The People’s Chief

“The crowd was boisterous and energized by the momentum of an event coming together so quickly. At the intersection of Georgia and Hamilton streets, it grew to more than one thousand strong. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip was driving home to Penticton when he heard the news. He pulled over to an orchard at Spirit Ridge, near Osoyoos, and took a moment to think. Then he turned his trusted Chevy Tahoe around and began the drive back to Vancouver. Four hours later, he stood before the crowd at Georgia and Hamilton.”

 

Travis Lupick – The Georgia Straight – May 2018

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Vancouver forges new paths in revival of psychedelic research

“In 2011, Gerald Thomas was invited to an Indigenous community in a remote area of British Columbia. Working for the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C., he was one of a small team of scientists who observed 12 people take ayahuasca, an Amazonian mixture that induces vivid visual and auditory hallucinations as well as deep emotional and intellectual reflection. ‘The ceremonies themselves are really intense,’ Thomas told the Georgia Straight in a telephone interview. ‘People are pushed to their emotional edge.’ The group remained in a longhouse and its surrounding forest for four days. They slept on its dirt floor and bathed in the nearby river. It wasn’t your typical experiment, Thomas conceded.”

Travis Lupick – The Georgia Straight – January 2018