| > old research literature on LSD like stuff from James Fadiman True, much of the research before we knew about set and setting approached the substances as psycho-mimetic, or substances that induce psychosis. Aldous Huxley described them as the "gates to heaven and hell". > The problem with psychedelics is they only make you "more" of what you are. I think that's oversimplifying, the drug is a serotonin agonist, it tends to have some pretty predictable results. For example a large number of trips go in the general direction of "love is all we need"(Sam Harris, Waking Up). > nobody talks about the very real possibility of having PTSD flashbacks There are risks of bad experiences for sure, yet there are benefits for many people too. At the end of the day, "controlled substance which can be used under supervision" is not a bad place to be. Michael Pollan points out that psilocybin was highly ritualized in the cultures which used them, they were sacred and non-recreational. |