Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal will screen the Canadian documentary, Dosed 2 – The Trip of a Lifetime, this coming Sunday at 1.30pm.
Organised by the Victorian Goldfields branch of the Australian Psychedelic Society, the screening and panel discussion will be followed by a performance in the courtyard by the local psychedelic rock group, Aplegate.
Dosed 2 follows Laurie, a terminally ill cancer patient and loving mother of four, as she is granted the right to legally use magic mushrooms to treat her end-of-life anxiety. She then embarks on a remarkable journey of personal transformation and healing while exploring lesser-known possible cures for cancer, like cannabis oil.
The film also features experts such as Dr Gabor Maté, Paul Stamets, Dr Dennis McKenna, Sharan Sidhu and Dana Larsen.
After the screening, there will be a panel discussion featuring some of Australia’s leading figures in the use of psychedelics in medicine.
Panellists include Dr Justin Dwyer – a psychotherapist and researcher at St Vincent’s Hospital, Dr Karen Hitchcock – MD and author, and Dr Martin Williams – president of PRISM (Psychedelic Research in Science and Medicine).
Also on the panel will be Dr Margaret Ross.
Dr Ross is the chief principal investigator for Australia’s first psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy study at St Vincent’s Hospital.
Psilocybin is the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms.
When asked why this research was important, Dr Ross said a growing number of healthcare professionals and academics could see the therapeutic potential of psychedelic-assisted therapies for a range of mental health/health conditions.
“We still need more research to understand this more thoroughly,” she said.
“Unfortunately, psychedelic-assisted therapy research was thwarted in the 1970s for political reasons, not scientific reasons.
“In fact, the data was achieving quite positive results. This very valuable research stopped for decades. So we have some catching up to do.”
To book visit theatreroyalcastlemaine.oztix.com.au
