Psychonautical engineering: Synergizing the magic of mindfulness, mushrooms, and mindsets for police officer well-being

Summary

Policing exposes officers to various negative health outcomes, and current mental health approaches are inadequate in addressing the crisis. Canadian legislators are moving towards a public health perspective on substance use, which should also be adopted by peace officers. Combining psilocybin's neural benefits with mindfulness-based psychotherapy may help restore mental well-being for officers. This approach draws on both Indigenous and Eastern traditions, suggesting a potential key to resilience through neurogenesis.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The setting of policing exposes its officers to a host of negative health outcomes physiologically, psychologically, and spiritually. Policing mindsets around accessing mental health are far from fixing the epidemic of its mental health crisis or being able to sustain a healthy workforce. Policing is losing the battle with a misguided and a scientifically misinformed war on drugs. Canadian legislators are shifting mindsets from decriminalizing substance use towards applying a public health lens to the mycelium underlying its root causes. So too should its peace officers—not just to restore peace in society—but also in their own minds and in their dysregulated nervous systems by synergizing psilocybin’s neural benefits with mindfulness-based psychotherapy. Western science’s exploration into the healing magic of mushrooms and mindfulness is in its infancy compared with the centuries of wisdom from both Indigenous science and eastern contemplative traditions. Not only does their fusion amplify hope for those suffering but perhaps it offers a scientific key to the neurogenesis of resilience. This is a pracademic trip driven by a retired and now reformed agent from Canada’s War on Drugs.

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