EL MANEJO DEL PODER EN EL AULA DE CLASE

DPT has not been very widely used to date, but those who have tried ft seem to agree that it does produce psychedelic or "peak" experiences. Much of its application in psychotherapy has taken place in Europe, under the supervision of such specialists as Dr. Hanscarl Leuner, who has just published a book in German on psycholytic therapy. Initial reports in the U.S. have come from the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, which used this drug in conjunction with therapy at Spring Grove Hospital near Baltimore.

In the January-March 1977 Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, five doctors on the Spring Grove team discussed their findings about "The Peak Exper- ience Variable in DPT-Assisted Psychotherapy with Cancer Patients." They expressed the opinion that among the many altered states of psychedelic consciousness, peak experiences "are probably among the most difficult to

facilitate . . . [but] we now possess a technology that can evoke peak exper- iences with sufficient potency and reliability to permit us to study their im- pact on human behavior,' They undernxik to test such a possibility with DPT, administering it to thirty-four cancer patients who were expected to live at least three months and who were suffering major psychological stress. The goal was to evoke what William James called the "noetic" quality of peak experiences, about which he had written:

although so similar to states of feeling, [these] mystical states seem to those who experience them 10 be also states of knowledge. They art- states of insight into depths of iruth unplumbed by the discursive intellect.

Collected data indicated "clinical improvement of greater magnitude for the group of peakers than for the group of nonpeakers." The team con- cluded that a cluster of significant changes on various indexes "strongly suggests that the response to psychotherapy was different for the two groups." They cited "the peakers' improvement in 'Capacity for Intimate Contact,' suggesting the enhancement of a quality of interpersonal openness that might mitigate the isolation and lack of meaningful communication often experienced both by terminally ill patients and their closest family membets."

The Spring Grove evaluations were complicated because raters were asked not to speak with the subjects about their DPT experiences. Another problem was that some of these patients later classified as "nonpeakers"

had experiences during the period of DPT action that they viewed as quite meaningful. For example, the subject in the sample of nonpeakers who scored highest on the peak experience items of the Psychedelic Experience Questionnaire (43 percent total score) described having experienced herself during part of the period of DPT action in a visionary synagogue. Within the experiential sequence recounted, she described feeling led by the hand of a wise old man she called God to the from of the sanctuary, and there given a Torah to carry as a sign that she was accepted, forgiven, and had "come home." Although this sequence might well be classified as a "religious experience" or as an "archetypal experience," it did not ^ntail the sense of ego-transcendence and the unitive state of consciousness defined as intrinsic to the term "peak experience" within the context of this study.

Nonetheless, this team concluded from its experiments with DPT "that peak experiences may constitute an intrinsic element of effective psychotherapy for some persons' and that "rapid therapeutic progress in the course of short-term psychotherapy with cancer patients . . . is indicated by this study." In a comment also pertinent for anyone considering use of DPT, they observed that "when a peak experience does occur, its continuing relevance for daily living may be strongly dependent on the degree to which the associated insights are assimilated or transferred into the everyday self- concept and world view of the patient."

330 DMT, DET. DPT

In the October-December 1977 issue ot the journal of Psychedelic Drugs, the Spring Grove team reported on a controlled study of DPT- assisted psychotherapy with eighty-six alcoholics. Some of these investigators had earlier 'quite encouraging" results using LSD as an adjunct to psycho- therapy with chronic alcoholics, but they thought DPT might be a more suit- able agent because of its shorter duration and its lack of negative publicity. A year later, the group given DPT "showed an advantage in positive outcome measures"—particularly in regard to Occupational Adjustment and Sobriety— when compared to the two control groups. Those given DPT "may have temporarily experienced a substantial number of peak reactions," the authors wrote, and "may have temporarily experienced a more positive mode of functioning." Later follow-ups, however, revealed few long-term differences among the three groups, a result that "would seem to indicate that the DPT group did not know how to integrate their new modes of functioning into the everyday patterns of their lives."

FORMS AND PREPARATIONS

The short-acting tryptamines, usually seen as crystals, are difficult to identify. However, each has a characteristic smell that is easily recalled by people who have tried them once. Over time, they turn increasingly reddish.

Tryptamines may also appear as an oil put onto various herbs, such as parsley, rnari|uana or red raspberry leaves. Marijuana is probably the best medium, because it is less harsh on the throat and lungs than parsley and because a lot of users like the combination. Some tryptamme enthusiasts object to mixture with pot on the grounds that marijuana detracts from a tryptamine's clarity. Parsley and other herbs can be converted into more neutral carriers by steeping them in water so as to extract most of their aro- matic flavoring and then drying the herb.

Some users prefer to smoke a com pound like DMT without any carrier in a small glass pipe. A small amount of the crystals or oil is placed in the bowl and then slowly heated until fumes begin to fill the pipe. As has been mentioned, it is most efficient if each user smokes the entire amount he or she wants and then passes the pipe along.

A regular pipe covered with a fine screen can also be used. As Bigwood and Ott explain, the crystals should not be plated directly on the screen because

they would be aspirated before they can be vaporized Instead an herb (preferably non-psychoactive) should be placed on the screen and the DMT added atop the herb.

When smoking DMT-soaked parsley, it is often difficult to gauge the proper dose. The only recourse, other than solvent extraction and isolation, is to use the "bioassay technique." Basically, one should try a small amount of the mixture, increasing the dose ... until the desired effects become apparent.

i, Seen as an oil at the upper right, DMT generally appears mixed with , an herb—either loose, bottled or in joints. Many users prefer to smoke [' it from a glass pipe, such as the one seen at the left.

When smoked, fifteen to thirty milligrams of pure DMT is sufficient to produce hallucinogenic effects. This is a small amount, too small to be easily estimated without some reference. We suggest, if you have some DMT to spare, that you weigh out 15 to 30 milligrams as a reference. We do not recommend measuring doses while inebriated.

History, 333-339 Records from South American

Explorers, 334 Identification of the Active

Principles, 335 Developments over the

LastTwenry Years, 336 Botany, 339-343

Ayahmsca and Yogi. 340 The Admixtures of Ya&, 342 Syrian Rue, 342

Chemistry, 343-345 Harmalas ( 0

-Carbolines), 343 Natural Harmalas in Humans, 344 Admixtures, 345

Physical Effects, 345-348 Purgative Aspects, 346 Other Physical Side- Effects, 346 Healing Qualities, 347 Mental Effects, 348-355 Dosage Considerations, 348 Yag£ Visions and their Stages, 348 Specificity of

Yagg's Visions, 349 Auditory Component, 351 Telepathic Element, 352 Sexual Component, 35? Psychotherapeutic Potential, 354

Forms and Preparations, 356-357