Tripping? Nonprofit Launches New Psychedelic Info Hotline

Legal or not, people are experimenting with psychedelics, and they might as well be informed about their decisions in a logical manner, making situations safer. Colorado-based Unlimited Sciences, a psychedelic research nonprofit, unveiled the Psychedelic Info Line, a hotline that provides callers with data-driven education and informed resources for individuals considering exploring psychedelics.

The core goal of the info line is to improve outcomes and reduce harm by offering the needed tools and information on natural psychedelics. The information provided isn’t just anecdotal evidence based on hearsay. Psychedelic Info Line navigators share knowledge from an extensive research library of peer-reviewed studies with data sourced from thousands of participants worldwide, including the world’s largest naturalistic psilocybin study sponsored and conducted by Unlimited Sciences. 

Organizers say it provides a critical resource that no other organization provides. It offers informed answers to help people with their inquiries and make decisions before psychedelic use.

“The Psychedelic Info Line represents the culmination of years of high-impact research and dedication to advancing our understanding of psychedelics,” said Matthew X. Lowe, PhD, Executive Director at Unlimited Sciences. “We hope the first one-on-one education line of this nature will have a positive impact in helping individuals make more informed decisions about safely using psychedelics.”

In the past, the Cannabis Support Hotline was launched and provided by Unlimited Sciences’ parent nonprofit, Realm of Caring. The Psychedelic Info Line’s education specialists will not provide medical advice or encourage psychedelic consumption, rather they will foster a compassionate and supportive environment, striving to make every caller feel more capable in their quest for healing and self-discovery. Committed to community empowerment and safety, the Psychedelic Info Line is dedicated to educating and empowering the psychedelic community to navigate their journeys safely and responsibly.

“We know psychedelics can be safe and deeply meaningful when those seeking to use them are well-informed and approach them with care. Providing a compassionate source of knowledge for people exploring psychedelics for healing and personal growth is our mission,” said Lynn Marie Morski, MD, JD, Director of Education at Unlimited Sciences. “By helping to distill and distribute evidence-based information, we give callers the knowledge and power to make informed and responsible decisions with their healthcare providers.”

The Psychedelic Info Line is sponsored with support from The Wana Brands Foundation. Individuals who use the line and register through the Unlimited Sciences’ Client Portal receive access to exclusive educational resources including detailed guides on psychedelics, FAQs, and an extensive open-access research library. 

People are encouraged to call toll-free 1 (888) 210-3553 (Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. MST or email.

Set and Setting Matter in Psychedelic Trips

Researchers are examining ways to avoid bad trips. Negative experiences with psychedelics were linked to stressful environments, a September 2023 study suggests.

A study by researchers associated with Imperial College London indicated that stressful environments and other risk factors were associated with negative experiences with psychedelics, reaffirming the notion that “set and setting” play significant roles in positive experiences with psychedelic drugs. The study, which was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, gives new insight into the potential negative outcomes of using psychedelics in a clinical setting to treat serious mental health conditions.

Study author Rebecka Bremler of Imperial College London’s Centre for Psychedelic Research told PsyPost that there was “a lack of research into this topic—at least when we started the project in 2021. There was (is) all of this amazing research on psychedelics’ positive effects on mental health, and some on acute challenging experiences (‘bad trips’) with psychedelics and what may contribute to them, but not so much on long-term negative psychological responses (which is what we focused on here).”

“We wanted to find what may be potential risk factors for having these experiences, but also for people who had had them to be heard,” Bremler added. “The latter was one of the reasons why we included extended participants’ quotes in the article: to tell it in their own words as much as possible.”

In the event of a bad psychedelic trip, you may be better off riding it through than taking additional drugs to extinguish the trip—which can actually be more dangerous. A recent study points out that psychonauts online are turning to benzodiazepines and other potentially dangerous drugs to end a psychedelic trip.

Doctors are warning about so-called “trip-killers,” or drugs used to counteract the effects of a psychedelic trip. What they found is that over half of anecdotal recommendations online call for benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, alcohol, and other remedies, but found that trip-killers are often more dangerous than the psychedelics themselves. 

The study, “Trip-killers: a concerning practice associated with psychedelic drug use,” was published in Emergency Medicine Journal on Dec. 19, 2023. It was announced in a news release the same day.

Things like the aforementioned practices could be avoided if people have someone to talk to before choosing to experiment with psychedelics.