Cody Johnson - Magic Medicine: A Trip Through the Intoxicating History and Modern-Day Use of Psychedelic Plants and Substances

Wherever they grow, throughout history and in most traditional cultures, psychedelic plants and fungi have been revered as sacraments and powerful medicines. Yet, the attitude of modern Western culture toward these astounding organisms is dismissive, prohibitive, and even fearfulwe must destroy what we do not understand. This approach stands in stark contrast to the many indigenous peoples who have learned to integrate psychedelics into their life journeys, passing the sacred knowledge of their proper usage from generation to generation. It also contrasts with the evidence that suggests the classical psychedelics are among the least harmful of all abused substances. No overdose deaths from LSD, psilocybin, or peyote have ever been recorded. A number of deaths and injuries have resulted from reckless behavior, including mixing psychedelics with other drugs, taking excessive doses without supervision, and tripping while driving or hiking, but these can be avoided with proper preparation and education. As clinical research attests, using psychedelics under controlled conditions is remarkably safe.

The dark irony of our cultures stance toward these dangerous chemicals is that by prohibiting them, we have only amplified their dangers. When people buy Ecstasy or Molly, they dont know what theyre getting or how much. Imagine ordering a martini at a bar and not knowing whether youll receive a martini or a triple shot of high-proof grain liquoror a concoction with no alcohol, but a potent blend of caffeine, ketamine, methamphetamine, and stimulants youve never heard of. Thats the situation with all illicit psychedelic substances. And users who find themselves in a medical crisis are often reluctant to seek help for fear of incriminating themselves. Far from reducing the harms associated with psychedelics, the prohibitive approach actually maximizes their risks. To truly address the risks of psychedelic use would require a swift about-face in public policy, focusing on regulation and education rather than punitive measures that brand psychedelic users as felons.

Among shamans, psychedelic substances are often called teacher plants, a reminder that the experience is not sought for its own sake but always to learn. For them, the psychedelic experience is the furthest thing from recreationala healing journey, a vision quest, and a rite of passage, yes, but no Saturday night bender. In our Western culture, where the War on Drugs rages on, the distinction is rarely made between visionary substances and addictive vices such as heroin and methamphetamine. It doesnt help that psychedelics carry all the baggage of the 1960s, and, for many, still symbolize the reckless hedonism of that era.

Yet, their unauthorized use remains widely popular. In thatched huts in the deepest reaches of the Amazon rainforest, at Burning Man in the middle of Nevadas scorching Black Rock Desert, at electronic music festivals and nightclubs, on therapists couches, and beneath the starsalmost anywhere there are people, there are people taking psychedelics.