Turn on, tune in, but don't drop out: The impact of neo-liberalism on magic mushroom users' (in)ability to imagine collectivist social worlds.
The International journal on drug policy November 1, 2010 Sarah Riley, James Thompson, Christine Griffin 27 citations
During a period when psilocin-based magic mushrooms were legal in the UK (2002–2005), commercial sales revealed a substantial market for the drug. A critical discourse analysis of focus groups with 20 users (13 male, 7 female, mean age 25) identified two overarching discourses in their talk. One drew on neo-liberal rhetoric, portraying users as rational, risk-managing individuals engaged in calculated hedonism justified as personal freedom and consumer choice. The other, termed 'post-psychedelic', both celebrated and problematized a collective, spiritual 'hippy' identity. The analysis argues that neo-liberal rhetoric constrains people's ability to imagine collectivist or interconnected social worlds.