Change in the brain usually comes with plenty of effort over time. Neuroscientists are working to understand how psychedelic drugs provide a shortcut that seems to rely on existing brain systems.
A scholar of religion who is writing a book on sacred drugs explains how today’s ‘psychedelic renaissance’ reflects a millennia-long history of using intoxicants to seek insight and connection.
Freud doing cocaine. Psychologist William James experimenting with nitrous oxide. A new history tells of the Romantic rebels who first sampled psychoactive substances.
Alberta’s new policy on psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental illness may set a precedent that moves Canadians one step closer to accepting psychedelics as medicinal substances.
Pinpointing the molecular targets behind the subjective effects of psychedelic drugs could help clinicians and researchers better treat psychiatric conditions.