The Journey of Psychedelics with Smooth Brain Society

Words by Sahir Hussain (he/him)

Psychedelics aren’t like any other party drug and to understand what they are about, The Smooth Brain Society sat down with Professor Bart Ellenbroek for an episode titled ‘Drugs 101: Psychedelics’. Bart is the head of the Behavioural Neurogenetics lab at Victoria University of Wellington where they are currently looking at psychedelics as a form of therapy in pre-clinical models. We go through what the recent renaissance in drug research means, things to be aware of before taking psychedelics yourself, and where these trends are headed in the future. Producer of Salient Podcasts Francesca Pietkiewicz joins us as special guest host.

The history of psychedelics is fascinating. For context, stimulants like methamphetamines, cocaine, and MDMA (molly/ecstasy) were synthesised in the late 1890s to early 1900s, while dissociates like ketamine and PCP (angel dust) were developed even later in the 1950s and 60s. On the other hand, psychedelics are pretty ancient.

In a cave in Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria lies a mural depicting a bee-headed figure sprouting mushrooms from his body. The mushrooms, identified as Psilocybe mairei, are native psychedelic mushrooms. The mural itself is dated to be 9,000 years old. Other evidence indicates that indigenous North Americans used peyote (a psychedelic cactus) as early as 5,700 years ago. There are accounts of mescaline containing cacti and psilocybin mushrooms being used in traditional medicinal and religious practices all across South and Central America. 

Psychedelics were introduced to the western world in 1496, and their popularity in research and pop culture peaked in the 1960s. 

Which leads me to the following quote: “LSD is a psychedelic drug which occasionally causes psychotic behaviour in people who have NOT taken it.” American psychologist and author Timothy Leary believed that only people who hadn’t taken psychedelics were hysterical about them; those who had taken the drugs understood how beneficial they were. 

Leary was a former psychologist at Harvard University and a strong advocate for psychedelic drugs in the 1960s. This era coincided with the beginning of the now infamous “war on drugs'' campaign, spearheaded by United States presidential candidate, and later President, Richard Nixon. In 1970, LSD (also known as acid), DMT, MDA, psilocybin (“magic mushrooms''), psilocin, peyote (mescaline), and cannabis became Schedule 1 drugs under the United States Controlled Substances Act. This made recreational use illegal and prevented them being researched further, despite there being extensive research of their positive effects on the mind and psychological well-being. In 1990, psychedelic research began to slowly pick up again, but it wasn’t till 2009 that the first clinical trial of a psychedelic in 40 years took place in the UK.

With the contentious history of psychedelics throughout the 20th century, you may be wondering how they differ from other recreational drugs and what research significance they carry? Tune into our episode  “Drugs 101: Psychedelics” to find out more.