Rick Strassman

Infobox Writer
name = Rick Strassman
birthplace = Los Angeles, California

Dr. Rick Strassman (born 1952 in Los Angeles, California, United States cite web |url=http://www.rickstrassman.com/pages/about/ |title=Rick Strassman |format= |work= |accessdate=] ) is a medical doctor specialized in psychiatry with a fellowship in clinical psychopharmacology research.cite web |url=http://www.rickstrassman.com/pages/about/ |title=Rick Strassman |format= |work= |accessdate=] Dr. Strassman was the first person in the United States after twenty years of intermission to embark in human research with psychedelic, hallucinogenic, or entheogenic substances. During the intermission period, research was restricted by law to animals studies only.

Clinical research

Dr. Strassman's studies investigated the effects of "N","N"-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a powerful entheogen, or psychedelic, that he theorizes is produced by the human brain in the pineal gland. DMT is found naturally in various natural sources, and is closely related to human neurotransmitters such as serotonin and melatonin, which helped create the basis of this theory. During the project's five years, he administered approximately 400 doses of DMT to 60 human volunteers. This research took place at the University of New Mexico's School of Medicine in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he was tenured Associate Professor of Psychiatry. Dr. Strassman has conjectured that when a person is approaching death, the pineal gland releases DMT, accounting for much of the imagery reported by survivors of near-death experiences. He wrote about the research program in his book "DMT: The Spirit Molecule", and a documentary movie based on this book is currently in production. cite web |url=http://www.thespiritmolecule.com |title=DMT: The Spirit Molecule (movie) |accessdate= |format= |work=] Dr. Strassman has also conducted similar research using psilocybin, a psychedelic alkaloid found in hallucinogenic mushrooms.

ee also

* Terence McKenna
* Jonathan Ott
* Alexander Shulgin
* David E. Nichols

Further reading

*Rick Strassman (with Slawek Wojtowicz, Luis Eduardo Luna and Ede Frecska), "Inner Paths to Outer Space: Journeys to Alien Worlds through Psychedelics and Other Spiritual Technologies" , 376 pages, Park Street Press, 2008, ISBN-13: 978-1594772245

*Rick Strassman, "DMT: The Spirit Molecule: A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences", 320 pages, Park Street Press, 2001, ISBN 0-89281-927-8

*Rick Strassman, "Hallucinogens" (chapter), in "Mind-Altering Drugs: The Science Of Subjective Experience", 402 pages, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-516531-4

References

External links

* [http://www.rickstrassman.com Official homepage]
* [http://www.phacelift.co.uk/rick-strassman.html Rick Strassman: Profile and bibliography]
* [http://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/strassman_rick/strassman_rick.shtml Erowid Character Vaults: Rick Strassman]
* [http://www.cottonwoodresearch.org Cottonwood Research Foundation]
* [http://www.realitysandwich.com/voyaging_dmt_space_with_dr_rick_strassman_md Interview with Rick Strassman]