Swiss Psilocybin and US Dollars

The chapter examines how proto-countercultural experiments in living in Switzerland since the early twentieth century avoided the aggressive confrontations seen in the United States during the 1960s. A government official who oversaw the resurgence of hallucinogen research describes how he came to support this development, situating it within a broader transformation of Swiss drug policy. The competitive advantage of a pragmatic technocracy helped make Franz Vollenweider's Zurich laboratory the most important human research facility in the global psychedelic science network.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 2, “Swiss Psilocybin and US Dollars,” turns to the situation in Switzerland where proto-countercultural experiments in living have blossomed since the beginning of the twentieth century without ever leading to the kind of aggressive confrontations that the United States experienced in the 1960s. The government official overseeing the comeback of hallucinogen research in this part of the world explains how he came to support this development, which he locates in a broader transformation of Swiss drug policy. The competitive advantage granted by a pragmatic technocracy is part of the reason how Franz Vollenweider’s laboratory in Zurich became the most important human research facility in the global assemblage of psychedelic science.