Hi people!

My name is Mickael and I'm from Quebec, Canada. I've done a bunch of psychedelics and other drugs and my next goal is Iboga TA - I'm actually waiting to get promoted to ask information about TA.

I am deeply interested in the benefits drugs may have, and I share the vision of erowid. I actually wear that erowid orange sweatshirt everyday at my job, which tells a lot about how I see drugs.

I know that psychedelic drugs aren't always benefical, even when you do want to get healing from the drug. Intention is not enough by itself! I've learned that taking a ridiculously high dose is unbeneficial and may even prevent any healing and/or insight, other than the insight that it isn't beneficial .

While I now rarely take any drug, I still have a few more goals in mind. They are: a peyote retreat, an ayahuasca retreat, chewing coca leaves at least once, and taking Iboga TA, which I will likely do within 3 weeks.


All in all it will be a pleasure to chat, learn from you and share what I've learned.

Hi dustrust,

Welcome to the nexus. Thanks for the introduction, it was a nice read. It is a fascinating subject - the benefits of these entheogens we are studying here. I have a lot of hope that prohibition is only a temporary thing and that one day we will look back on these laws and think "how draconian they were back then"... Things are moving forward and research is being conducted in favor of entheogens, so hopefully in the not all too distant future more and more people will stop swallowing the fear-fed propaganda that anti-drug organisations are feeding the world with.

But yes, I agree, not always is use something beneficial. It depends on a lot of things that I suppose we don't always have insight into. I think in general however more harm is done because of lacking education and context for these substances than by the direct effects of them. This is why I strongly support places the nexus and its mission as an "entheogenic university".

If you have questions about Iboga you can use the Open Discussion section until you gain full membership.

Hoping to hear more from you. Enjoy the forum and be well!

Hi There dusttrust,

Welcome to the Nexus, . I really enjoyed your Intro Essay - thank you so much for sharing that with us.

Enoon pretty much covered all the bases, so I'll just echo some of what she wrote if that's okay . . .

I too share your deep interest in all drugs, not just psychedelics. My personal opinion is that we have been radically mis-educated, lied to if you prefer . . . . that yes, in special and severe cases, when ordered by a doctor, these newfangled and powerful prescription meds from SSRI's to statins and beyond have a very valuable role in modernity. But like many here, I firmly believe they are grossly over-prescribed and used. Same with things like pain meds. Society suffers.

Similarly, with the prohibition drugs, I feel that they may have a role, limited but potentially in a much larger way than the materials referenced above. Like Huxley and others I would love to see young people educated about plant based psychedelics then offered as an elective before graduation, their first psychedelic experience/retreat.

And yeah, I agree, a mega-dose is frequently NOT beneficial. There's a GREAT old thread here on Nexus that was titled, "It's NOT a Pissing Contest," or similar. I find, as I get older, that I get a LOT more than I ever did, go MUCH deeper, on surprisingly LOW doses, if I just let myself. If I decide to lay back, meditate and fall into the trip, rather than being up, around active, wheeling, dealing (never drugs of course), etc. very small doses can take me very far.


Regarding Iboga TA. Wow! I have done the iboga root bark and it was one of if not THE most transformative experiences in my life. As Enoon mentioned, just go ahead and post your TA questions in the Open Discussion section and you'll probably garner lots of quick replies.

Also, you might want to check out this resource . . . www.eboka.info. I think you will like it.


Okay, just one more thing - I have a question for you: How is that orange Erowid sweatshirt received by your co-workers? Anyone recognize it? Anyone ask questions?

Again, a very warm welcome to you.

Where I live, close to nobody knows about erowid. Nobody ever recognised my sweatshirt other than a friend who thought it was kind of cool, and a cousin who was proud. My coworkers never asked me anything about the sweatshirt, but if they ever do, I will likely tell them how drugs have risks but also benefits, and how it is possible to reduce risks and increase benefits by knowing the drug and knowing how it is best to take it.

Actually, I believe it can be relatively safe to take even very strong drugs like ayahuasca - One simply has to read or watch testimonial videos to get to believe it was safe, if not beneficial for the subject. But how to benefit from it, this I don't understand at all! Shamans seem to know that pretty well though

If I understood you correctly, you are wondering how to both correctly integrate the insights one gets from the trip itself then to apply that into direct growth in one's real life actions and interactions. This is a fascinating question that irks so many psychonauts.

I think many here will agree that although we are not shamen, that we get the most out of our down times from tripping. That is, during the abstention periods where we actively try to integrate what we think we learned. The Health & Safety section has some good information on this and other topics. Here's a link: https://wiki.dmt-nexus.m..._and_Safety#Integration.

And regarding the safety issue: Yeah, in particular physically, these visionary plants and drugs tend to be very safe indeed, owning relatively high LD50's and other features that make them safe to ingest.

I think benefiting from tripping is like benefiting from life - if we want it to really mean anything it's going to take some time. It's like the trip offers us new viewpoints and possibly new threads for the tapestry of our lives. The integration period is where we work to weave those threads in seamlessly. It's easier written than done but more than well worth the effort in my opinion.