The Beckley Foundation

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I've been avidly folllowing their progress for several years, and I'm sure that many of you are also aware of Amanda and the Beckley Foundation, along with the forward thinking, brave work that they undertake.

But for those of you who don't know, here is a little bit about them, taken from their website:

"The Beckley Foundation is a UK-based think-tank, which, since its creation by Amanda Feilding in 1998, has been at the forefront of global drug policy reform and scientific research into psychoactive substances. We collaborate with leading scientific and political institutions worldwide to design and develop ground-breaking research and global policy initiatives.

The aim of the Beckley Foundation is to reform this failed system using rational, evidence-based thinking.

For more than 100 years, public policy has been dominated by the belief that the use of certain psychoactive substances can be eradicated through prohibition. The implementation of these policies has had catastrophic effects on societies around the world: damaging public health and well-being; creating violence, corruption, and political instability; and ruining lives through criminalisation and incarceration.

Meanwhile, the availability of illegal drugs has not decreased, nor has the number of people who use them. Additionally, as a result of the arbitrary ban on these substances, research has been obstructed, leading to a lack of understanding and a dearth of effective treatments for many of our most intractable conditions.

The aim of the Beckley Foundation is to reform this failed system using rational, evidence-based thinking. We are pursuing the freedom to make new scientific discoveries, and to develop new policies that focus on health, human rights, and cost-effectiveness in order to improve the lives of millions.

We believe in an empirical, evidence-based approach to drug policy and we adopt the same approach in our work. From the beginning, our founder and director has believed in working with the very top experts in their fields in order to produce reports of the very highest academic and scientific standards."

Their new website has just launched, so I encourage you all to go check it out, and learn about some of the amazing work which the foundation has been involved with - and I would also advise that you conduct a net search for 'Amanda Feilding' - you'll uncover some pretty shocking & interesting sounding stories!

Trepanning anyone?

Now go have a read . . .
http://beckleyfoundation.org/

HAPPY 420 F.C ! ! !
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Keeping fighting the good fight.​

Peace. Love. Unity. Respect.​

VnV
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Magic mushrooms (psilocybin) – a breakthrough treatment for depression from the Beckley/Imperial Research Programme

We are excited to announce the results of the Beckley/Imperial's latest psilocybin study, which is paving the way for a new treatment for depression. For the first time in many years, people who were at the end of the road with currently available treatments, reported decreased anxiety, increased optimism and an ability to enjoy things. This is an unparalleled success.

In a new study, led by Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, and funded by the Medical Research Council, patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression received two separate doses of psilocybin 7 days apart, together with psychological support. The findings, published today in the Lancet Psychiatry, revealed that 67% of patients were depression free 1 week after treatment, and 42% still in remission 3 months later. These patients had suffered an average of over 18 years of depression and had found no respite in any other treatment.

Depression blights the lives of over 350 million people worldwide. The burden of depression carries enormous costs for both individuals and societies. There is an unmet need for finding new treatments, as only 50% of patients respond to antidepressants, and about 20% do not respond to any treatment.

Although this was a small scale feasibility study, it has shown that psilocybin can be safely administered in a clinical setting, and that if the results hold up in larger clinical trials - which now have a greater chance of being funded - psilocybin maybe an extraordinarily effective treatment for those suffering from chronic depression.

Although drug-controls still impose significant restrictions to scientific research, making it extremely expensive and almost impossible to navigate, the more evidence we can compile of the value of these compounds, the more the medical establishment will be persuaded to include these substances in their tool kit when treating some of today's most disabling conditions.

This latest study is yet another building block in the evidence of how the changes in consciousness brought about by the use of psychedelics can be an invaluable aid for psychiatry and psychotherapy.

Find out more at:
http://beckleyfoundation.org/event/...-from-the-beckleyimperial-research-programme/

LOVE : RESPECT : GUIDE : PROTECT

Peace2All
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