psychedelics. The New York Times said it “minesagreatdeal of laughter from disabling pain,” Time Out New York called it “riveting; a true-life tour de force” and named it aCritics‘ Pick, and the Chicago Tribune gave it 3.5/4 stars and called it “arrestingly honest and howlingly funny.” The show won the New York Fringe Festival’s Overall Excellence Award and the Eddy Award for Best Solo Performance in the San Francisco Bay Area and has enjoyed extended, sold-out runs in NYC, San Francisco, and Chicago, as well as shorter engagements throughout the US. The Mushroom Cure is sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).
Adam Strauss is on the show for this episode to dive into the painful lived experience of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and what it was, exactly, that psychedelics did for him that helped him regain agency over his life.
SEE ADAM STRAUSS’ THE MUSHROOM CURE AND/ATTEND MAPPING THE MIND, BOTH IN TORONTO
here is where you can learn more about Adam Strauss, his solo shows and his comedy. He also has a bunch of links to various other media, interviews, and videos. If you are looking especially for The Mushroom Cure, click here.
SEE ADAM STRAUSS’ THE MUSHROOM CURE AND/ATTEND MAPPING THE MIND, BOTH IN TORONTO
*** Big thanks to my patrons on Pateron for helping keep this podcast alive! Especially, Thomas & Melanie H, Clea S, Steven B, James R, Dean H, Joe A, Andy D, Stephen B, Angela & James J, Ian C, David W, Don J, Yvett FC,, nn-Madeleine, & Cornelius Phlegmbottom
The Mushroom Cure is the true story of how Adam Strauss treated his debilitating OCD with psychedelics. The New York Times said it “mines a great deal of laughter from disabling pain,” Time Out New York called it “riveting; a true-life tour de force” and named it a Critics‘ Pick, and the Chicago Tribune gave it 3.5/4 stars and called it “arrestingly honest and howlingly funny.” The show won the New York Fringe Festival’s Overall Excellence Award and the Eddy Award for Best Solo Performance in the San Francisco Bay Area and has enjoyed extended, sold-out runs in NYC, San Francisco, and Chicago, as well as shorter engagements throughout the US. The Mushroom Cure is sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).
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