Psychedelic Wars
The War on Drugs November 30, 2021 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.18574/nyu/9781479811359.003.0008
Summary
Psychedelic drugs, especially LSD, have been portrayed in conflicting ways within the context of the War on Drugs, seen as both legitimate medicines and dangerous substances. The chapter explores various perspectives from historical figures such as doctors and policy makers who engaged in their personal battles regarding psychedelics in mental health. It also examines issues of diversity, equity, biomedicine, counterculture, and commercialization related to these substances.
Study at a glance
| Key finding | Psychedelics like LSD are depicted as both legitimate and illegitimate in the War on Drugs, reflecting a complex interplay of historical and social factors. |
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Abstract
Psychedelic drugs, particularly LSD, have an awkward place in the War on Drugs. Through a focus on distinct “psychedelic wars” in the historical literature, in the clinic, with the self, and on the home front, this chapter showcases how substances were concurrently depicted as legitimate or illegitimate, as medicines or as dangerous drugs. It will also illustrate how the historical actors involved (doctors, patients, policy makers, users) fought their own personal psychedelic wars in the field of mental medicine and beyond. Finally, in reflecting on psychedelics as part of the War on Drugs, this chapter addresses under-explored elements related to diversity and equity, biomedicine, counterculture, criminalization, commercialization, and the messy relationship among those factors.