In this podcast, Joanna talks about working with and studying the patient support group 'Clusterbusters' for over a decade and their willingness to become 'outlaws' to obtain or grow illegal psilocybin to treat severe 'cluster' headaches too often after appalling treatment by the medical profession. We discuss the sociology and politics of psychedelics, and medical research generally, reflecting on the many forces that act on researchers in supposedly objective science. We also talk about the members of the current US administration who have spoken openly and positively about their use of psychedlics and contrast this with the way drug users from other ethnicities are treated by the criminal justice system. Fascinating conversation and book.

Participants:

Joanna Kempner, Associate Professor of Sociology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. www.joannakempner.com

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Joanna's book, 'Psychedelic Outlaws': https://www.joannakempner.com/psychedelic-outlaws

Cluster headache:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cluster-headaches/

Clusterbusters:https://clusterbusters.org/

Chemical structure of psychedelics (the 'indole ring'): https://psychedelics.cornell.edu/

Opening and closing music: Prelude to 'Brainland', the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective #brainlandthepodcast

Portrait sketch by KB illustration

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