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Zendo Project & MAPS

Psilocybin:
Harm Reduction
& Risk Reduction
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Ryan Jay Beauregard

MAPS Events Manager
 Agenda for Today’s Discussion

Harm Reduction Emergencies

Overview Medical issues
Challenges Psychiatric issues
Physical & Mental Security issues
Other Risks Support & Integration
Sourcing & Dose A Lifelong Journey
Support, Sojourners

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 MAPS Disclaimer | For Learning Purposes
• No drug is completely safe for all people at all times at all
dosages.
• In offering this course and in all the materials it contains, MAPS
does not encourage, endorse, or promote any illegal activities or
reckless drug use, and MAPS bears no responsibility for anyone’s
decision to do so. Legal opportunities to carefully use
psychedelics currently exist in various parts of the world.
• MAPS does promote harm reduction to the fullest extent possible.
MAPS acknowledges that millions of people each year use
psychedelics outside of a medical context, often without a
sufficient understanding to be able to make informed choices, and
as a result, some may suffer serious adverse results.
• This course was created from a desire to educate the widest
audience of people who are considering using psychedelics, who
have used psychedelics, and/or who want to support people
using psychedelics so that informed choices may be made,
positive results achieved, and adverse results avoided.
• The content of this course is provided for informational purposes
only.
• This course does not offer medical, psychological, legal, or other
professional advice.
• Materials presented in this course are not a substitute for
professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
• Always seek the advice of a licensed healthcare professional
regarding any questions you have and before making any health
care-related decisions.
• Do not disregard or delay in seeking professional medical advice
because of something you read, heard, or received in this course.
• If you believe you or someone with whom you come in contact
may be experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or contact
licensed medical services professionals immediately.
• Reliance on any information provided by MAPS, MAPS
employees, volunteers, affiliates, agents, or assigns is solely at
your own risk.
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Psilocybin

Harm Reduction
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Psilocybin Harm Reduction

Psychedelics

Moment of Truth by Chris Dyer

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Psychedelic Harm Reduction for Psilocybin

Psychedelics are a
non-specific
amplifier.
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Foundations for an Optimal Psilocybin Experience

Set - Internal
Setting - External
Support - Community
 9 S’s of Psychedelic Context
Set mindset, personality, expectations of the voyager
Setting physical surroundings and atmosphere for the journey
Substance the psychedelic, dose, and route of administration
Supplies supplementary equipment, materials
Sojourners other people participating in the experience
Sitter people looking out after or guiding people on the trip
Support people who can assist a voyager before, during, or after a trip
Session the time of the trip from takeoff to landing
Situation context for integration after the trip

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 Psilocybin Spectrum of Effects
POSITIVE
mood lift, euphoria
increased giggling and laughing
creative, philosophical or deep
thinking : ideas ow more easily
boring tasks or entertainment can
become more interesting or funny
sensation of insight
life-changing spiritual experience
intense feelings of wonder
paradoxical feeling of a normalcy
and deep alteration of psyche
may interrupt cluster sequences in
those su ering from cluster
headaches
perspective altering
ff
ff
fl
ff
NEUTRAL
feeling more emotionally sensitive
general change in consciousness
time perception alteration
time seems to pass more slowly
sensitivity to light; lights seem
brighter
starring and rainbow patterns
around pinpoint lights
increased detection of motion in
peripheral vision
open and closed-eye visuals
sleepiness, lethargy
pupil dilation
sensation of energy or buzzing
memories come to life
NEGATIVE
intense feelings of fear
headache, usually as e ects wear
o
nausea, gas, gastrointestinal
discomfort
mild to severe anxiety
confusion
dizziness, vertigo
lightheadedness or fainting
can precipitate or exacerbate
latent or existing mental disorders
working memory disruption
reduced ability to do tasks
requiring current remembering and
attention
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 Psilocybin Considerations
Known contraindications include but are not necessarily limited to:
• Consuming psilocybin while taking an MAOI
• People with schizophrenia, bipolar, or other
psychotic disorders, or suicidal thoughts
1. Lower doses decrease potential risks
2. Anxiety is not uncommon during early stages of use
3. Temperature sensitivity to low or high temperatures
4. Safer consumption within temperature range 60-80°F / 15-27°C
5. Appropriate clothing and blankets for cold weather, shade and cool
liquids for warm weather minimizes risk of hypothermia and overheating

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Psilocybin Negative Side Effects

Challenges
 Mental / Spiritual Challenges
Belief systems: religious, political, social
Self-reflection: recognizing the impact our actions have had on others
Trauma: personal, ancestral, planetary
Confusion: lost, disoriented, grandeur, inability to communicate
Emotions: anxiety, despair, crying, screaming, agony

Physical Challenges
Headaches Lack of Coordination Loss of Appetite
Nausea Sensitivity: lights, sound Impaired Vision
Wobbly Discomfort Bathroom Trips

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 Adverse Psychedelic Experiences
• Experience of dying or death
• Reliving birth
• Remembering different deaths
• Reliving accidents
• Reliving illness
• Reliving drowning, torture, and many
other physical experiences from this
and other lives
• Reliving mystical states
• Identifying with and reliving in detail
the victimization of humans
throughout history
• Leaving the body and traveling in the
spirit realm
• Merging with rocks, animals, plants
and experiencing the pollution and
death of the planet and different
species
• Merging with people, reading their
minds, feeling their emotions
• Being caught in a certain experience
over and over (looping)
• Being overwhelmed by feelings and
emotions
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Psilocybin Harm Reduction

Other Risks
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Psychedelic Harm Reduction for Psilocybin

People with schizophrenia, bipolar,

or other psychotic disorders, or
suicidal thoughts should avoid
taking any psychedelics
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Simple Reminders for Psychedelic Harm Reduction

Fire Burns.
Water Drowns.
Knives are Sharp.
Fly from the Ground Floor.
 9 S’s of Psychedelic Context
Set mindset, personality, expectations of the voyager
Setting physical surroundings and atmosphere for the journey
Substance the psychedelic, dose, and route of administration
Supplies supplementary equipment, materials
Sojourners other people participating in the experience
Sitter / Guide people looking out after or guiding people on the trip
Support people who can assist a voyager before, during, or after a trip
Session the time of the trip from takeoff to landing
Situation context for integration after the trip

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Harm Reduction for Psilocybin Mushrooms

Would you trust this person – alone and

unsupervised – with your pet, child,
spouse, friends or family?
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Psilocybin Harm Reduction

Sourcing & Dose

Flesh of the Gods by Alex Grey

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ROUTE OF Oral, digestive tract

ADMINISTRATION Raw dried mushrooms typically chewed
thoroughly, ground, or soaked and consumed
with a beverage such as tea
DOSAGE (dried psilocybin
cubensis) Onset 20-60 minutes, potentially longer when taken
after a large meal
Microdose 0.05 - 0.15 grams
Duration 3-8 hours
Threshold 0.25 grams
Notes Psychoactive content can vary substantially
Light 0.25 - 1 gram depending on species, method of growth,
length of storage, and differences between
Common 1 - 2.5 grams caps and stems (caps contain more than
stems)
Strong 2.5 - 5 grams
Non-addictive with low potential for abuse
Heavy / 5+ grams
Heroic No known lethal dose
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Harm Reduction for Psilocybin Mushrooms

Start Low. Go Slow.

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Harm Reduction for Psilocybin Mushrooms

Not all psilocybin mushrooms are created

equal. Strains such as “Penis Envy” and
“Psilocybe Cyanescens” can be 2-4 times
more potent… meaning 2 grams potentially
becomes a heroic dose.
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Psilocybin Harm Reduction

Drug Combinations

Moksha by Android Jones

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Psilocybin Potential Medical & Psychiatric Conditions

Emergencies
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Harm Reduction for Psilocybin Mushrooms

When in doubt, seek professional care:

Medical
Psychiatric
Law Enforcement
 Emergencies
Within psychedelic crisis, situations may arise that fall outside the abilities or scope of practice
for sitters and require outside support:
• Violence or threat of harm to self or others
• Medical emergencies
• Mental health emergencies
In the case of violence or threatened violence or harm to self or others:
• Use all available resources to de-escalate or manage the situation
• Keep yourself safe - otherwise, you will become yet another part of the problem
• Keep others safe
• Then attempt to keep the individual from causing harm to self or others
In case of the possibility of a medical emergency:
• Airways, Breathing, Circulation, or other condition…
• Apply your highest certification of first aid / life support while seeking immediate medical
emergency care
In the case of a psychotic break or other psychiatric emergency, seek immediate medical/
psychiatric help and provide first aid to the level of certification available prior to arrival of help

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 Medical Emergencies
• Injury
• Pain/agony
• Non-responsiveness
• Hypothermia: excessively low
temperature that can result in death
• Hyperthermia: excessive high
temperature that can result in death
• Memory Loss: typically temporary,
high-dosage drug-related
• Hyponatremia: excessive water
retention that can result in death
Get medical support immediately!
EXCEPT FOR: Non-responsiveness --
immediately follow first aid guidelines
to level of certification AND get
immediate medical support
EXCEPT FOR: Memory loss --
probably transient, so continue to
provide support and reassurance; if
does not improve after recovered
from journey, consider seeking
medical advice
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 Mental Health Emergencies
• Paranoia
• Suicidal ideations
• Delusions
• Despair
• Psychosis

For suicidal ideations, get psychiatric or medical support immediately

For all others, provided that there are no other medical or mental symptoms or
violent behaviors, consider a medical welfare check; continue to provide
reassurance, support, and grounding and evaluate periodically for medical
involvement
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 Violence / Sexual Assault Emergencies
Call and use all available resources to de-escalate or manage the situation
Perform the following in order:
1. Keep yourself safe - otherwise, you will become part of the problem
2. Call for law enforcement
3. If safe to do so, attempt to keep others safe or get others to safety
4. Then, if safe to do so, attempt to keep the individual from causing harm (or
further harm) to self or others

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Psilocybin Harm Reduction

Community
& Integration
Jive Live by Android Jones
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Harm Reduction for Psilocybin Mushrooms

Mushrooms may not change your mind or

solve your life. Community connection and
peer support may be a more supportive and
easeful path.
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Zendo Project Principles for Psychedelic Peer Support

Create a Safe Space

Sitting, not Guiding
Talk Through, not Down
Difficult is not Necessarily Bad
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Harm Reduction for Psilocybin Mushrooms

Community as
Integration
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Psilocybin Harm Reduction

Resources

The Rise Of Sachamama by Jessica Perlstein

 Resources
Education:
MAPS.org
ZendoProject.org
Erowid.org
BlueLight.org
DanceSafe.org
FiresideProject.org
Psychedelic.Support

YouTube / Podcasts:
Kilindi Iyi (Large Dose Psilocybin: 20-50 grams)
The TeaFaerie (Psychedelic Support / Psychedelic Landscape)
 CONTACT US #psilocybinsf

THANK YOU!
Ryan Jay Beauregard PSILOCYBIN SAN FRANCISCO

MAPS.org | ZendoProject.org www.psilocybinsf.com

ryan@maps.org mushrooms@psilocybinsf.com
Boulder, Colorado @psilocybinsf
linkedin.com/in/ryanjbeauregard/ San Francisco