Magic Nanaimo

02/07/2026

02/07/2026

Trauma is not just what happened to us.
It’s also how the nervous system learned to survive.

When people talk about trauma, they often imagine a single overwhelming event. In reality, trauma is better understood as a process: the lasting imprint of threat, helplessness, or loss on the brain and body. Two people can live through similar events and emerge very differently, not because one is “stronger,” but because their nervous systems adapted in different ways.

From a neuroscience perspective, trauma is associated with changes in how the brain detects danger, regulates emotion, and integrates memory. Systems designed to protect us — vigilance, avoidance, dissociation — can remain active long after the original threat has passed. What once helped survival can later limit flexibility, connection, and a sense of safety.

Clinically, this reframes trauma away from pathology and toward adaptation. Many trauma-related symptoms make sense when we ask “What happened to you?” rather than “What’s wrong with you?” This shift matters. It reduces shame and opens the door to more compassionate, curiosity-driven approaches to healing.

Research into psychedelic-assisted therapies has renewed interest in trauma, particularly around how rigid patterns of fear and meaning might soften under certain conditions. At the same time, this is an evolving field. Early findings are promising, but they are not universal, and context, preparation, and integration appear crucial. Psychedelics are not a shortcut — and they are certainly not a solution on their own.

A thoughtful conversation about trauma invites humility. Brains are complex. Healing is rarely linear. And no single framework explains every person’s experience.

02/07/2026

02/05/2026

01/25/2026

So there's this new study from Oregon where they gave psilocybin mushrooms to eight athletes with traumatic brain injuries - boxers, MMA fighters, surfers, and bobsledders.

These people had been living with concussion symptoms that were absolutely wrecking their lives.

They hooked everyone up to EEG machines and did brain scans before and after guided psilocybin sessions.

The changes were visible on the scans - their frontal lobes literally rebalanced themselves.

That's the part of your brain that handles mood and impulse control.

The results were kind of incredible.

Depression dropped, PTSD symptoms improved, and their brains got noticeably better at focusing and making decisions.

One test showed their "noticing and responding" signals got significantly stronger and their brains were physically working better.

The theory is that psilocybin doesn't just mask symptoms like typical treatments.

It actually helps the brain rewire around damage at both the neurological and metabolic level.

We're talking about cellular repair, not just a temporary mood boost.

It's early days. The study was on just eight people and is not peer-reviewed yet.

But former NHL player Daniel Carcillo, who runs the treatment centre, says these athletes are finally coming back to themselves.

If it works for severe repeated head trauma, what could it do for millions with milder injuries?

01/25/2026

L*D MICRODOSING story.

This client is very sensitive and found herself in a slightly altered state of consciousness but with great results: A bit floaty and loopy. She had a concussion one year ago and has ADHD.

She will cut her dose in half after the first day which you see below.

"The floaty and loopy is more fascinating and entertaining than anything. I've never experienced my arms feeling like they weigh nothing before🤣 but yeah it did cut through the ADHD brain fog the way the (Stamet's) stack does.

Usually when i miss a day on the stack I have a lot of issues with executive function because my ADHD makes my brain work too fast for me to keep up with it. The stack feels like a proper dose of ADHD medication to slow my brain down enough for me to keep up and the L*D feels like it's working the same way at least"

For those of you who may be wondering, Stamet's stack is a shroom product with Lion's Mane and Niacin.

01/22/2026

In this episode of the MAPS Canada podcast, policy and advocacy team member Kyle Sittek-Lumsden speaks with Dr. Blake Pearson about his father Pete Pearson's experience with existential distress as well as the application process for psychedelic-assisted therapy and medical assistance in dying.

They talk about the personal difficulties related to a terminal diagnosis and how Pete's SAP application was denied after an 11 month waiting period while his MAiD request was accepted within 30 days. Join us for this moving and emotional discussion on how these two policy issues intersect in a real-world case.

If you would like to show support for Pete's case to receive compassionate access to psychedelic-assisted therapy through Section 56. exemption, please email the Minister of Health at https://bit.ly/3Zbu67D
Email Minister of Health: hcminister.ministresc@hc-sc.gc.ca or call here 613-957-0200

Link to the video: https://youtu.be/UaxVIrT-jFM

01/19/2026

A fascinating paper in the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs explains how New Zealand's top mushroom scientists were technically criminals for three decades.

They had dried specimens sitting in drawers - just regular research samples - but because these mushrooms contained psilocybin, storing them was illegal.

Imagine being a mycologist breaking the law by doing your actual job.

The irony cuts deep. Psilocybin ranks among the safest substances we know, yet faces stricter controls than alcohol or to***co.

Meanwhile, new research shows it treats depression, PTSD, and addiction effectively.

These mushrooms even increase our connection to nature - exactly what we need at this moment in time.

Nature doesn't care about bureaucracy. These mushrooms grow wild everywhere: council gardens, roadsides, footpaths.

But the law created absurd barriers. Want to study a new species you found in the forest? You might be committing a felony without knowing it.

One researcher waited months just to import reference compounds for basic tests.

Between 1995 and 2024, not a single paper was published on New Zealand's native psilocybin species.

Decades of potential discoveries, gone. Hundreds of species worldwide remain unstudied because scientists face criminal prosecution for collecting samples.

We're blocking knowledge about organisms that could help us.

Things are shifting slowly.

The FDA calls psilocybin a "breakthrough therapy." Clinical research is happening. But mycologists still can't freely study the actual organisms without bureaucratic nightmares.

We're learning to use the compounds while ignoring the living systems that make them.

Time for laws to catch up with nature.

01/18/2026

I'm happy to share some microdosing stories. Here is a report from someone with a brain injury who is working with microdosing L*D.

Before microdosing, I was constantly worried about being judged by others. My brain injury left me thinking I was organized when I wasn't, and I felt pressured to keep moving forward at a pace that would hide any deficiencies I might have. The microdosing seems to have quieted the mental warfare that used to occupy most of my days. Now I'm feeling much happier and have more energy to accomplish physical tasks.

01/11/2026

We have started to carry edible mushroom grow kits. I have two available right now. They are $35. Each. One is Pink Oyster and one is Lion's Mane.