Latest news with #Psilocybin
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
Ohio man charged after police find over two pounds of marijuana, paraphernalia hidden in spare tire compartment
PRICEVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — An Ohio man was arrested after police found multiple drugs during a traffic stop, including drug paraphernalia hidden in his spare tire compartment. Priceville Police said that officers pulled a vehicle over along I-65 on Memorial Day around 1:47 a.m. Police identified the driver of the vehicle as D'Angelo Antonio Bates, 29, of Toledo, Ohio. During the investigation, officers found a firearm, over two pounds of marijuana, over 2 ounces of Fentanyl laced Psilocybin/Psilocyn mushrooms, and various drug paraphernalia hidden within the vehicle's spare tire compartment. Priceville Police told News 19 that Bates was arrested and charged with the following: Trafficking in Cannabis Trafficking Dangerous Drugs Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia He was transported to the Morgan County Jail where he is being held on a $$515,000 bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump's Surgeon General Pick Casey Means Says Psychedelic Mushrooms Helped Her 'Find Love at 35'
Dr. Casey Means, President Trump's nominee to be the next U.S. Surgeon General, has opened up about using psychedelic mushrooms multiple times The wellness influencer even claims that her experience using the hallucinatory drugs helped her prepare to 'find love at 35' Previous concerns have been raised about Means, as she never completed a medical residency and her medical license is currently inactiveDonald Trump's nominee for surgeon general has some experience with 'plant medicine,' also known as psychedelic mushrooms. On Wednesday, May 7, the president took to Truth Social to reveal that he had nominated Dr. Casey Means, a medical professional and wellness influencer, who is closely linked to the 'Make America Healthy Again' ideology espoused by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In her 2024 book, Good Energy, which Means, 37, co-authored with her brother, Calley Means, she refers to her first experience with mushrooms in January 2021. She said she was inspired to experiment with the drug by 'an internal voice that whispered: it's time to prepare.' 'I felt myself as part of an infinite and unbroken series of cosmic nesting dolls of millions of mothers and babies before me from the beginning of life,' she wrote. "Psilocybin can be a doorway to a different reality that is free from the limiting beliefs of my ego, feelings, and personal history.' Means has also touted the effects of MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly, for the treatment of PTSD. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the drugs are still schedule 1 narcotics and federally illegal in the United States, though some parts of Oregon, where Means established an alternative medical practice after failing to complete her surgical residency, have legalized psychedelic therapy. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Additionally, Means has claimed that the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms helped her 'find love at 35.' According to the Associated Press and the New York Post, she wrote about undergoing 'plant medicine experiences with trusted guides' to prepare herself for partnership in an October 2024 newsletter shared a few months after she got engaged to entrepreneur Brian Nickerson. While Means made it clear that she didn't think mushrooms were for everyone, she encouraged readers to try them for themselves. 'If you feel called, I also encourage you to explore intentional, guided psilocybin therapy,' she wrote in Good Energy. 'Strong scientific evidence suggests that this psychedelic therapy can be one of the most meaningful experiences of life for some people, as they have been for me.' Public admissions of drug use aren't the only concern the public has raised about Means' nomination to become one of the nation's top health professionals. Just a day after Trump, 78, declared that she 'has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History," he backtracked when questioned about her credentials. On May 8, an Oval Office reporter asked the president, 'You just announced a new nominee for the U.S. surgeon general who never finished her residency and is not a practicing physician. Can you explain why you picked her to be America's top doctor?' "Because Bobby thought she was fantastic," he answered, referring to RFK Jr., before noting: "I don't know her." Means completed her undergraduate degree and medical school at Stanford University, however, she never finished her surgical residency. In Good Energy and during public appearances, Means has said that her residency experience left her disillusioned with the state of modern medicine. Ultimately, she did complete enough postgraduate work to qualify for a medical license in Oregon, and turned to alternative medicine. Her website purports her ultimate goal to be 'working towards a healthier and happier planet by empowering people to understand their health and the limitless potential within them.' It remains to be seen, however, if Means' nomination will hold up to congressional scrutiny — particularly given that her medical license has been inactive since January 2024, according to Oregon public records. Means' confirmation hearing has yet to be scheduled. Read the original article on People
New York Post
15-05-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Trump's surgeon general pick Casey Means credited psychedelic mushrooms with helping her find love
President Trump's latest nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, recently claimed she used psychedelic mushrooms to help her find love — and suggested the drugs can be used by some as a form of therapy. Means — a former political lobbyist-turned-wellness influencer — indicated in a newsletter she published this past October that her use of mushrooms, which she tried for the first time in 2021, helped her make 'space to find love at 35.' She noted, too, that she 'did plant medicine experiences with trusted guides' to become ready for partnership — punctuating the line with a mushroom emoji. Advertisement The 37-year-old, however, acknowledged that her experience did not necessarily mean that others should do the same. Dr Casey Means (left) — a former political lobbyist-turned-wellness influence — indicated in a newsletter she published last October that her use of mushrooms, which she tried for the first time in 2021, helped her make 'space to find love at 35.' AP Means also wrote in the 2024 book, 'Good Energy' — co-authored with her brother Calley — that people should consider 'psilocybin-assisted therapy' to manage stress and trauma. Advertisement 'If you feel called, I also encourage you to explore intentional, guided psilocybin therapy,' she wrote. 'Strong scientific evidence suggests that this psychedelic therapy can be one of the most meaningful experiences of life for some people, as they have been for me.' Means, who refers to psychedelics in her book as 'plant medicine,' said she first took mushrooms after being inspired by 'an internal voice that whispered: it's time to prepare.' 'I felt myself as part of an infinite and unbroken series of cosmic nesting dolls of millions of mothers and babies before me from the beginning of life,' she wrote, adding that 'psilocybin can be a doorway to a different reality that is free from the limiting beliefs of my ego, feelings, and personal history.' Calley Means works as a special government employee in the Department of Health and Human Services. Advertisement Psilocybin — a psychedelic compound produced by more than 200 species of mushrooms — is currently listed as a Schedule 1 drug, with federal regulators classing it as having 'no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.' However, Oregon and Colorado have both legalized psychedelic therapy. Means, who received her undergraduate and medical degrees from Stanford University, began a medical residency in Oregon but did not complete it. Her medical license is listed as inactive. Advertisement Trump revealed Means as his new pick for surgeon general earlier last week after yanking the nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, the medical director CityMD. 'I am pleased to announce that Dr. Casey Means, will be nominated as our next Surgeon General of the United States of America,' Trump posted on Truth Social at the time. 'Casey has impeccable '[Make America Healthy Again]' credentials, and will work closely with our wonderful Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to ensure a successful implementation of our Agenda in order to reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans.' Means' confirmation hearing hasn't yet been scheduled. With Post wires
CBS News
15-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
UC San Francisco's psilocybin therapy shows promise for Parkinson's patients
On a quiet plot of land in rural New Mexico, Jeff Deming feels like he's really living, once again. "Mentally, it's day and night," he said. He's able to do the things that make him happy, like woodworking, despite living with Parkinson's Disease. "Physically, I feel better than I did 2-3 years ago," he said. Deming credits the treatment he received during a first-of-its-kind clinical study he participated in at the University of California, San Francisco: Psilocybin therapy for people with Parkinson's Disease. "This is very cliché, but it truly gave me my life back," he said. Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in 'magic mushrooms.' When administered in controlled, clinical research settings, it has shown promise in treating depression and anxiety, both of which are mood symptoms associated with Parkinson's that are linked to a faster physical decline. "The neurodegeneration that is happening isn't just impacting motor circuitry – it's impacting a lot of brain circuitry. That creates this huge burden of symptoms that we often overlook and don't talk about enough, maybe," said Dr. Ellen Bradley, of UCSF. "We were really surprised by how well this trial went." Bradley and a team of researchers at UCSF are trying to figure out how Psilocybin may help treat mood dysfunction and more in those living with the neurodegenerative disease. "This is a first step, and now we've opened the door to being able to really investigate the effects of Psilocybin for people with Parkinson's," she said. 12 patients participated in this first-round study, which involved a first and second course of Psilocybin treatment. "We had folks do a lower dose of Psilocybin – a 10 mg dose initially – and monitored them for a couple of weeks to see how that went," Bradley said. "If it did go well, if we didn't have safety concerns, then they were eligible for the full therapeutic dose of 25 mg." All 12 patients were able to complete both courses of treatment without reporting any serious side effects, according to Bradley. "We want to find out not just does Psilocybin therapy work, but if it does, how does it work? That mechanistic piece is so important," she said. "Can it change the brain's ability to adapt to its environment and to rewire itself?" While there were no serious adverse effects reported, every patient didn't have the same life-changing experience as Deming says he experienced. Though many did report their motor and cognitive functions improved afterwards, per Bradley. "We don't have a reason to believe that this is a treatment that is going to be a good fit for every patient. That is never really our expectation in medicine. But our goal is to figure out when is it the right treatment and how much for which patient," Bradley said. Bradley says her team is scaling up their work and are in the process of recruiting for a larger study, due to the success with the initial research. "That was really exciting just to see that promising safety profile in this initial pilot. That kind of gives us a green light to go forward with more in-depth research," she said. "We really desperately need new treatments for Parkinson's. It's a very quickly growing disease that's becoming more and more prevalent in our population, so, we really feel like we have to be investigating every possible route that could mean new treatments for patients." Two years removed from his controlled Psilocybin dosing, Deming says he feels better now than he did when he received his initial diagnosis four years ago. "Something about this experience just freed everything back up so I could think again, I could dream again," he said. He'd like to see more research into psychedelic therapies for a range of conditions, with the hopes that more people will be able to reclaim the reins of life, as he has. "There's been such a stigma against the research with it," he said. "It is definitely worth looking more closely at."
Business Insider
10-05-2025
- Health
- Business Insider
After leaving the Navy, I was doing cocaine, popping pills, and drinking over a fifth of vodka a day. Then, I had a 'death experience' that changed everything.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Shawn Ryan, a former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, and host of the "Shawn Ryan Show." It's been edited for length and clarity. Ryan is not a medical professional. Psilocybin is illegal in the US federally and in most states. There is no medical consensus about whether it has benefits, including those described below, and the drug comes with risks. When I left the Navy, I wasn't ready for what came next. I had been a SEAL for five and a half years. After that, I worked as a contractor with the CIA. The tempo stayed high. I did 60 days on, 60 days off, sometimes 45 and 45. I was still running hard, living in fight-or-flight mode. When that ended, I crashed—hard. I didn't know how to slow down. I wasn't used to dealing with normal life. All I knew was intensity. I needed that adrenaline hit every day — and when I couldn't get it from missions anymore, I found other ways. I got into sleeping pills. Ambien, Valium, Xanax, Lorazepam — you name it, I was taking it. On top of that, I was using opiates like hydrocodone and tramadol. Eventually, I moved out of the country and started living in Medellín, Colombia. That's where I got really into cocaine. I would go into the worst neighborhoods I could find to score. I didn't want it easy, I wanted the risk, to feel something. When that got boring, I'd go to another country and do it again. At my lowest point, I was drinking two fifths of vodka a day. I'd wake up with mini bottles stashed all around the house — under pillows, in drawers, in the car, in my coat pockets. After dinner, I'd go to the freezer, pull out a bottle, and that's how I'd wash down my sleep meds. Except by the end, they didn't even put me to sleep anymore. In the morning, I'd take a stimulant — Adderall or something else — to start the cycle again. That was my life. It went on for years. The 'death experience' that changed my life Eventually, I hit a point where I knew I couldn't keep going. A friend told me about psychedelic therapy, and I decided to try it. The first was Ibogaine. It's a 12-hour experience. I basically watched my entire life play out from a different perspective. Every memory, every trauma — it's all there. After the Ibogaine effects wore off, I did another psychedelic called 5-MeO-DMT, sometimes called the "God molecule." The trip is described as an ego death, or death experience. It was the most intense, intuitive thing I've ever felt. I came out of it seeing the world differently. I could feel energy flowing from the ocean, onto the shore, through the trees. For the first time in my life, I realized everything is connected. Everything is one. That hit me in a way nothing else ever had. When I came back from that psychedelic experience, I didn't need the pills anymore. I didn't need the vodka. I quit everything. I've been sober for two and a half years. I quit smoking cannabis. I stopped using stimulants. And for the first time in a long time, I was fully present with my family. That experience changed everything. It gave me a second chance. That's why I started talking about this publicly on my podcast, the "Shawn Ryan Show." I wanted other veterans — other guys like me — to know there's a way out. A lot of them have been through the same thing — addiction, trauma, broken families, suicidal thoughts. When they hear that someone else made it through, they start to believe that maybe they can too. So many of us come back broken. We lose ourselves. We spiral. But healing is possible. Recovery is possible. . This story was adapted from Ryan's interview Authorized Account." Learn more about his life before and after the Navy SEALs in the video below:
