Episode 55: Carlos and Larry from Decriminalize Nature
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Please note: if you’re considering working with psychedelics, stay legal and stay safe. Do your research. Understand contraindications. Test all substances. Psychedelics are not for everybody.
Quick announcement. I now have a book out, titled The Grief Trip: How I Learned to Heal WITH Grief…and Psychedelics. You can find it at www.thegrieftrip.com. 100% of proceeds go to the Ian Preston Memorial Fund to help support mental health and suicide prevention.
Okay. In this episode, I had the honor of speaking with the founders of the Decriminalize Nature movement, Carlos Plazola and Larry Norris. Each of them shared their personal Stoned Ape story as well as what’s going on with the Decriminalize Nature movement. I highly recommend getting involved. Check the links in the text to find your local group.
So, please enjoy this conversation with Carlos and Larry.
Get Involved:
http://decriminalizenature.org/
IG and FB (@decriminalizenature)
Email: decrimnature@gmail.com
Carlos Plazola
Carlos is the child of an indigenous ejidatario farmer who dropped out of school in the 3 rd grade and then came to the United States at sixteen to send money to his mother in MX; and a powerful and loving Mexican woman who raised three children alone in San Jose, CA. He grew up surrounded by struggle, violence, aggression, and poverty, but also by a loving Chicano/Mexican community, familia, and a warrior-clan who showed him how to stand upright in the face of adversity. At seven, the death of a family member disrupted his comfort by introducing him to the concepts of zero and the infinite. He spent the next 40 years trying to reconcile this seeming contradiction in which we exist. Several mushroom and ayahuasca journeys in 2018 and 2019 enabled him to finally reconcile this contradiction and discover a narrative of inner-peace.
Today he builds housing in Oakland, which keeps him grounded, while volunteering as Chair of the Board and Co-Founder of the Decriminalize Nature, which is his spiritual path.
Larry Norris
Larry Norris, PhD is the cofounder of Decriminalize Nature, which took root in Oakland, CA in 2019 and has sprouted across the US. DN related policy has now passed in seven cities nationwide with at least three more cities looking to pass before the end of the year. He is also the co-founder of Entheogenic Research Integration and Education (ERIE), a nonprofit organization which offers education and integration support for those interested in entheogens. His doctoral research focuses on ayahuasca experiences and integration, as well as expanding integration concepts beyond the psychotherapeutic paradigm. He believes it is an unalienable right to have one’s own relationship with Nature, and encourages empowering grassroots communities to build local and culturally relevant support structures related to entheogens.
We discussed:
- I would love to hear your stories…what inspired you to lead this movement…your Stoned Ape stories
- Start with you, Carlos? What was going on in your life that brought you to psychedelics? Tell us a little about that experience, and then how it helped you in life…Peyote
- Larry, What was going on in your life that brought you to psychedelics? Tell us a little about that experience, and then how it helped you in life…
- What do you think the key is to a truly transformational, positive psychedelic experience is?
- Tell us about the Decrim efforts going on, including past victories.
- How can people get involved?
- Anything else?
wixarika–Wee har eeka
