Research following attendance at breaking convention conference June 2015
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| Breaking Convention 2015 - http://2015.breakingconvention.co.uk/ |
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| Jess Dawson & Zak F H - Bottom Left |
As an interesting and quite different start to summer plans, my partner and I decided to attend one of the most important academic meetings of this years calendar - 'Breaking Convention 2015', the 3rd international conference on psychedelic consciousness.
The conference itself gathers scientists, journalists, academics, psychologists, doctors, artists, ex commissioners and many more (you get the picture) with the aim of sharing recent research, findings and hard earned results surrounding psychedelics, psychedelic/psychoactive medicine and its growing awareness as a whole all over the world.
As a bit of general background, in the 1960's research into psychoactive chemical compounds was at a high with many medical professionals and scientists (outside of the hippie movement) researching and finding out about certain substances which could do more good than harm to our brain science and well being - targeting specific debilitating conditions such as PTSD, Bi-polar disorder, anxiety, depression and cancer to name just a few. Unfortunately due to the large recreational use of and bad publicity surrounding substances such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms and MDMA at this time - most research projects by universities and pharmaceutical companies ceased following the "Say No to Drugs' campaign lead by the United States.
Since the 1960's little to no funding into this area of research, and the tabu around the subject has meant that progression in research has been slow/ almost non-existent. Governments refused to fund such projects and studies and few saw it beneficial to invest or sponsor high end scientific research.
In recent years, this is finally beginning to change as more and more people (not just academics and scientists) are recognising the benefits of psychedelic "drug" usage following ground breaking studies and awareness is growing, along with the ability to research and provide help to the many thousands of people across the world in need of alternative medicines, after only having access to the more common poison like pharmaceuticals with their high chance of debilitating side effects and low chance of success rate.
Currently drugs such as MDMA, LSD, Ketamine and natural substances such as Marijuana, DMT, Acacia, Magic Mushrooms, Iboga and Ayahuasca are proving to be more than just your "feel good" soul searching trip, aiding and ultimately curing serious mental based medical conditions and addictions as well as helping fight Cancer, Dementia and Alzheimers etc.
This is what brought my partner and I to the convention and the research and findings speak for themselves. Laws are beginning to change, especially with substances such as Marijuana now becoming decriminalised and medically legal in many US states and MDMA being used to treat a huge variety of medical conditions such as PTSD in a controlled medical environment. To hear from the professionals and scientists about these drugs and how they can help many people suffering throughout the world was inspiring and it is clear to see how this is no longer something associated with a bunch of hippies just wanting to have a good time - it is neuroscience at its best. This research and its results are real, current and now academically sound with many of the top universities across this country and the world offering scientific, professional doctor based courses in psychedelics and psychedelic medicine.
Links:
Breaking convention 2015 website - http://2015.breakingconvention.co.uk/
Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/BreakingConvention/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/breakingcon
Vimeo (Video Recordings of Talks) - https://vimeo.com/ecologycosmos
Attending this academic convention over the summer has highlighted an area of interest to me that I would really like to develop and understand further. I feel this research and theme is extremely relevant to culture and society today, and has had impact across all contextual areas including the progression of technology, science, medicine and our understanding of consciousness & creativity. It is because of this that I think the theme of psychoactive substances and their potential / impact / place within culture and society, is one with enough depth/scope to make the possible basis for my CoP2 project. - Even CoP3?