BETTER PARENTS. WE TEAMED UP WITH WNBC IN NEW
YORK CITY TO BRING YOU THE STORY
OF ONE OF THOSE COUPLES.
>> WHEN YOU HAVE THIS KIND OF
EXPERIENCE, YOU LITERALLY FEEL
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE THROUGH YOUR
WHOLE BODY.
WHOLE BODY. IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO WALK AWAY
FROM THAT WITHOUT IT CHANGING
EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU.
>> DAMIEN AND HIS PARTNER HAVE
SEEN A LOT OF CHANGES IN
THEMSELVES OVER THE PAST YEAR.
TOGETHER FOR EIGHT YEARS, THEY
HELP RAISE DANNY’S SON FROM A
PREVIOUS MARRIAGE.
PREVIOUS MARRIAGE. DANNY SHARES CUSTODY.
BUT THE TWO STRUGGLED WITH
PROBLEMS IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP,
INCLUDING INFERTILITY.
INCLUDING INFERTILITY. >> I WAS DEFINITELY EXPERIENCING
A LOT OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION,
SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE
INFERTILITY AND HAVING TO PARENT
A CHILD THAT I FELT WASN’T MY
OWN.
OWN. I WOULD BE STRESSED ALL THE
TIME.
TIME. >> WE HAD THE BEDROCK OF LOVING
EACH OTHER, SO WE WANTED TO WORK
THROUGH ALL OF OUR ISSUES.
>> A YEAR AGO A FRIEND SUGGESTED
THEY TRY PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS AS A
FORM OF RELATIONSHIP THERAPY.
THE TWO WERE ALREADY IN COUPLES
COUNSELING.
COUNSELING. >> I WAS DEFINITELY AFRAID.
WE DID DO A LOT OF RESEARCH
BEFORE.
BEFORE. IT’S NOT LIKE WE JUMPED IN AND
SAID, YEAH, WE’RE GOING TO TAKE
THIS.
THIS. >> SOME OF THE PSYCHEDELIC
COMPOUNDS WE FOUND USEFUL AT
DIFFERENT TIMES WERE CANNABIS,
MUSHROOM AND MDMA.
>> THEY SAY THESE DRUGS CHANGE
HOW THEY SEE EACH OTHER.
>> ALL THE THINGS WE WERE AFRAID
TO SAY TO EACH OTHER JUST POURED
OUT OF US.
TO BE IN THIS PLACE OF PEACE AND
LOVE, IT WAS LIKE, OH, MY GOD,
WHY WAS I SO AFRAID OF SAYING
THESE THINGS.
THESE THINGS. >> DANNY AND VANESSA ALSO SAY
THE DRUGS HELPED THEM BE BETTER
PARENTS.
PARENTS. >> IF OUR TRIPS ARE HELPING US
BECOME MORE COMPASSIONATE
PEOPLE, MORE UNDERSTANDING
PEOPLE, PEOPLE THAT ALLOW LOVE
TO FLOW THROUGH US, THAT HELPS
US BECOME BETTER PARENTS.
>> TO LIVE IN JOY AND LOVE, HOW
COULD THAT NOT POSITIVELY AFFECT
MY SON, FOR ME TO BE A MORE
COMPASSIONATE PERSON.
COMPASSIONATE PERSON. >> WELCOME, DANNY AND VANESSA,
JOINED BY PSYCHOLOGIST FROM THE
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MT. SINAI.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE
THIS MORNING.
THIS MORNING. A LOT OF FOLKS WATCHING,
LISTENING, SCRATCHING THEIR
HEADS.
HEADS. IT’S CONTROVERSIAL, IT’S ILLEGAL
AS WELL.
AS WELL. WHAT HAD BEEN THE BENEFITS,
DANNY AND VANESSA?
WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN IN YOUR
RELATIONSHIP AS A RESULT OF
USING THESE DRUGS?
>> WELL, I THINK I’D HAVE TO
START WITH WHAT THE EXPERIENCE
IS ACTUALLY LIKE.
WE SAW IN THE VIDEO THE FEELING
OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.
WHEN WE DROP OUR EGO.
WE GO THROUGH THE WORLD AND
THERE’S ALL THESE STRESSES.
WE ALL SUFFER FROM PTSD AT SOME
LEVEL.
LEVEL. OUR EGO THROWS UP THESE DEFENSE
MECHANISMS.
MECHANISMS. THAT CAUSES US TO NOT FEEL LOVE
IN AN UNCONDITIONAL WAY.
SO WHAT THE PSYCHEDELICS DO,
THEY TURN THE VOLUME DOWN ON OUR
EGOS FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
WE CAN JUST BE VULNERABLE WITH
EACH OTHER AS A COUPLE AND IN
GENERAL WITH ALL OF OUR
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS.
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS. YOU CAN JUST BE MORE VULNERABLE
AND EXPRESS LOVE IN A MORE PURE
WAY, I GUESS.
>> HOW DO YOU TAKE THEM?
WHAT IS THE FORM THEY COME IN
AND HOW LONG DOES THAT LAST FOR?
>> WE TAKE USUALLY MUSHROOMS IS
ONE OF OUR PREFERRED METHODS, SO
IT’S JUST LITERALLY EATING THE
MUSHROOMS.
MUSHROOMS. >> TYPICALLY YOU’RE MICRODOSING
HERE.
HERE. >> WE HAVE DONE SOME
MICRODOSING.
MICRODOSING. >> WE’RE TALKING FULL DOSING.
>> WE’RE TAKING FULL DOSES.
>> DOCTOR, I SAW YOU NODDING
WHEN HE WAS TALKING ABOUT PTSD,
BEING ABLE TO FEEL THE LOVE SO
MANY OF US WANT TO FEEL BUT SO
FAR CAN’T.
FAR CAN’T. YOU’RE NODDING RIGHT.
A LOT OF PARENTS ARE SITTING
THERE SAY WHOA, WHOA, WHOA,
WHOA.
WHOA. I DON’T WANT TO TELL MY KIDS
THIS.
THIS. WHY WOULD YOU ADVOCATE THIS IS A
BENEFICIAL THING FOR PARENTS OR
COUPLES?
COUPLES? >> WELL, NOT SO MUCH ADVOCATING
BUT LISTENING VERY CAREFULLY TO
WHAT I’M HEARING.
I THINK THAT OUR JOB IS REALLY
TO LISTEN TO THESE EXPERIENCES
AND THEN PERFORM RIGOROUS
CLINICAL TRIALS TO BE ABLE TO
UNDERSTAND WHO SHOULD BE USING
THESE VERY POWERFUL PSYCHEDELIC
TREATMENTS AND HOW THEY SHOULD
BE USED.
BE USED. RIGHT NOW THERE IS A LOT OF
RESEARCH THAT IS STARTING TO
HAPPEN ON HOW TO USE THESE
PSYCHEDELIC MEDICINES.
PSYCHEDELIC MEDICINES. IN FACT, WE’VE JUST OPENED UP A
CENTER AT MT. SINAI, THE CENTER
FOR PSYCHEDELIC PSYCHOTHERAPY
AND TRAUMA EXACTLY FOR THIS
REASON IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO
HARNESS THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES
OF PSYCH DELLEDELICS AND WHO SHO
USE THEM.
USE THEM. OF COURSE OUR TRIALS WILL BE
LEGAL AND FDA APPROVED.
EVENTUALLY THESE PSYCHEDELICS
MAY BE MORE AVAILABLE IF WE DO
THE WORK IN UNDERSTANDING THEM.
>> VANESSA, JUST GOING BACK TO
WHAT WE JUST ALLUDED TO THERE,
THE FACT THESE DRUGS, ESPECIALLY
THE WAY YOU GUYS ARE USING THEM,
THEY ARE ILLEGAL IN THIS
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. HOW DO YOU RECONCILE THAT?
>> WE’RE LOVING EACH MORE AND
OPENLY AND POURING THAT LOVE
INTO THE CHILD THAT WE’RE
RAISING.
RAISING. I MEAN, 50 YEARS AGO OUR
RELATIONSHIP WOULD BE ILLEGAL.
IF WE’RE GOING TO BASE IT ON
WHETHER SOMETHING IS ILLEGAL,
LEGAL, WHAT WE’RE DOING IS
HELPING OUR RELATIONSHIP, OUR
FAMILY.
FAMILY. WE’RE NOT HURTING ANYBODY.
WE’RE NOT CAUSING PAIN TO
ANYBODY.
ANYBODY. QUITE THE CONTRARY, WE’RE
HEALING OURSELVES SO WE DON’T
CAUSE PAIN TO OUR CHILD, SO WE
DON’T CAUSE PAIN TO OTHER FAMILY
MEMBERS, ANYBODY WE WOULD COME
INTO CONTACT WITH AT THIS POINT.
>> HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THAT TO
YOUR CHILD?
YOUR CHILD? >> IT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
WHAT’S MORE IMPORTANT, WHAT’S
LEGAL OR WHAT’S MORAL.
THERE’S NOTHING IMMORAL ABOUT
USING PLANT MEDICINES.
YEAH, THE LAWS HAVEN’T CAUGHT UP
YET.
YET. THE DEA STILL SAYS CANNABIS IS A
DANGEROUS DRUG.
DANGEROUS DRUG. WE ALL KNOW THAT’S NOT REALLY
TRUE.
TRUE. THE RESEARCH IS THERE.
THE DOCTOR, AS AWARENESS
CONTINUES TO OPEN UP, SHE’S
GOING TO HAVE LEEWAY TO DO MORE