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Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine: The Strange, Fascinating, and Terrifying History and Science of Psychedelics and Their Significance to the Human Condition

Bypo.smeallie

The Day Destroys the Night. The Night Divides the Day!

“It’s like the earth is talking to me, man…it’s telling me that everything is love! So groovy!! Ya dig?” the man utters. The long-haired, bare-chested man lies on top of the hood of his flower-covered van with his best friend. The flower-covered van is parked out in an empty meadow beneath a sky shimmering brightly with stars. The year is 1969. The two men listen to Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and The Doors as they “puff…puff…pass” and drop a few pills (the acronym for which the Beatles would later create a memorable song).

This is one of those stereotypical situations I picture whenever my parents reminisce about their youth. They weren’t drug-using hippies, but their era was certainly the one in which all that stuff went down. Woodstock…the Summer of Love…the Beatles…the Moon Landing…Vietnam…. Civil Rights…the Kennedys; the birth of the open, free-spirited, liberal, western “zeitgeist.” And…the introduction of psychedelics to the modern world!

Psychedelics are certainly not unique to the Baby Boomer era. There are many frequently mentioned or traditionally consumed psychedelics. These include San Pedro, Peyote, and the “Peruvian Torch” (all of which contain mescaline); Psilocybic mushrooms; Tabernanthe iboga (which contains the unique psychedelic ibogaine); and Ayahuasca (which contains DMT)1. Ancient indigenous peoples across the world used/consumed all these plants for spiritual, ceremonial, and medicinal reasons. Shamanic traditions were not uncommon in places such as Gabon, Africa, Latin America, and Oaxaca, Mexico2.

Spanish Caravan

Ancient Peruvians in the Amazon Basin drank ayahuasca brew for spiritual and physical healing (as well as for religious festivals), while North American native groups of people in the Rio Grande Valley smoked peyote as an entheogen3,4. Other South American Andeans consumed the San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus macrogonus var. pachanoi, syn. Echinopsis pachanoi) as a form of traditional medicine. Archaeological studies have found evidence going back at least two thousand years that the Moche, Nazca, and Chavín cultures all dabbled in psychedelics as well5,6.

When the Spanish conquered the New World, the Catholic church attempted to suppress the use of psychedelics, viewing them as “witchcraft.” Ironically, the “San Pedro” cactus derived its name from the Spanish equivalent of “St. Peter,” who in Christian theology “holds the keys to Heaven” (which is a metaphysical/psychological state many psychedelic users say they reach when they consume these drugs).

While indigenous people may have used psychedelics for divination or other spiritual reasons, the western world favored the substances for reasons far more pharmacological, therapeutic and/or recreational. German scientist Arthur Heffter isolated mescaline from the peyote cactus in 1897, French scientists Jean Dybowsky and Edouard Landrin isolated ibogaine in 1901, later German scientist Anton Kollisch created MDMA as a by-product while trying to synthesize another substance in 1912, and Albert Hoffman (who discovered Psilocybin in 1958) initially synthesized LSD in 19387.

The Swiss chemist derived lysergic acid from the hydrolysis of ergotamine, an alkaloid found in the grain-affecting fungus known as ergot13,28. Hoffman was trying to develop a new analeptic (central nervous system stimulant) and alternately named the substance LSD-25. He discovered its effects on humans in 1943 after unintentionally ingesting an unknown amount of the substance (possibly by absorbing it through his skin)29,30,31. Of course…where would the history of psychedelics be without one (actually…two) famous name(s)?!

Light My Fire

In the 1960s, two leading figures at Harvard’s psychology department studied the effects of psychotropic drugs on the human mind. One was Richard Alpert. The other…Timothy Leary! Reasoning that because psychology was the study of the mind and the mind’s relationship to the brain, body, and environment, the two argued that how mind-altering substances affected cognition, perception, and emotion was enough of a legitimate reason to study them 8,9,10,11,12.

In 1953, Dr. Alpert had arrived as an assistant professor at Harvard from Stanford University. He had spent the early part of his career conducting social psychology and personality research8,9,10,11,12. Dr. Leary, who had received his PhD from Berkeley University, came to lecture at Harvard University in 19598,9,10,11,12.

Shortly after Leary’s arrival, the two professors initiated the Harvard Psilocybin Project8,9,10,11,12. Psilocybin is a naturally occurring entheogenic hallucinogen that occurs in certain species of mushrooms, and both Alpert and Leary sought to investigate how it affected human consciousness8,9,10,11,12. They administered the substance to their volunteers and recorded the participants’ real-time descriptions of their experiences8,9,10,11,12. The only issue with these experiments were, of course, that neither LSD nor psilocybin were legal substances in the United States8,9,10,11,12.

In 1962, various faculty members and administrators at Harvard University grew concerned about both the safety of Alpert and Leary’s research subjects and the way in which they (Alpert and Leary) were conducting their experiments (poorly controlled settings, non-random participant selection, e.g.) 8,9,10,11,12.

The Harvard Crimson published several editorials accusing the two researchers of actively promoting recreational drug use vs. merely researching the effects of psychedelics8,9,10,11,12. Harvard eventually fired both professors and banned them from academia8,9,10,11,12. Alpert, under the pseudonym “Baba Ram Dass,” wrote a popular book entitled Be Here Now8,9,10,11,12. Leary delved into the countercultural movement and became famous for the slogan, “Tune In. Turn On. Drop Out” 8,9,10,11,12.

Riders on the Storm

There are numerous types of psychedelic drugs. They include Ayahuasca, Peyote, and MDMA (just to name a few). The two most (in)famous ones, though, are undoubtedly Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and Psilocybin mushrooms.

LSD, also known colloquially as “acid” or “Lucy” (the latter of which inspired the famous Beatles song), is quite the potent substance. LSD- which dilates its users’ eyes and elevates their blood pressure and body temperature- can manifest primarily mental, visual, and auditory hallucinations at sufficient dosages13. The experiences typically begin within half an hour of usage and can last for up to twenty hours. (on an average, though, typically 8-12 hours)13,14.

LSD is synthesized as a solid compound, typically in the form of a crystalline material or powder. Solid LSD dissolves in a liquid solvent (such as distilled water or ethanol), creating a solution, and the liquid serves as a carrier for the drug. It is administered onto small pieces of blotter paper called “tabs” and is consumed orally (placed under the tongue)20. LSD in its pure form is clear or white in color, crystalline, and odorless20. It breaks down with exposure to ultraviolet light13.

Trippy Visions

This prototypical psychedelic with non-addictive properties and a low potential for abuse can affect its users with mystical experiences and that of ego dissolution15,16. While these “trips” (experiences) can be indescribably blissful and eye-opening, though, they can also be downright hellish. Anxiety, paranoia, delusions, and hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (i.e. “flashbacks”) can all potentially occur long after the “trip” is over17,18,19.

Researchers and scientists believe that the effects of LSD stem primarily from it being an agonist (a chemical that activates receptors to produce biological responses) at the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor. The reaction is not fully understood, but scientists believe that a corresponding increase in glutamatergic neurotransmission and a reduction in the default mode network actively drive the key mechanisms that produce the effects of LSD21,22,23,24,25. LSD binds to dopamine receptors D1 and D2. These contribute to reports that the drug is more stimulating than psilocybic compounds26,27.

Ride the Snake to the Lake

Over 200 species of fungi (including P. azurescens, P. semilanceata, and P. cyanescens from genus Psilocybe) produce the compound Psilocybin. Psilocybin is itself biologically inactive but quickly converts into psilocin when it enters the human body. This in turn produces mind-altering effects like those of LSD, mescaline, or dimethyltryptamine (DMT). These include euphoria, visual and mental hallucinations, perceptual changes, a distorted sense of time, perceived spiritual experiences, and adverse reactions such as nausea and panic attacks.

Mushrooms

Imagery found on cave paintings and rock art in modern-day Spain and Algeria depict images of psilocybin mushrooms. After Albert Hoffman rediscovered and isolated the substance, his employer Sandoz marketed and sold a pure version of it to physicians and clinicians across the globe. Psilocin acts on serotonin receptors in the brain, producing effects that can last from two to six hours. However, individuals who use it report effects that seem to last much longer (as the drug can gravely distort one’s perception of time).

Faces Come Out of the Rain

The lights began to intensify. All the objects around me—the trees and houses and cars—began to inch toward and away from me. After what seemed like several hours, they swirled about as though materializing into a liquid substance, and they disappeared into a giant vortex. Dogs, cats, squirrels, mailboxes, fire hydrants, and park benches smiled and then sneered at me…warning me that I was in grave danger. I was terrified beyond words! Then the whole world transformed into a blank but cloudy canvas.

I felt like I was floating helplessly in the middle of an ocean way above the earth. Thundering voices were roaring at me from every direction! I couldn’t remember the life that I had lived or even if I had ever been born. Wherever I was…I was stuck there forever. I wept so many tears that I drowned in them as I accepted my fate. At that point…the drugs wore off and I found myself back where I began (sitting in my chair).

I made up both paragraphs above. I’ve never used psychedelic drugs such as LSD or psilocybin (so, for any users, if my description is way off, that is why). I don’t say that to brag or sound morally superior; I couldn’t use them. If I did, I would completely lose my mind!

There are certain commonalities, though, to the “psychedelic experience.” The positive “trips” usually produce indescribable ecstasy. The user appears to stand outside of time and space…conversing with otherworldly beings and basking in cosmic rays of light…pure love, acceptance, enlightenment, and joy! Flowers and trees and rivers are livelier and more colorful than people can put words to, and users can “see” sounds. They can “feel” music and “hear” images. Objects can inexplicably expand or decrease in size and stature.

A “bad trip” will produce all the negative emotions- fear, hopelessness, despair, sadness, and regret. The user will feel completely alone…trapped…on the brink of a horrible oblivion…enshrouded in fiery, eternal darkness…unable to speak…unable to put together any coherent thoughts. Hideous demonic creatures with serpentine bodies and bloody fangs will surround the person. The user’s mind and spirit will fall apart…fracturing and dissolving into nothing! They will scream and weep and collapse onto the ground…unable to escape this horrific fate. Then the “trip” will end. Maybe the user will experience “flashbacks”; maybe not.

Break on Through to the Other Side

These experiences are not too dissimilar from Near Death Experiences (NDEs). The world abounds with stories of those who came “right to the edge” and lived to tell their tales. The surgery went awry. The person slipped into the pool and hit their head on the side of it. The car flipped over after skidding off the highway. The man collapsed from a heart attack. Then…everything was peaceful. Beautiful stars…heavenly music…white lights…greetings from long-dead relatives…a feeling of “not wanting to go back” or seeing all the memories of one’s life in a single, eternal instance. Sometimes the NDE is terrifying- demons, darkness, absolute despair and emptiness.

Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), an endogenous ligand of the sigma-1 receptors (Sig-1Rs) acts against systematic hypoxia, reducing the number of apoptotic and ferrototic cells in the mammalian forebrain and supporting astrocyte survival in ischemic environments. Basically…DMT is believed to be released in the brains of dying people, and thus, various appropriate comparisons have been drawn between psychedelic and near-death experiences. “Is this what it’s like to die?” “Is death just one big psychedelic trip?”

American neuroscientist Roland Griffiths, who died in October 2023 from colon cancer, pioneered a famous John Hopkins study in which various subjects suffering from substance abuse addictions or life-threatening illnesses ingested psychedelics. Unlike Alpert and Leary, though, it was clear there was no recreational angle, and, because of this study, many subjects quit their addictions, found meaning in their lives, and, for those who were terminally ill, lost their fear of death!

That is, I imagine, one of the ultimate reasons people gravitate to psychedelic drugs…or any drugs for that matter. They want to find redemption and meaning, seek out spiritual enlightenment and freedom, and they want to escape the bonds of fear and dread and death. Whether they find this by way of using substances or having natural experiences…it doesn’t matter, so long as the experiences do occur! And…sometimes, they do naturally occur. Religious texts like the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita undoubtedly include many stories of mystical experiences and beatific visions. Not all these experiences occur on the fringes of consciousness, though!

These “natural highs” occur when someone gets married…when they see their newborn for the first time…when they win a gold medal…when they hike a mountain…. when they observe a beautiful waterfall. Psychedelics and hallucinogens often make the present moment “pop out” in ways that occur while someone is deeply meditating. And…let us not forget that very small children live in a constant “psychedelically mindful” state; one that is present-focused, imaginative, and exploding with life and energy!! All these types of “psychedelic” experiences…well, there’s no reason to fear them and no government can outlaw them. As for the ones that involve substances…perhaps Grace Slick from Jefferson Airplane put it best. “Go ask, Alice…when she’s ten-feet tall!”

SOURCES

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