From ancient ritual to psychotherapeutic tool:
Psychedelics through the prism
of the past and the future
Psychoactive substances in nature
Since ancient times, people have discovered and used psychoactive substances from nature to achieve altered and expanded states of consciousness. These substances, such as mescaline from cacti, psilocybin from magic mushrooms, and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), have been integral to the religious, mystical, and spiritual rituals in numerous communities worldwide.
Almost every ancient culture had its unique ways of accessing altered states of consciousness - using psychoactive plants, music, dance, and singing. This ancient tradition continues in many existing tribal societies, where psychoactive substances are still used within spiritual and ritual practices. Even in the modern age, people find ways to chemically synthesize psychoactive substances to continue exploring and experiencing altered states of consciousness. This attests to the deep human need and fascination with expanding the boundaries of everyday experience.
Although the use of psychoactive substances carries risks and requires responsibility, their historical presence and continued use in many cultures highlight their significant role in human experience and development.
From ancient rituals to early explorations
It is believed that mushrooms from the genus "Psilocybe" were among the first plants with psychedelic properties discovered by humans. The first recorded encounters of Europeans with psychedelics occurred during the Spanish conquests.
One of the oldest records dates back to the 16th century, written by the Spanish Catholic priest Bernardino de Sahagún. He describes rituals where the natives "before dawn ate mushrooms with honey" and experienced various states of consciousness - from laughter and tears to feelings of their own death or attacks by wild animals.
However, with the arrival of Spanish conquistadors, indigenous cultures were brutally suppressed. The Catholic Church banned the worship of natural deities, and the use of psychedelics was punishable by death. Despite this, rituals continued in deep secrecy, leading to the belief that the church's restrictive policy had taken its toll.
It wasn't until four centuries later, in 1955, that American ethnomycologist Gordon Wasson traveled to Mexico and discovered a living tradition of ritualistic use of "magic mushrooms." Wasson participated in a ceremony with the healer Maria Sabina, and in 1957, he published the acclaimed article "Seeking the Magic Mushroom" in Life magazine. The article had a strong impact and sparked a wave of interest among the hippie movement and other enthusiasts, who began traveling to Mexico in search of similar experiences. Maria Sabina became a well-known figure, visited by celebrities who wanted to learn from her about the use of magic mushrooms.
First scientific research on psychedelics
In 1959, scientist Albert Hofmann received several samples of Psilocybe mexicana mushrooms. He successfully isolated their active component, psilocybin. Several years earlier, in 1943, Hofmann had discovered the psychedelic properties of lysergic acid diethylamide, known as LSD.
After further research, Hofmann concluded that this substance could be useful in psychotherapeutic purposes. The company Sandoz then began sending doses of LSD, as well as psilocybin from hallucinogenic mushrooms, to clinics and universities worldwide. This marked the beginning of a decade of intensive research. These studies led to significant insights into the neurochemical functioning of the brain. They also opened up new ways in which psychotherapists could work with mental disorders, using psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA. Over the next 15 years, these psychedelic substances became available to thousands of professionals.
After experimenting with LSD, researchers Hofmann and Osmond noticed that it induced deep insights and clear self-reflection in patients. Numerous psychiatrists passionately advocated for the use of psychedelics, and research was often funded by government institutions. By the mid-1960s, over 1000 scientific papers had been published, involving more than 40,000 subjects. These studies showed the success of psychedelics in treating depression, addiction, emotional and physical trauma, and facilitating coping with terminal illnesses and other conditions.
Impact of politics on research and the status of psychedelics
Parallel to promising research, the 1960s saw increased U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, which was not endorsed by either American youth or progressive intellectuals gathered around the civil rights movement.
Timothy Leary played a significant and controversial role in popularizing and spreading the use of psychedelics, especially LSD, during the 1960s and 1970s. Over time, the use of this psychedelic began to spread uncontrollably beyond laboratories, being distributed at anti-war protests, student camps, rock concerts, and other youth gatherings.
Politicians began to speak of psychedelics as a threat to society. Despite repeated appeals from experts advocating for a moderate, rather than repressive approach, the use of psychedelics became regulated by criminal laws. Numerous governments worldwide declared any use of psychedelics prohibited.
Psychedelics evoked fear due to complex sociological and political factors, rather than scientifically confirmed risks. Professionals warned that such a repressive approach was wrong, but their voices were not heard enough.
Renaissance of psychedelic research
Despite legal limitations that made further research on psychedelics in humans challenging, many prominent scientists believed that they were worth the effort and should be continued. Some of them, such as Stanislav Grof, were convinced of the therapeutic potential of psychedelics and continued their work through alternative means of accessing altered states of consciousness, such as the holotropic breathwork method. After a long period of silence, the efforts of these scientists led to a renaissance of research in the field of psychedelics that we are witnessing right now. New, improved methodologies and larger samples once again confirm the significance of psychedelics in treating psychological conditions for which there has been no satisfactory success so far.
MDMA is proving to be a highly effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psilocybin for severe treatment-resistant depression, ibogaine for addiction, and other disorders.
In many countries worldwide, such encouraging results have led to decriminalization, and in some cases, legalization of certain psychedelics. It remains to approach this with responsibility and learn from past mistakes this time to discover the full therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances in the sphere of human mental health.