Questions from psychonauts

Some people who take part in these experiences do so on their own or with friends, not in a supervised program. We do not judge people for that, and we do not encourage it.

We gather what research and documented traditions report, about benefit as well as risk, and give it here for free, with a source and a reliability level on every claim. Where we did not find something measured, we say so. This page lists the cards that are ready and that speak to psychonauts journeying without a guide.

If something is missing or wrong, or you want to tell us what happened to you or someone you know, there is an anonymous form that asks for no name or contact details. Reports are for adults, 18 and over.

Ready now

Twenty-one questions are written up in full. They are the same cards that people who guide others read, and each one is kept in a single place, so a correction made to a card shows here at once. Most cards are written about people who guide or sit with others. Six of them open with a short note for people using without a guide or with friends or a partner: screening, preparing and setting an intention, one-to-one, group or couples, what a guide does, when it gets hard, and integration.

Each card opens with a short answer in plain words. Below it are what research knows, what is not known, and what the card does not say. Where we have read them in full, cards also include what people in the field report, marked as reported practice, not a recommendation. At the end come the sources, each with a level and a reading status. People who guide or host others will find a longer list on For practitioners.

Coming

These 27 topics are on our list and are not yet written up. They are in no promised order and no date is promised, because a topic goes up only after its sources have been read in full. If a question you have is missing, write to main@metanoia-ca.org and we will add it to the list.

• Pregnancy, breastfeeding and hormones
• Age: younger and older people
• Everyday substances around a session: cannabis, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine
• Diet, fasting and preparing the body
• The room and its safety set-up
• A friend, a partner, a therapist or a remote “witness”
• Physical risk and getting medical help
• Touch and massage
• What is in it: identity, testing, variability
• 5-MeO-DMT and bufo
• Microdosing
• Other substances: iboga and ibogaine, LSD, mescaline, kambo and peyote
• Lasting difficulties: sleep, feeling unreal, feeling cut off
• Repeated sessions and changing response
• Support lines, peers and supervision
• The sacred, “the medicine”, the dieta: spiritual and traditional framing
• Using AI as a helper
• What is claimed about benefit, and what has actually been measured
• How to tell a hard moment from an emergency
• Calling emergency services: what happens, and what the law says about calling
• Legal risk for psychonauts
• Driving, work, drug tests and how long effects last
• Parties, festivals and groups of friends
• First time, and low experience
• Products sold as psychedelic products
• Talking to a doctor or therapist about it
• Wild mushrooms and look-alikes

Send us a report

We want to hear about sessions and gatherings outside supervised programs. Metanoia runs a research channel for these accounts, including a personal experience, alone or with friends. The form is anonymous, with no field for a name or contact details, and it is for adults, 18 and over. If sending a report could put you at risk where you live, please do not send one. We cannot see or control what our host keeps. We take no position on the legal status of anything a report describes. Please leave out names and anything that identifies a person or a place.

The channel is not monitored in real time and is not an emergency service. If you or someone else needs help now, call 911 or your local emergency number. In the United States you can also call or text 988. The privacy terms, including what our host processes, and the publication policy are on the form page.

Comments and corrections

If a card reports something wrongly, tell us at main@metanoia-ca.org and keep the card name in the subject line. Accounts of what happened in a session belong in the field reports channel, not in email. We read every message.