After a brief recap of Season 1, Lex will share about the trip that led him to writing his cannabinoid graphic novels based on Moby-Dick.  “Call me Jasper.” And then he’ll walk us through the first 50 chapters – which covers the Amerikan history from the Golden Age of Cannabis after the Civil War up until the approval of Prop 215 in California legalized medical marijuana.    You can read the first two books for free on his site:  https://www.lexpelger.com/work/thecrown    He’s hard at work on the next chapters, so for updates, sign up for his No Nonsense Club at the bottom of the page.  “For I tell ye, the sperm whale will stand no nonsense!”    Matt Payne’s site:  www.pattmayne.com    Brendan Cleak’s site:  www.brendancleak.com 

For today’s bonus double feature episode, we interview two professionals on cannabis business and law. Lex talks with the lawyer Alex Buscher about how cannabis law has changed over the years and then with business consultant Emily Fata on what makes businesses thrive in this rising industry and how business can be harnessed for the power of good. Alex Buscher: Cannabis law is complicated – many different rules for many different fields. Today, Alex – who started his own cannabis-centric law firm - joins Lex to help navigate the legal minefield of state laws, federal laws, and the regulations regarding extracts, transportation, and patents. His site & social: https://www.buscherlaw.com/attorneys https://twitter.com/alexbuscher Emily Fata: The founder of Diagon Ventures and host of the Cannabis Science Today podcast, Emily is a consultant who helps cannabis-based entrepreneurs build their business plans and deal with regulations. Every state has different laws, a different business climate and unique challenges. She’s worked all across the world in many aspects of the cannabis business world and in this episode she tells us what she’s learned from helping so many entrepreneurs find their place in this growing industry. Plus, we’ll learn how she has combined her love of business with social justice to create new opportunities. Her site & podcast: https://diagonventures.com/ https://agriculturalgenomics.org/podcast/

Dr Peter Grinspoon discusses how doctors are susceptible to addiction, and what resources are available to help them recover. Medical workers have high stress jobs, easy access to drugs, and could lose their licenses if they get caught. Grinspoon’s memoir “Free Refills” depicts his own journey through addiction and recovery.    His site:  http://www.petergrinspoon.com/    His Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Peter_Grinspoon  (funny, smart & worth following) 

One of our most important episodes so far: the I Ching or, how to work with the Oracle, with our guest Fred Hatt.  We learn about this historical importance of this ancient Chinese book of divination, how it influenced mathematicians and artists of the West, and how it can make your life better right now. After Fred explains about the I Ching, join us for a reading where he asks a question for these times. If you know the I Ching, you’ll be surprised by the power of the answer.   Essays & Resources:    “The Uncertainty Machine”  https://aeon.co/essays/forget-prophecy-the-i-ching-is-an-uncertainty-machine  Fred says, “an excellent essay, very close to my own understanding of the essence of the work.”    “What Is the I Ching?”  https://www.chinafile.com/library/nyrb-china-archive/what-i-ching  An introduction to I Ching and a comparative view of two of the best modern translations.    The Virtual Yarrow Stalks page  http://www.russellcottrell.com/VirtualYarrowStalks/  Lots of resources here, particularly the link to 44 different translations of the I Ching.    I Ching with Clarity  https://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/  Resources from a diviner's perspective and a good place for getting started.    The I Ching on the Net    http://www.whincup.ca/yijing/  A large collection of I Ching-related websites.    Yi Jing, Oracle of the Moon  https://www.yijing.nl/  An online tool for questioning the Oracle.    Important Editions of the I Ching:    Wilhelm/Baynes classic Confucian interpretation Hatcher's site has the most extensive collection of translations of the names of the 64 hexagrams:  https://www.hermetica.info/GuaMing.htm  His downloadable word-by-word literal translation of the core text that is very helpful: https://www.hermetica.info/Yijing1+2.pdf   Ritsema and Karcher's several more psychological versions  (quite interesting, in a different way, going deep into the psychological aspects of all the words and images)  David Hinton's poetic reading   John Minford's scholarly study   A survey of English editions:  https://www.biroco.com/yijing/    Fred’s Art:    Antimony  (a poetry blog):  http://fredhatt.com/antimony/    Fred Hatt on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/fredhatt/    Newsletter subscription:  https://fredhatt.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=99c122879545b0915cd69c180&id=b7a9a2fcbf    Fred using yarrow stalks for an I Ching reading:  https://vimeo.com/427940893 

Alexis Turner is a historian of science at Harvard with a dissertation titled ‘Lost Souls Delivered: LSD, Technopolitics, and the Battle for the Spirit of a Nation’. Today’s discussion covers the early history of LSD, from its discovery by Dr. Albert Hoffman, the first therapists to start using it in their practices, and the dark obsession with it by the CIA. It’s a crash course in psychedelic history with a particularly great speaker.    links:  http://surliertexan.com   https://www.patreon.com/surliertexan 

Rafael Lancelotta, a therapist and psychedelic researcher, discusses his studies and therapeutic experiences with 5-MeO-DMT – often referred to as the God Molecule. A powerful psychedelic extracted from toad venom or synthesized in a lab, 5-MeO-DMT seems to be particularly potent for helping people with trauma as well as other mental illnesses.    He’s also the administrator of 5meodmt.org, an online forum dedicated to hosting community discussions on harm reduction, integration, and safe practices around 5-MeO-DMT use. Check out the Source Foundation, where he’s a board member, to see an organization that provides grants to students interested in researching anything related to psychedelics.  https://sourceresearchfoundation.org/    Talks:   Characterization Of Mystical Experiences By 5-MeO-DMT-Containing Toad Bufotoxin  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtOiBiAL-K8&ab_channel=BreakingConvention    5-MeO-DMT Use in the Global Population: Insights and Perspectives for Further Clinical Development  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GSsqoKj0Vs&ab_channel=BreakingConvention    Defining "Therapy" in Psychedelic assisted Psychotherapy  https://youtu.be/yG8v_6-VXbo 

Today’s episode is a special. Years ago, I hosted an open-mic storytelling tour that traveled around the country that we called ‘The Blue Dot Tour’. Anyone was welcome to share their stories involving psychoactive experiences – and things got real. One of the best stops was in Chicago, where I met last week’s guest, Aaron Paul Orsini.    I’ve never seen anything quite like these events where psychonauts shared their tales of transformation, self-discovery, healing, and spectacle. I think you’ll find this episode as fascinating as I did. Originally broadcast on the Psychedelic Salon, you can hear all the stops from the tour there.  (And if you’re down for an Easter Egg Hunt, I told a story at one of the stops. Let me know if you find it...)    recap of the tour:  https://www.psymposia.com/magazine/heres-2-months-psychedelic-stories-22-cities-across-us-canada-looks-like/    The other stops on the tour:  https://psychedelicsalon.com/podcasts/  (Search for ‘Salon2’ to see the work I contributed)    my Moby-Dick pot books:  http://www.lexpelger.com/ 

Aaron Paul Orsini has built an impressive body of work. His book is ‘Autism on Acid’ about his life-changing experiences with LSD. It’s deeply researched, written with heart – and filled with disclaimers to not try this at home. He charted his own path into this world when an LSD experience in his 20’s changed everything about his relationship to being autistic and helped him understand the social world and how to integrate with it. This sparked a personal journey that led to the writing of this book and founding a community of neurodiverse individuals exploring psychedelics and plant medicines.  His site:  AutismOnAcid.Com, which is a treasure trove of resources for people on the spectrum who want to learn more about these insights and practices.  Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AutismOnAcid  The Autistic Psychedelic Community Twitter:  https://twitter.com/autisticpsyched 

In 2019 Decrim Nature Oakland helped to pass a measure that made plant medicines the lowest priority for the police force and defunded enforcement. Their legislative victory has sparked others – and now there are dozens of branches of this movement sprouting throughout the world.  And Carlos Plazola was there from the beginning. Today he tells Lex about the mushroom trip that inspired him to embark on this mission of healing, why we need to reconnect with ancient traditions, and how he works with human power structures to achieve healthy social goals.  site:  https://www.decriminalizenature.org/  his op-ed on applying the lessons of legal cannabis to psychedelic decriminalization:  https://www.marijuanamoment.net/applying-the-lessons-of-legal-cannabis-to-psychedelics-decriminalization-op-ed/ 

If you don't know anything about UFOs, this is the episode for you. If you know a whole bunch about UFOs, this is definitely the episode for you. And if you're curious how the great Erik Davis can turn the question itself into the Hero's Journey, you should listen now.  With a PhD in religious studies focusing on gnosticism, esotericism and mysticism, Erik Davis, author of the inimitable ‘TechGnosis’, places the current UFO fascination in its broader historical context. These stories have morphed and repeated themselves over the centuries before manifesting in recent decades as alien visitation narratives. Here he explores their meaning and their power. And he offers inspiring advice on how to think amidst a field so thick with obstfucations and misdirections.   He’s also simply one of the best public speakers I’ve met in my life of interviewing people – and here he is as fascinating and engaging as ever. I walked away this interview feeling like a slightly better person for having heard it.  His online publication, The Burning Shore : https://erikdavis.substack.com/  His main website:  https://techgnosis.com/   His Twitter:  https://twitter.com/erik_davis  Article: ‘Alien Views: A profile of Joe Firmage, Silicon Valley UFOnaut’ (2000)  https://techgnosis.com/alien-views/