Rachel Neuer, an award-winning freelance journalist, discusses her journey from wildlife trafficking to MDMA and psychedelic therapy. She shares insights on wildlife trafficking, its impact, and how individuals can support the movement. She also delves into her personal experience with MDMA and its unexpected influence on her career and life choices. The conversation explores the therapeutic use of MDMA, the importance of testing, and the potential legalization of MDMA for therapeutic purposes. It delves into the clinical trials, the impact of MDMA-assisted therapy on PTSD, and the significance of legalizing MDMA for mental health treatment. The conversation also highlights the experiences of individuals who have benefited from MDMA-assisted therapy and the need for advocacy and awareness.
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“All the clinical trials have been done for MDMA and the results [for PTSD] have just been shockingly spectacular, better than any treatment we have for PTSD, by a long shot. So two thirds of the participants in both of these clinical trials came out no longer even having a PTSD diagnosis. And we’re talking about people who had oftentimes extremely intractable PTSD. On average, they’d been diagnosed for 16 years. They tried everything. They tried therapy. They tried pills and they were getting no relief. And it was absolutely ruining their lives and ruining the lives of the people around them as well. So really spectacular results.” ~ Rachel Nuwer
Takeaways:
- Rachel Nuwer’s journey from wildlife trafficking to MDMA and psychedelic therapy
- Insights on the impact of wildlife trafficking and ways to support the movement
- Personal experiences with MDMA and its unexpected influence on career and life choices MDMA has shown promise in therapeutic settings, particularly for individuals with PTSD.
- The importance of testing MDMA to ensure purity and safety is emphasized.
- The potential legalization of MDMA for therapeutic purposes could revolutionize mental health treatment.
- Advocacy and awareness are crucial for promoting the benefits of MDMA-assisted therapy and its potential impact on mental health.
- The experiences of individuals who have benefited from MDMA-assisted therapy highlight the transformative potential of this treatment.
Chapters
00:00 Rachel Nuwer’s Journey: Wildlife Trafficking to Psychedelic Therapy
05:25 Understanding the Impact of Wildlife Trafficking
09:36 The Unexpected Influence of MDMA
35:29 MDMA-Assisted Therapy and PTSD Impact
39:21 Transformative Experiences with MDMA-Assisted Therapy
46:16 Advocacy and Awareness for MDMA-Assisted Therapy
Links
drug testing – https://energycontrol-international.org/drug-testing-service/
book link – https://www.amazon.com/Feel-Love-Quest-Connection-Fractured/dp/1635579570 & https://www.amazon.com/Poached-Inside-World-Wildlife-Trafficking/dp/0306825503
article from yesterday – https://themicrodose.substack.com/p/breaking-news-fda-panel-votes-against
Maps – https://maps.org/
and some wildlife non-profits Rachel likes – definitely not an exhaustive list:Â
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About Rachel Nuwer
Rachel Nuwer is an award-winning freelance journalist who reports about science, travel, food and adventure for the New York Times, National Geographic, Scientific American and more. Her multi-award winning first book, Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking, was published in 2018 with Da Capo Press. Her second book, I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World, was published in June 2023 with Bloomsbury.
Rachel’s love for nature and science was kicked off by a childhood exploring the bayous and beaches of southern Mississippi. As a biology student at Loyola University New Orleans, she spent time in Laos researching Mekong River fishes, sparking a passion for travel and conservation. This wanderlust has taken her to 78 countries – six of which she has lived in.
In 2010, Rachel investigated illegal wildlife trade and natural resource use in Vietnam for her ecology master’s thesis at the University of East Anglia. She published her research in the scientific journal Oryx. In 2011, she earned a second master’s degree at New York University’s Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP).
She lives in Brooklyn with a computer programmer, a bonded pair of buns and a rotating roster of foster cats. Reach her at rachelnuwer at gmail.
