Aug 5, 2023
Kevin Feeney, PhD, joins me for a conversation
He is a cultural anthropologist and lawyer currently working as a Program Director and Senior Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Studies – Social Sciences at Central Washington University. His primary research interests include examining legal and regulatory issues surrounding the religious and cultural use of psychoactive substances, with an emphasis on peyote and ayahuasca, and exploring modern and traditional uses of the Amanita Muscaria mushroom, with a specific focus on medicinal use and preparation practices.
His research has been published in many journals such as the International Journal of Drug Policy, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs and many more. He is a member of Chacruna’s Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants, and recently joined the Board of Advisors for Psyched Wellness, a Canadian health supplements company emphasizing medicinal mushrooms.
This episode is largely around Amanita Muscaria. Topics like Microdosing, interesting medical history, potential in helping those with autism due to ibotenic acid being somewhat an analog to glutamate in the brain, and so more more. We chat about cultural uses a bit, though in the shownotes there’s a link to another podcast with Kevin that does a great dive more on the cultural history and use of Amanita around the world.
We also talk about both the excitement of the mainstreaming of psychedelic therapy and our worries and hopes for the future.
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His book, Fly Agaric: A Compendium of History, Pharmacology, Mythology & Exploration
Autism on Acid (always best to try to find these books not on Amazon but they are there too)