Dosed

This film documents an addict's journey from rock bottom to early recovery using primarily Psilocybin mushrooms and Ibogane therapies. These plant medicines have been used for healing by indigenous cultures for thousands of years, but the West is slowly waking up to the transformational potential of these substances. 20 years ago these substances were considered drugs. Now, as this documentary shows, they are being reclassified as medicines.

This documentary is so well done. I applaud the creators in their courage to tell this story and lead the charge in changing the public narrative around addiction and addiction recovery. I also applaud the woman in the film and thank her for her willingness to have her deeply personal experience be shown on the big screen.

... are the root of most evils but while rampant conservatism and religion have such influence there will always be people, and in increasing numbers, who step into a machine they can't free themselves from although, as demonstrated so bravely here, that shouldn't be the case.

I was inspired, moved, touched and humbled by this movie. This is at the core a movie about the bravery of one woman's journey to face her demons and her will to live. She is truly brave. As are the filmmakers who took the risk to start with a story that they knew could have a tragic ending but followed Adriene one tear, cry, vomit, smile and laugh at a time. By the way the film is also a grounded exploration of the proper, grounded and professional (mostly) use of the ancient plant medicines as well as a critique of western medicines unhelpful and at times unkind and ignorant approach to trauma and the mental health costs that arise from trauma.

A compelling story of a beautiful young woman trapped inside a system that does not value her, offering treatments that do not work, with no hope. She is desperate, contemplating suicide, and decides to take a huge risk in order to heal herself. She is done with living like this, discovers that maybe there are reasons why she is riddled with anxiety, and is terrified to find out what they might be. She has to go outside the law to seek help. A courageous, cliffhanger, that pulls no punches.

As a donor and supporter of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), I believe in their important mission. While their recent documentary is informative, it falls short IMHO. The film's focus on one individual dominates the narrative, and the filmmakers' close ties to the subject raise concerns about objectivity. It's likely that certain facts were omitted to fit the desired storyline.

Despite these biases, the documentary highlights a significant issue: the general public's lack of knowledge about scheduled drugs. MAPS should be commended for their efforts in shedding light on this topic. Moving forward, I hope that their future projects will demonstrate greater journalistic integrity and a commitment to unbiased storytelling. With more solid storytelling, MAPS can continue to educate audiences about important issues surrounding drugs and their regulation.