Review: Nicholas Meyers and Tyler Chandler’s ‘DOSED: The Trip Of A Lifetime’ is a meditative journey with mushrooms as medicine.

DOSED


This film, the second by Nicholas Meyers and Tyler Chandler, tells the story of a loving mother of four, Laurie Brooks, who receives a grim diagnosis: terminal cancer. Given only a year to live, she becomes one of the first patients to be granted the legal right to the medical use of psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”) for end-of-life treatment. As they documented her journey, they were able to secure interviews with top scientists, doctors, and clinicians in the field of psychedelic research, including Dr. Gabor Maté, Paul Stamets, Dennis McKenna, Dr. Robert Sealy, and Sharan Sidhu, among others. The resulting film, DOSED: The Trip of a Lifetime, contains powerful information with the potential to repair families and save lives.


The magic medicine of mushrooms. Filmmakers Nicholas Meyers and Tyler Chandler follow the 53-year-old married mother of four, Laurie Brooks, through grief and acceptance after a dire cancer diagnosis. Pushing past fear and diving head first into the earth’s soil for a possible therapy, DOSED: The Trip of a Lifetime gives audiences a fresh look at the mind and body and a new outlook on life, death, and healing.

Although outlawed in 1970, mushrooms had been in innumerable treatments beginning in the 20s. In 2000 Johns Hopkins received approval to continue research. Psychological readiness is intrinsic in granting patient approval. The study of psilocybin is just as important as cannabis studies, a subject DOSED also delves into at length. Meyers, Chandler, and Brooks allow us into raw trips. Laurie describes the images and sensations and, more importantly, the emotional after-effects of psilocybin. We hear from researchers and therapists about the positive effects of “magic mushrooms,” When we receive a fatal diagnosis, the psychological impact is immeasurable.

Meyers and Chandler fully acknowledge the limitations of solely profiling Laurie but hope that her story will open up the dialogue for the curious and the medical field to come together in a mutually beneficial journey. DOSED is an intimate and deeply affecting film about the possibilities in the relationship between nature and healing. Laurie Brooks’ story is one filled with inspiration. We walk away acknowledging one vital thing; that fully experiencing every moment is the key to living.


IN THEATERS ACROSS NORTH AMERICA AND SELECT INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
BEGINNING APRIL 21


About Liz Whittemore

Liz grew up in northern Connecticut and was memorizing movie dialogue from Shirley Temple to A Nightmare on Elm Street at a very early age. She will watch just about any film all the way through (no matter how bad) just to prove a point. A loyal New Englander, a lover of Hollywood, and true inhabitant of The Big Apple.

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