The study of psychedelics is troubled by dualisms—subject and object, self and other, culture and nature, synthetic and natural, colonizer and indigenous, literal and metaphorical—that appear in both colonial and decolonial thought. Drawing on feminist and decolonial theory and a discussion of metaphor, the authors argue that research often lacks critical engagement with these binaries. A narrow view of coloniality limits critiques of contemporary capitalism, including the progressive colonization of the life-world and commodification of psychedelic experiences. Fears that decolonization is becoming merely a 'metaphor' implicitly reinforce the conceptual power dynamics of colonization. As a critical metaphor, decolonization can help reassess problematic distinctions shaping thinking, material realities, and experiences.
The authors argue that the current excitement around the biomedical use of psychedelic substances requires diverse critical analyses from the social sciences and humanities. Such analyses can resist appropriation and support community-based ethical practices. The articles and book reviews in this thematic issue show the urgency of developing psychedelic cultures outside the medico-pharmaceutical complex, offering inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives. Critical psychedelic studies challenge colonizing knowledge practices in historical and contemporary psychedelic discourse. The authors reflect on power relations in the psychedelic revival, arguing against fixed field definitions and in favor of flexible formations of consciousness and praxis. They provide ideas for deconstructing patriarchal colonial legacies and contemporary power dynamics focused on wealth creation.