While Mark and Michele are deep in sabbatical retreat in the Brazilian rainforest, we're revisiting some of our most-loved conversations from the archives.

And this one is legendary!

In this featured favorite episode of Medicine With the Medals, renowned ethnopharmacologist Dennis McKenna shares the origin story of his psychedelic path, the accidental mushroom awakening that reshaped his worldview, and his take on the future of plant medicine.

This conversation bridges the scientific, the spiritual, and the deeply personal, offering a masterclass in sacred medicine, integration, and inner ecology.

Whether you're plant-curious or walking the ceremonial path, this episode is your compass.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why psilocybin was the real “teacher” that emerged from a failed search for the Amazonian ukuhe

• How set and setting shapes the healing of psychedelics, and why “the set is you”

• The key differences between ayahuasca, iboga, psilocybin, and 5-MeO-DMT

• A cautious but grounded approach to microdosing for anxiety, energy, and integration

• How psychedelics act as perceptual instruments, revealing sacred geometry and nature’s hidden design
  

Episode Highlights:

• 04:08 – LSD, Berkeley, and the myth of Dennis’s first trip with Terrence
• 13:22 – Discovering mushrooms instead of ukuhe at La Chorrera: an origin myth retold
• 23:47 – The “mushroom agenda” and how they became the real teachers
• 31:10 – Microdosing vs. pharmaceuticals: Dennis weighs the mental health potential
• 41:29 – Comparing psychedelic medicines: iboga for addiction, ayahuasca for the heart, and 5-MeO for ego
• 50:02 – Why sacred geometry appears in altered states, and what it tells us about perception
• 58:14 – Shared psychedelic visions, ancestral lineages, and mentoring the next generation
• 01:06:00 – Dennis reflects on ritual, ceremony, and respecting Indigenous medicine while walking your own path

👤 Meet the Guest

Dennis McKenna is an ethnopharmacologist, co-founder of the McKenna Academy, and one of the world’s most respected voices in entheogenic science and Indigenous plant medicine research.

Tools, Frameworks, or Concepts Mentioned:

• Psychoecology: Understanding how mind and environment co-create perception

• Default Mode Network (DMN): How psychedelics disrupt mental conditioning

• Neural Gating: The brain’s mechanism for filtering sensory overload

• LDO Integration Loop (implied): Awareness → Surrender → Meaning-making → Action
  

Closing Insight:

“Psychedelics are tools we can use to become better lovers of ourselves, others, nature, and reality.” – Dennis McKenna

This timeless episode reminds us that plant medicine is more than a trend; it's a path of remembering, reconnection, and responsibility. Whether you’re listening from ceremony, city, or solitude, may this wisdom meet you where you are.

For the best in microdosing products and education, visit http://mamadose.com

Learn more about Maestro Hamilton: https://hamiltonsouther.com/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVph0k0GQ79tkki0uI1bHAA

Connect with us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/medicinewiththemedals

Connect with us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/medicine_with_the_medals/

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theplantmedicinepath/