In recent years, the therapeutic potential of substances commonly referred to as «psychedelics» — such as psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and mescaline — has been the subject of intense media discussion around the world. Notably, the state of Colorado passed an initiative in 2022 that decriminalized several psychedelic substances recognizing them as «natural medicines».
The 2023 Interdisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies conference in Denver featured speakers such as NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Texas Governor Rick Perry. In his 2018 best-selling book How to Change Your Mind, author Michael Pollan describes the renewed interest in these substances as a «psychedelic renaissance».
Proponents of this positive view of current trends argue that widespread acceptance of psychedelics through licensed and highly regulated therapies could benefit all of humanity. However, the benefits of the so-called «psychedelic renaissance» are unevenly distributed.
At the MAPS 2023 conference, indigenous activists interrupted a session to discuss how the patenting and commercialization of psychedelic drugs reinforces existing power structures. Patent applications for therapies using substances such as psilocybin, mescaline, dimethyltryptamine, and ibogaine are often based on practices handed down by generations of Aboriginal people. In the case of laboratory synthesized substances such as LSD or ketamine, companies borrow techniques and ideas developed by therapists in underground settings following the global suppression of psychedelics in the 1970s.
Historical context plays a key role in discussions about reciprocity, fairness, and equality in the burgeoning psychedelic industry. The success of Pollan's book and its adaptation on Netflix attests to the increased interest in this topic. However, much of the available literature on the history of psychedelics is often based on a limited set of anecdotes and events centered on white, American or European men such as Albert Hoffman, R. Gordon Wasson and Timothy Leary. Their stories are repeated so often that the authors assume readers are already familiar with them and may not seek to delve into other narratives. As a result, many other important historical figures go unnoticed, leading to a superficial understanding of these substances.
Academic historiography of drugs also often adopts these anecdotes as a framework because they provide a generalized overview of the use of «hallucinogens» that is difficult to fit into traditional theoretical models of understanding stimulants and depressants. The books I review in this essay expand the chronology and scope of psychedelics research, drawing attention to those who typically remain in the shadows and to events and substances that receive little attention.
The 2023 Interdisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies conference in Denver featured speakers such as NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Texas Governor Rick Perry. In his 2018 best-selling book How to Change Your Mind, author Michael Pollan describes the renewed interest in these substances as a «psychedelic renaissance».
Proponents of this positive view of current trends argue that widespread acceptance of psychedelics through licensed and highly regulated therapies could benefit all of humanity. However, the benefits of the so-called «psychedelic renaissance» are unevenly distributed.
At the MAPS 2023 conference, indigenous activists interrupted a session to discuss how the patenting and commercialization of psychedelic drugs reinforces existing power structures. Patent applications for therapies using substances such as psilocybin, mescaline, dimethyltryptamine, and ibogaine are often based on practices handed down by generations of Aboriginal people. In the case of laboratory synthesized substances such as LSD or ketamine, companies borrow techniques and ideas developed by therapists in underground settings following the global suppression of psychedelics in the 1970s.
Historical context plays a key role in discussions about reciprocity, fairness, and equality in the burgeoning psychedelic industry. The success of Pollan's book and its adaptation on Netflix attests to the increased interest in this topic. However, much of the available literature on the history of psychedelics is often based on a limited set of anecdotes and events centered on white, American or European men such as Albert Hoffman, R. Gordon Wasson and Timothy Leary. Their stories are repeated so often that the authors assume readers are already familiar with them and may not seek to delve into other narratives. As a result, many other important historical figures go unnoticed, leading to a superficial understanding of these substances.
Academic historiography of drugs also often adopts these anecdotes as a framework because they provide a generalized overview of the use of «hallucinogens» that is difficult to fit into traditional theoretical models of understanding stimulants and depressants. The books I review in this essay expand the chronology and scope of psychedelics research, drawing attention to those who typically remain in the shadows and to events and substances that receive little attention.
«Women and Psychedelics: Uncovering Invisible Voices»
— Erika Dyck, Patrick Farrell, Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Ph.D., Clancy Cavnar, Psy.D., Ibrahim Gabriell, and Glauber Loures de Assis, Ph.D.
— Erika Dyck, Patrick Farrell, Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Ph.D., Clancy Cavnar, Psy.D., Ibrahim Gabriell, and Glauber Loures de Assis, Ph.D.
The edited collection Women in Psychedelics, released last year, includes 44 short chapters written by both academics and independent researchers. The pieces highlight «the diverse and significant contributions that women have made to our understanding of psychedelics». Topics range from articles on the spouses of famous researchers-Rosemary Leary, Valentina Pavolvna Wasson, and Jane Osmond-to chapters on women's roles as lab technicians, patients, and therapists.
Some biographical chapters take on a memorial character, while the section on «The Limits of Feminism» addresses more complex aspects, such as the problem of sexual violence in Ayahuasca communities. Of particular note is a chapter by Taylor Dysart, PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, in which he argues that historians «must go beyond mere reconstruction to reconstruct these stories in all their complexity». Dysart links anthropologist Marlene Dobkin de Rios's research on indigenous and mestizo peoples in Peru to reflections on the relationship between science and the colonial period.
Some biographical chapters take on a memorial character, while the section on «The Limits of Feminism» addresses more complex aspects, such as the problem of sexual violence in Ayahuasca communities. Of particular note is a chapter by Taylor Dysart, PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, in which he argues that historians «must go beyond mere reconstruction to reconstruct these stories in all their complexity». Dysart links anthropologist Marlene Dobkin de Rios's research on indigenous and mestizo peoples in Peru to reflections on the relationship between science and the colonial period.
«Tripping on Utopia: Margaret Mead, the Cold War, and the Troubled Birth of Psychedelic Science»
— Benjamin Breen
The 2024 book Tripping on Utopia by Benjamin Breen, a University of Texas graduate student, also places the historiography of psychedelics in the broader context of gender and sexual themes. It examines the work of bisexual anthropologist Margaret Mead and her third husband Gregory Bateson. Mead's long-term relationship with colleague Ruth Benedict and her unpublished critique of hegemonic gender binaries were important factors in shaping her interests in altered states of consciousness and, ultimately, psychedelics. The book not only fulfills the aims of Women in Psychedelics, but also makes a significant contribution to historiography by extending the chronology of psychedelics beyond the 1950s and 1960s.
Breen emphasizes anthropologists' interest in trance states and shamanism among indigenous peoples in the postwar period, linking them to a broader sociopolitical context. For example, he points to the connection between the discovery of sex hormones such as estrogen and psychedelics, which is linked to the perception of their ability to alter a person's core identity. This intervention in historiography helps to better understand how psychedelics fit into conventional models of drug history, which often focus on the power structures and interests involved in the prohibition and commercialization of these substances.
Breen emphasizes anthropologists' interest in trance states and shamanism among indigenous peoples in the postwar period, linking them to a broader sociopolitical context. For example, he points to the connection between the discovery of sex hormones such as estrogen and psychedelics, which is linked to the perception of their ability to alter a person's core identity. This intervention in historiography helps to better understand how psychedelics fit into conventional models of drug history, which often focus on the power structures and interests involved in the prohibition and commercialization of these substances.
Expanding Mindscapes: A Global History of Psychedelics
— Erika Dyck, Chris Elcock
— Erika Dyck, Chris Elcock
The importance of narratives about «great men of science» as a starting point for the history of psychedelics often excludes the roles of women and LGBTQ+ people, and can reinforce Americanocentrism in the literature. Erica Dyck of the University of Saskatchewan, one of the editors of Women in Psychedelics, along with independent researcher Chris Elcock, attempt to address this problem in the edited volume Expanding Mindscapes, published in 2023 by MIT University Press. Articles examine the history of ergot cultivation in Switzerland (used to produce LSD), the use of iboga by followers of the Bwiti religion in Central Africa, and the popularization of ayahuasca in China.
By exploring the history of psychedelic science in a more transnational context, the book contributes to a better understanding of the global structures of power and inequality associated with the mainstreamization and commercialization of psychedelics. The topics and directions covered by the various authors have received scant attention elsewhere, providing promising starting points for future research.
By exploring the history of psychedelic science in a more transnational context, the book contributes to a better understanding of the global structures of power and inequality associated with the mainstreamization and commercialization of psychedelics. The topics and directions covered by the various authors have received scant attention elsewhere, providing promising starting points for future research.
Drugs, Violence and Latin America: Global Psychotropy and Culture
— Joseph Patteson
— Joseph Patteson
Joseph Patteson's book Drugs, Violence and Latin America: Global Psychotropy and Culture also examines psychedelics in the context of global power structures. Patteson provides a theoretical synthesis that has important implications for drug historiography as a whole, examining altered states of consciousness through a dialectical relationship between two modalities. He links the «xenotropic» modality of intoxication (which involves «opening oneself to the other») to psychedelics, as opposed to drugs such as cocaine, which he links to «narcocissism» (the enhancement of self-perception through the «radical exclusion of the other»). Drawing on concepts of psychotropy, he links cultural discourses and practices of drug use to the politics of consciousness more broadly, emphasizing the xenotropic and narcocissistic potentials of literature.
The book places descriptions of drugs in Latin America-from the peyote-inspired works of French poet Antonin Artaud to contemporary descriptions of the war on drugs-in the context of transnational power structures. While the theoretical approach may seem complex to a general audience, the book offers valuable insights into both the discourses surrounding psychedelics and broader issues surrounding drugs and U.S. relations with Latin America.
The book places descriptions of drugs in Latin America-from the peyote-inspired works of French poet Antonin Artaud to contemporary descriptions of the war on drugs-in the context of transnational power structures. While the theoretical approach may seem complex to a general audience, the book offers valuable insights into both the discourses surrounding psychedelics and broader issues surrounding drugs and U.S. relations with Latin America.
Mazatecos, niños santos y güeros en Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca
— Rodríguez Venegas, Citlali
— Rodríguez Venegas, Citlali
Finally, Sitlali Rodríguez Venegas's «Mazatecas, Holy Children and Heroes at Huautla de Jiménez» explores the history of a town in the Sierra de Flores Magón (Sierra Mazateca) mountains of northern Oaxaca. Here, American amateur ethnomycologist R. Gordon Wasson was captured while participating in a «magic mushroom» feast conducted by Mazatec curandero (chjóon chijne) Maria Sabina for Life magazine in 1955.
There has long been a long list of inaccuracies in retellings of the episode, and discussion of the influx of hippies in the Sierra de Jiménez prompted by Wasson's article often becomes one of the few aspects beyond the narrative's focus on the United States. Overall, the historical context of Huautla de Jimenez is often taken in an overly simplistic and monolithic way. Drawing on a combination of ethnohistorical and archival research, Rodríguez Venegas challenges the dominant view of Huautla as an «isolated village», emphasizing the diversity of indigenous reactions and adaptations to the arrival of outsiders.
Notably, the book avoids presenting the «hippies» of the 1960s as a homogeneous group by highlighting their diverse motivations and relationships with the indigenous population. The authors often adhere to a black-and-white analysis of this history, ignoring indigenous influences and portraying them as victims without taking into account the broader historical context of Huautla de Jiménez itself. Overall, Rodriguez offers a valuable and detailed account of history that many popular books on psychedelics often overlook.
There has long been a long list of inaccuracies in retellings of the episode, and discussion of the influx of hippies in the Sierra de Jiménez prompted by Wasson's article often becomes one of the few aspects beyond the narrative's focus on the United States. Overall, the historical context of Huautla de Jimenez is often taken in an overly simplistic and monolithic way. Drawing on a combination of ethnohistorical and archival research, Rodríguez Venegas challenges the dominant view of Huautla as an «isolated village», emphasizing the diversity of indigenous reactions and adaptations to the arrival of outsiders.
Notably, the book avoids presenting the «hippies» of the 1960s as a homogeneous group by highlighting their diverse motivations and relationships with the indigenous population. The authors often adhere to a black-and-white analysis of this history, ignoring indigenous influences and portraying them as victims without taking into account the broader historical context of Huautla de Jiménez itself. Overall, Rodriguez offers a valuable and detailed account of history that many popular books on psychedelics often overlook.