Welcome to issue #12 of The Ethical Trip! In this issue:
Why does the Queensland LNP really hate drug-checking?
Should psychedelic therapists share the risks their clients face?
How can we use N2O more safely?
For all this, plus research, humour and a corporate sponsor whose ability to misinterpret Jung knows no bounds, read on!
As always I’m deeply grateful to my readers, especially those who have the means and motivation to support me financially by buying me a coffee cactus. Massive thanks also to everyone who shares my work on social media or by forwarding the email to a friend.
Table of Contents
Industry Insights:
Research Round-up
It’s interesting to see the diverse range of humanities-driven research that was published this fortnight. I think it’s particularly heartening to see doctoral theses addressing under-researched areas or questioning ‘conventional wisdom’ in sometimes unexpected ways..
In the first thesis off the rank, Casas (2025) looked at the lived experiences of BIPOC individuals who’d undergone psychedelic assisted psychotherapy, identifying the need for more culturally informed and culturally sensitive treatment protocols, as well as the need to address systemic oppression and for more BIPOC therapists in the field.
Ashbaugh (2025) gives us an extremely interesting theses in which they investigate the effects of psilocybin on adults with prior psychotic symptoms, documenting both negative and beneficial experiences, and challenging the “rigid contraindication of psychedelics for individuals with prior psychoses”, suggesting a nuanced approach is more justified than blanket exclusion.
Returning to journal articles, Day & Grooff (2025) make strong arguments, not just against prohibition of psychedelics, but against decriminalization or overly tight legal regulation. Instead, they support “communalization” - blending individual liberty with community supports. Is it radical? Yes. Do I think they’re right in their critiques of incrementalism? Also yes. (Can you tell that I liked this one?)
Genzon and Bartlett (2025) analyse the spiritual and religions impacts of psychedelic experiences, reinforcing the need to address these aspects to optimize benefits and reduce harms.
Lots more good stuff below, but only for subscribers!
Drug checking in QLD
The arguments that politicians deploy against drug checking remain highly dubious. The idea that pill-testing/drug-checking somehow sends ‘the wrong message’ about drugs in a way that increases community harms is so thoroughly debunked as to not be worth discussing.
Yet this is exactly what QLD health minister, Tim Nicholls, is on record as saying. I suspect, as was the case with former NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, the motivations might be more ideological & pragmatic than a genuine belief that more lives will be saved by not drug checking.
Here’s the thing: if politicians refuse to support drug-checking because they worry about angering their base, alienating their donors, or having News Corp editors say mean things about them, they cheapen human life and the very laws they claim interest in upholding.
It’s deeply depressing that the same arguments I made against the Liberals in NSW in 2019 apply to the QLD LNP in 2025. But I hope in rehashing them I can help campaigners and advocates sharpen their rhetoric and call the Crisafulli government’s actions out for what they are: human sacrifice for the sake of power and and a generous government pay-packet.
Read the full article here: Current drug laws contribute to unnecessary deaths
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Philosophical Brief: Should therapists share PAT risks?
Much (so much) ink has been spilled on the arguments around whether clinicians delivering psychedelic assisted therapy (PAT) should have had their own psychedelic experiences. While discussions often focus on whether this makes someone a better practitioner, I think there’s another angle that’s been largely overlooked: whether therapists should personally share some of the risks they expect clients to take.
Dos my argument hold water? You be the judge: Skin in the Game: Why Psychedelic Therapists Should Share Patient Risks
Consultancy Corner: Safer N2O Use
Nangs - N2O cannisters - have long been ubiquitous at psychedelic events of all sizes. While they’re perceived as possibly one of the safer psychoactive due to lower acute toxicity and short duration, improper technique or overuse can lead to serious negative consequences.
When using nangs:
Decant gas from cannisters or whipped cream crackers into balloons - inhaling directly from pressurised containers risks frost burn and pressure injury.
Make sure you’re comfortably sitting/lying down
Breathe between sessions & inhalations
Use in a well-ventilated area
Don’t combine with depressants such as alcohol, benzos or GHB
Regular or prolonged use can lead to severe vitamin B12 deficiency, with conflicting reports on whether short-term supplementation offsets this.
Keep cannisters & gas away from open flames (it’s very flammable)
Dispose of your used cannisters thoughtfully (rather than leave them lying around for politicians to get upset about)
For more information check out these resources from CAHMA and Dancewize Victoria.
News from our sponsors:
Jungian Sperm Energy is proud to announce our latest acquisition: Holotropic Gym!
Operating online and across multiple Californian locations, Holotropic Gym blends the science of breathing more than usual with the art of repeatedly lifting heavy things only to return them to the exact same place.
People said we were wrong about Jung endorsing semen retention. They’re going to say we’re wrong about combining respiratory consciousness-expansion with powerlifting and high-impact callisthenics. To those people we say: we find your lack of faith disturbing.
Combining breathwork & weight training is not endorsed by the FDA, yet.
Meanwhile, our man in Beijing, Dan Andrews, had a very productive meeting with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin during this week’s military parade commemorating Japan’s defeat in WWII. Both leaders expressed strong interest in our immortality portfolio, with Xi pitching a co-branded “Shadow Work for Organ Donors” program for China’s correctional system.
(We await Orinoco Visionwolf’s next hyperspace consultation with Jung’s eternal spirit before making a decision on whether to invest - watch this space!)
Jungian Sperm Energy: Your money, our freedom
If you made it this far, thanks for reading!
Should I let Orinoco acquire The Ethical Trip? Reply to let me know your thoughts on this.
As always, all feedback and suggestions are welcome, and I promise* to not heckle you at EGA.
*Unless you deserve it.
PS:
Q: Why is is pointless to take LSD when listening to dubstep?
A: Because the bass neutralizes the acid
Written on Worimi lands. Sovereignty was never ceded.
Icon by Freepik from Flaticon
