Tagged as the ‘Tree Planters’ State’, Nebraska and its residents are beginning to dip their green thumbs in the emerging space of psychedelic-assisted therapy. Psychedelic therapeutics have a long and rich history in shamanic roots, and western medicine is beginning to catch up with its diverse applications.
In the past decade, the relationship between humans and psychedelics have been the source of much scientific inquiry. Today, much research has come to prove their efficacy in treating disorders like depression, ADHD, and even eating disorders. Is the Nebraska legislature ready to offer support?
What’s the legal climate of psychedelic therapy in the state of Nebraska? Perhaps more pressingly, how can state residents seek legal, therapeutic psychedelic experiences near them? Let’s get into it.
Current Legislation of Psychedelics in Nebraska
In some cases, the cannabis laws of a state will serve to indicate their prospective support of psychedelic therapies. However, Nebraska is still fairly unwavering about cannabis legalization, although state senators said that residents should expect cannabis legalization to be on the 2022 ballot.
Unfortunately, the state’s delayed proposal of cannabis reform measures do seem to reflect their stance on psychedelics. As of right now, all psychedelics are illegal in Nebraska, as they fall under the category of Schedule I substances. These include LSD, MDMA, psilocybin, DMT, and ayahuasca.
Substances in this category are deemed to have no medical use and a high potential for abuse. Of course, we know that psychedelic research states quite the contrary. In fact, psychedelic substances have been found to treat substance use disorder, amongst many other conditions.
If caught with possession of a hallucinogenic substance, residents could face fines of up to $10,000 and even up to 5 years in prison. Of course, the severity of consequences would increase if charged with possession with the intent to distribute or with cultivation of a controlled Schedule I substance.
That being said, if the state of Nebraska lacks in support toward psychedelic therapies, federal legislation might beat them to it. In July of this year, President Joe Biden announced his anticipation for MDMA and psilocybin therapies to receive FDA approval in the next two years.
This would definitely warrant reconsideration of psychedelic reform by Nebraska government officials. Psilocybin spores, however, are completely legal to possess in the state since they don’t contain any active hallucinogenic compounds like psilocin.
When the spores are germinated and psilocin starts to become present in the fruiting body, legal grounds for possession are violated. There are several species of psilocybin mushrooms that grow in the woods of Nebraska, such as Panaeolus subbalteatus and Panaeolus cinctulus.
The Therapeutic Benefits of a Psychedelic Experience
If you’re researching the current reform efforts for psychedelics in Nebraska, it’s likely you’ve already headed down the internet rabbit hole of psychedelic benefits. That’s why today we’ll be exemplifying the cognitive effects of these therapies through their ability for reconditioning our behavioral patterns.
From the moment we come out of the womb, our environment and our caretakers begin to instill systems of belief into our mental schemas, both intentionally and sometimes accidently. As our infant curiosities start to unconsciously collect social cues from our environments, patterns of thinking and perceiving are established.
These cues validate certain behaviors through rewarding exchanges of love and affection, while other environmental situations can reinforce ideas that are relate to inherently toxic relationships. From a young age, we might have memories of our caretaker abusing another one of our caretakers.
As such a young age we might not have the appropriate cognitive functioning to identify the nature of these events or relationships. However, as adults, these sometimes subconscious or even unconscious memories begin to surface through our attachment styles.
Let’s say the victim caretaker consistently showed efforts to receive approval or support from their abuser, it’s likely that in such a situation we might begin to express a disorganized attachment style.
As adults, this results in unhealthy perceptions of how our emotional needs should be tended to, and how one’s value should be measured or validated. Such reliance on outside approval is often associated with codependency issues which may stem from experiencing unreciprocated love during one’s youth.
Psychedelics reorganize our conditioned narratives by putting one big mirror up to the story of our life. They help us transcend our limiting beliefs by making us aware of the cognitive associations and patterns that don’t serve us.
The thoughts that encompass our self perception or our “personality”, are maintained in circulation by a brain region called the Default Mode Network (DMN). Not-so-surprisingly, the DMN is responsible for circulating the behavioral and thinking patterns that we fall back on, by default.
Those with disorders like OCD, substance abuse, and anxiety, are known to experience significant DMN overactivity. This abnormal activity is positively and significantly correlated to the excessive rumination associated with these disorders.
Luckily, the findings of emerging psychedelic research have shared strong evidence to support their efficacy in the reduction of DMN overactivity. Psychedelics have been shown to reduce DMN activity by stimulating neural plasticity.
Neural plasticity refers to our nervous system’s ability to reorganize its connections as means for changing its response to internal or external stimuli.
As the subjective experience of a psychedelic trip unfolds, new cognitive associations are formed, which are then strengthened and reinforced as psychedelics increase the size and density of our neuron’s dendritic spines.
Dendritic spines are essentially the limbs of our neurons. They receive information from other neurons and pass electrical and chemical signals onto other neurons. By creating more points of contact between our brain cells, psychedelics enhance overall neural communication.
Upon conclusion of a psychedelic experience, our brains are now programmed to ‘default’ into newly-formed perspectives, which offer more productive alternatives than our old conditioned beliefs. Psychedelics reflect our truths back to us while establishing the neurological tools to produce sustainable results.
Where to Find Legal Psychedelic Experiences in Nebraska 2022
Currently, there are two options for embarking on a therapeutic psychedelic experience in Nebraska: Ketamine clinics and guided psychedelic journeys with Psychedelic Passage.
1. Ketamine Clinics
Ketamine is being used as a new treatment for PTSD and depression. The drug has been used in U.S. hospital operating rooms for over 50 years as a dissociative anesthetic.
This means that though ketamine isn’t a traditional psychedelic, its effects can alter consciousness. The drug helps journeyers see themselves from a second person point of view. This often allows journeyers to observe the current events of their lives from a more objective, and thus more empathic, perspective.
Because we honor truth and full disclosure, we should clarify that about half of our clients at Psychedelic Passage come to us seeking an experience with traditional psychedelics because prior ketamine sessions only provided temporary relief or failed to treat their symptoms all together.
Thus, if you are interested in finding a ketamine clinic near you, make sure that you’re supported with the proper therapeutic tools and processes. This means you should receive preparation and integration sessions, along with the unhindered attention of a psychedelic therapist during your ketamine journey.
2. Guided Psychedelic Journeys with Psychedelic Passage
Here, at Psychedelic Passage we offer facilitation of psychedelic experiences with the psychedelic substances of your choice. Power of the medicine you choose to journey with is just a start because we believe that everyone has the right to exercise full autonomy over their healing journey.
That’s exactly why every facet of our 5 week program is completely customized to your needs, personal intentions, and yes, even your financial situation. Our program includes both preparation and integration, as well as in-person ceremonial support, and program costs are determined by your income.
We prioritize equal access to these potentially life-altering medicines. Our BIPOC and low-income fund helps us do just that, by subsidizing the cost of our program for clients that may need financial assistance. Such a vulnerable experience should be met with qualified support.
Not only will you be connected to our entire pre-vetted network of experienced psychedelic facilitators, but you can also embark on your therapeutic psychedelic journey from the comfort of your own couch.
Find Your Next Psychedelic Journey in Any Major Nebraska City
- Omaha
- Lincoln
- Bellevue
- Grand Island
- Kearney
- Fremont
- Hastings
- Norfolk
- Columbus
- Papillion
- North Platte
- La Vista
- Scottsbluff
- South Sioux City
- Beatrice
Explore How it Feels to be Connected
If you’re looking to embark on your own therapeutic psychedelic journey, we empower you to book a consultation with us. Psychedelic journeys should be approached with intentionality and deep respect, and we’re here to make your communion with these ancient medicines more comfortable and effective.
Of course, you may very well have many lingering questions still on your mind. If so, check out our resources page for more informative articles on all-things-psychedelic. Well friends, that’s all we have for today. As always, safe and mindful journeying!
