Alexandra Hicks

I am a longtime freelance writer (10+ years) and current managing editor for an alternative culture website (7 years with this company). I love to write and am hoping to expand into some new industries and diversify my portfolio. If you have any projects you need an experienced, adaptable, and reliable writer for, don't hesitate to contact me at a.s.lucia99@gmail.com

BV Digital Marketing Agency •

Ketamine SEO: Strategies, Best Practices, Tips, and More

Ketamine therapy is gaining global popularity, and savvy entrepreneurs are taking notice. One challenge that many of these go-getters are facing is how to market their new businesses in an industry that’s constantly changing. Ketamine SEO is one of the best ways to promote clinics and similar ketamine businesses, so let’s take a closer look at some of the best ways to optimize your website and build your brand.
Cannadelics •

The Connection Between Mushrooms and Gold

Do mushrooms store gold? Can they be used to locate gold deposits in the earth? Are there any benefits to consuming gold? Let’s take a closer look.

When I grew my last flush of mushrooms, I noticed something interesting in the soil – what appeared to be small, flat, golden flakes. “That looks like gold in the soil, what could it be?” I thought to myself. So naturally, I began doing some research. As it turns out, it was most likely mica or vermiculite that I found, but either way, it led me to
Cannadelics •

Coping in a World That Rewards Fakeness, Punishes Authenticity

Over the last decade, our world has become terrifyingly inauthentic. From rampant fake news to the rise of online bots, AI images and articles, filters and photoshop, an uptick in cosmetic work, and so on; it’s getting impossible to tell what’s real, what’s not, and who or what you can trust. And to make matters worse, it seems that our society is rewarding the fakeness and completely disregarding reality and authenticity. It almost feels like some kind of futuristic, alternate, idiocracy-style
Cannadelics •

How Psychedelics Affect the Five Senses

It’s no secret that psychedelics have a substantial impact on our five senses, but what exactly is going on behind the scenes?

When we take psychedelics, reality can become warped and it may feel like all your senses are working in overdrive. But what exactly are the mechanisms of these changes? We know that hallucinogens typically work by binding to serotonin receptors, but they don’t actually have a direct impact on our senses per se. Rather, they work by changing the way we perceive the worl
Cannadelics •

Conservatorships and Involuntary Drug Treatment: Does it Work?

Many people had never heard of conservatorships until the whole “Free Britney” movement (which started in 2009) gained traction a few years ago. But a new law in California that would allow the state to force addicts to undergo treatment has brought this controversial practice back into the limelight. More than two-thirds of the states already have similar laws in place, but experts warn that such measures can do more harm than good. Let’s take a closer look.

A conservatorship is a complex lega
Cannadelics •

Women & Psychedelics: How Estrogen Alters Psilocybin's Effects

Many drugs affect women differently than men, but does that apply to psychedelics also? Check out the new research on estrogen and psilocybin.

The numerous benefits of psychedelics have been coming to light in recent years, and women are taking notice. With little options in the way of pharmaceutical drugs, especially when it comes to treating mental illness and hormonal imbalances, it’s no surprise that women are experimenting with hallucinogens to see what can actually help. And better yet, a
Cannadelics •

Mycoremediation: Using Mushrooms to Clean Environmental Toxins

Global waste is expected to increase to 3.4 billion tons by 2050. To put it into perspective, by that time, there will be more plastic waste than fish in the world’s oceans. So we need to make some changes fast. Scientists are looking at numerous different ways to weaponize natural resources in the fight against pollution. One of the more interesting methods they’ve come across is known as mycoremediation – in which mushrooms absorb various toxins from the earth. From wildfire zones in Californi
Cannadelics •

Tech Meets Nature - New "Living PC" Powered by Mushrooms

When tech and nature meet, you get as close to seeing magic as seemingly possible. Using a newer concept known as wetware, a team of researchers from the UK created a “living computer”, which utilizes a mushroom motherboard for power and data storage. The idea combines technology, mycology, and AI into what sounds like something out of a science fiction novel. But it’s not, this is real life, so let’s take a closer look at how it all works.

The term wetware refers to the merging of hardware and
Cannadelics •

Are Pain Medications Preventing You from Healing?

We all know that pharmaceutical pain medications are much stronger than nearly anything you can find in nature. There’s no comparing cannabis, cloves, or magic mushrooms to powerful drugs like fentanyl and isotonitazene. So why are a growing number of people turning away from opioids in favor of milder treatment options? Aside from obvious safety issues with the former, the answer to that lies in part, in how we, as a society, view pain in the first place.

Is pain something that should be immed
Cannadelics •

Locals Oppose Plan for Cannabis Super Center in Mojave Desert

Going from a literal cannabis desert, with only one legal delivery service in the entire city, to being the home of a 29-acre “cannabis super center” that is slated to become a hotspot for stoner tourism, is a huge leap for Barstow. But that’s exactly what is brewing for this mid-sized town in the heart of California’s Mojave Desert.

What exactly will this pot super center consist of? When will it be open and operational? And what do the locals have to say about all this? In short, this project
Wild Snakes : Education and Discussion •

Mojave Rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus) - One of the World's Most Venomous Snakes

Crotalus scutulatus, AKA the Mojave Rattlesnake, is a pit viper known for its particularly powerful neurotoxic-hemotoxic venom, one of the most potent in the world. The Mojave Rattlesnake can be found in the arid desert regions of the Southwestern United States and Northern to Central Mexico.

A common nickname for these snakes is “Mojave Green”, because many of them are a noticeable green color. This name, however, is inaccurate as their color range includes green, brown, yellow, grey and some
Wild Snakes : Education and Discussion •

Viperid Spotlight: All About Sidewinders (Crotalus cerastes)

The Sidewinder Rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes) as well as the Desert Horned Viper (Cerastes cerastes) are small to medium sized vipers commonly found in sandy desert regions – the former in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, and the latter in North Africa and parts of the Middle East.

Sidewinders and Horned Vipers are incredibly convergent, except sidewinders possess heat-sensitive pit organs that enable them to sense their prey; Horned Vipers do not. Horned Vipers are also sans rattle,
Yuqo •

The fascinating development of sign language

Contrary to popular belief, sign languages are natural and original, and they utilise their own set of grammar, vocabulary, and lexicon based on where the specific sign language originates. Because of this, sign languages are not universal or mutually comprehensible by all nationalities. For example, American Sign Language (ASL) is completely different from British Sign Language (BSL), despite how closely related the spoken languages are.

Expert linguists agree that sign language is just as nat
Yuqo •

What are idioms and how do we use them?

Every dialect has its own unique idioms—phrases which often can’t be translated into any other language. It’s one of the many ways we personalise communication amongst ourselves. An idiom, technically categorised as “formulaic language”, is a special phrase or expression that has a figurative meaning that is different from its literal meaning. All languages have idioms, and there is an estimated 25,000 total just in English. Typically, they can’t be translated directly, but many other languages
Yuqo •

Is it possible to forget your mother tongue?

While some people can remember their native language after years, even decades of not speaking or hearing it, many others begin to lose fluency after only 3-5 years. It’s not known exactly why this varies so much for each individual, but according to Dr Monika Schmid, a linguistics professor at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom, people should practice all the languages they know regularly if they plan on retaining any sort of articulacy.

It’s pretty rare to forget your first languag