When we have questions about psychedelics, we often consult our Auntie. An Auntie can be a person of any gender who offers wise advice about psychedelic substances and how to effectively use them. Lucid News is asking a collection of well-informed people to step in as Auntie and answer your questions about psychedelics. Below you will find past questions submitted by readers and answered by our Auntie.

If you have a question you don’t see represented below, we invite you to inquire Auntie directly by submitting your question through our contact form!
Please put the words “Psychedelic Auntie” in the beginning of your message.

It’s Festival Season! How Should We Group Dose MDMA?

This month Auntie considers why headaches can sometimes occur during psychedelic experiences, how to calculate different dosages of MDMA for a varied group of people, and vomiting while under the influence of ayahuasca or other substances.

Could Mushrooms Help Me Recover From a Bad Break-Up?

This month Auntie considers whether it’s safe to mix ketamine with other psychedelics, if taking psilocybin mushrooms for the first time after a bad breakup is a good idea, and if lower doses of psilocybin can magnify anxiety and leave you feeling stuck.

My Friend Took Mushrooms and Thinks He’s Jesus Now. What Should I Do?

This month Auntie considers the question of how to address ego-inflation after a psychedelic experience, whether ibogaine can be useful for personal wellness, and if there is a downside to adding modest bumps of ketamine when candyflipping with LSD and MDMA.

Are There Risks to Using Psychedelics If You Have Certain Mental Illnesses? 

This month Auntie considers whether there are risks to combining psychedelics with certain mental illnesses, the difference between microdosing LSD and psilocybin, and the risks of overusing ketamine.

What Is Boofing and Why Do People Do It?

This month Auntie describes what boofing is and why some people prefer this method of ingestion, whether using psychedelics for fun can be therapeutic, and why commercially available drug test kits can miss fentanyl and how to test for it.

How Should I Talk With A Friend About Their Ketamine Use?

This month Auntie considers how to talk with a friend who you think may do too much ketamine, whether there is a health reason not to smoke DMT or 5-MeO-DMT more than once a day, and the pros and cons of taking psychedelics on a first date.

Can I Use Mushrooms to Treat My Depression if I Can’t Afford Therapy?

This month Auntie discusses how to use mushrooms for depression if you can’t afford therapy, how to stay safe when napping in a cuddle puddle after taking substances, and if it’s safe to mix psychedelics or ketamine with prescription pain relievers.

How Do I Help Someone Having a Difficult Trip?

This month, Auntie considers how to best help someone having a difficult experience on psychedelics, which drugs are more likely to depress your immune system, and whether there is a standard dosage for microdosing.

Can You Experience Psilocybin Withdrawal if You Stop Microdosing?

This month Auntie considers the potential for withdrawal from microdosing psilocybin, whether storing homemade psilocybin products in a freezer helps preserve potency, and whether it is safe to microdose psilocybin with ADHD medication.

Is There a Dependable Way to Induce an Ego Death Experience with Psychedelics?

This month Auntie considers if there is a dependable way to create an ego death experience with psychedelics, if mushrooms can permanently damage your eyesight or your brain, and if mixing GHB and alcohol can lead to life threatening respiratory depression.

Meet Your Aunties

Rachel Clark

Rachel (she/her) serves as the Education Manager for DanceSafe, a nightlife harm reduction nonprofit known for its drug education and drug checking kits. In addition to working for DanceSafe, Rachel has been teaching a semester-long course called DrugsCo for several years, and founded the Oberlin Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter in 2019. She has been an avid harm reductionist since 2012, and enjoys long walks to her soapbox to talk about psychedelic safety and the injustices of the drug war.

Mitchell Gomez

Mitchell Gomez is a graduate of New College of Florida (whose Alumni included the founders of Erowid, MAPS and the Zendo Project), and has his Masters from CU Denver. He has been a part of the electronic music community since the late 90’s, when he first started attending underground breaks shows while still in high-school. In 1999 while living in Israel, he became one of the earliest full time professional fire spinners, eventually performing at some of the biggest electronic music events on four continents. Mitchell joined Dancesafe as their National Outreach Director in 2014 and was responsible for all volunteer coordination, the development, implementation, and evaluation of new training curriculum and outreach initiatives, and administrative tasks, and was promoted to Executive Director in 2017. He has volunteered with the Burning Man organization, SSDP, the Denver Drug Strategy Commision, Psymposia, and other small harm reduction projects for many years, and is a passionate advocate for reality-based drug policy and harm reduction.

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