“Life lived in the absence of the psychedelic experience that primordial shamanism is based on is life trivialized, life denied, life enslaved to the ego.”
Psychedelics, for over many decades now, have been labeled as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning that they have a high chance of being abused, and causing users to become addicted. They have no previous FDA history, and they are tightly regulated by the American government. All psychedelics have been placed under this category, sitting next to heroin, ecstasy, and marijuana.
Under recent years, scientists have been unearthing new data that proves hallucinogenics, like many psychedelics, may be crucial in improving or maintaining anyone’s mood or clarity in life. There is one regulation though: these hallucinogenics must be taken in a heavily regulated environment to ensure that addiction does not occur. This monumental rise in research has given way to a new and still timid form of self-improvement: psychedelic therapy.
why psychedelics?
Research from the Drug Policy Alliance have shown that the general public views psychedelics as extremely dangerous, similar to crack cocaine and meth. Recent research have shown very promising results that under a controlled environment, psychedelics are able to improve people’s well-beings.
When people are given a regulated dose of hallucinogenics, they experience what many call is an “ego death”. This is an experience where the person experiences spiritual and “out of this world” trips that make them feel like they are exiting their body and entering into something bigger than themselves. It’s extremely hard to describe what actually occurs during this process, but it’s definitely unlike any other.
When they see objects and events from this “ego death” perspective, many patients begin to discard their personal problems and relatively insignificant difficulties about their own lives. Scientists don’t fully understand how this form of therapy works, but the results of taking doses of hallucinogenics have paved the way for experiments in the 1950s and 60s to claim that psychedelics can treat — and possibly even cure — depression and anxiety.
Charles Grob, a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at UCLA, conducted a study where he gave psilocybin to late-stage cancer patients. According to the majority of results that he received, many of the patients gave positive responses. They stated that the experience was of great value, and it helped them regain a sense of purpose in life.
and it applies to everyone.
Mark Kleinman, a drug policy expert at New York University’s Marron Institute, stated that the findings of multiple experiments have created the early path for additional research into psychedelics. Also, he claimed that these benefits of hallucinogenics don’t just apply to patients with diseases, they can apply to everyone. For example, some of the benefits include a reduced fear of death, greater psychological openness, and increased life purpose.
how safety and regulation eliminates danger.
Hallucinogenics aren’t entirely safe for the user if they don’t use it in a regulated environment, as stated earlier. There’s also little to no chance that addiction to these psychedelics take place: they’re not physically addictive, and the “ego death” experience that many people feel are very draining and demanding that it takes great effort to do it again.
This gets to two different types of dangers that hallucinogenics present: accidents and bad trips.
Under high doses of psychedelics, it’s very common to see people create accidents. When they’re heavily intoxicated, they are zoned out and mentally away from reality. This leads to the user heaving unhealthily with really no consciousness controlling them.
Bad trips aren’t a good thing either. A bad psychedelic experience can result in psychotic episodes, a lost sense of reality, and even mental trauma.
Also these dangers are obvious and destructive to the human mind and body, regulation helps keep them in check. Under careful observation on people like therapists, users are able to take completely safe doses to treat their problems. The potential benefits of these hallucinogenics are leading many experts to believe that the legalization of psychedelics outweigh the potential dangers that they present to the general population (by legalization, it does not mean recreational).