Colours, not visions

The current surge of interest in psychedelics is not a new Renaissance but a continuation of one that began in the 1930s with Richard Evans Schultes' ethnobotanical research and peaked in the 1960s counterculture. Indigenous peoples have used these substances since prehistoric times within meaningful cultural contexts, but contemporary research and practices increasingly commodify psychedelics and their associated traditions, transforming them into pharmacological solutions. This shift risks losing the authenticity of meaningful psychedelic use. The essay outlines a brief history of psychedelics, compares the current resurgence to that of the 1950s-60s, examines the loss of authenticity, and discusses possible solutions to preserve it.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The New Psychedelic Movement is not a “psychedelic Renaissance”. It is the re-emergence of a Renaissance that began in the 1930s, with Richard Evans Schultes’ ethnobotanical research, and culminated into a counterculture youth movement in the 1960s. While research around these substances is little more than a century old, the practices of using them, as performed by Indigenous peoples, date to prehistoric times. These ancient practices stem from cultural contexts often disregarded by current research and contemporary practices. This brings to light a serious concern: that the focus of psychedelic inquiry is shifting toward commodification of the substances and the practices associated with them. In so doing, we are losing the authenticity of meaningful psychedelic use by transforming psychedelics and psychedelic practices into commodified pharmacological solutions to our current problems. This essay, then, will attempt to address this issue. We will first contextualise the discussion by outlining a brief history of psychedelics. We will describe the current state of the psychedelic resurgence and compare it to the resurgence that occurred in the 1950s-60s. This will allow us to examine the loss of authenticity of psychedelic practices and show why this is an important contemporary issue. Finally, we will discuss possible solutions that may help preserve authenticity in the current movement.