For millennia, natural psychedelics such as magic mushrooms, ayahuasca and mescaline have been used by indigenous peoples in medicinal or spiritual contexts. In the last decade, psychedelic research was reignited, demonstrating the potential role that these substances can play in the treatment of affective disorders. More recently, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS), found that psychedelics use was associated with increased positive mood through experience of personal transformation and feelings of social connectedness and emotional empathy to others.
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To test these findings, Channel 4 (UK)’s Higher Ground docuseries decided to invite people with opposing views to discuss their beliefs while going through a transformative psychedelic experience on magic mushrooms. In one episode, what should have been a normal discussion transformed into a heated argument when actor and climate denier Sean Ward debated his opinions on the Extinction Rebellion with one of their protestors. The debaters were then given magic mushroom truffles in order to assess whether the psychedelic experience will bring them closer together, or drive them further apart.
Duval is part of the Extinction Rebellion, a global decentralized movement pushing for urgent action to address the climate crisis. Before the experiment, his strong views were expressed by asserting that there are “people, bigots, idiots out there that want to point the fingers at the government and whoever but won’t take responsibility” – a clear display of hostility and contempt towards people with opposing opinions, or simply those who do not take action.
On the other camp, we meet Sean Ward who is of the opinion that climate change is a hoax. According to Sean, “obviously it’s too hot, too wet, too dry, too cold,” asserting that the global population is just experiencing “extreme weather.”
When asked how he felt about the Extinction Rebellion group, Ward scoffed, emphatically expressing his doubts toward the organization.
The debate rapidly intensifies, shifting from a normal discussion to a situation where both Duval and Ward constantly interrupt each other and ultimately resort to yelling, effectively preventing the opposing viewpoint from being fully expressed.
In the middle of the heated discussion which at this point included derogatory terms, a Channel 4 crew member delivered mushroom truffles to both sides. After participating in what appeared to be a psilocybin ceremony, Duval and Ward returned to the debate room, laughing and giggling like children. It is clear from the beginning that the energy in the room is notably more tranquil, any sign of aggressiveness towards the other had dissipated and both participants demonstrated their mutual respect through a long and meaningful hug.
When Ward was asked once more how he felt about Extinction Rebellion, he serenely said “The only way out of all of this I think is family for me” and that “we’re all just getting distracted”.
Duval responded that he was “worrying too much about trying to push out a message rather than going about it in a constructive way.”
The psilocybin experience did not magically erase either side’s opinions on the issue at hand. It was clear that both debaters still strongly disagreed with each other. However, their active listening skills were improved, and with that dissipated the need to aggressively impose one’s view through yelling or cursing, both agreeing that what matters is the ability to listen to each other.
The episode ended on a quite beautiful note, demonstrating the powerful effect that magic mushrooms have on the human psyche. As Ward mused on his experience, he eloquently articulated that “we’re all the same and we’re all part of the giant whole cosmic energy.” “My heart beats the same as yours on the same magnetic frequency,” he continued. “It’s the same pulse of the human resonance of the whole Earth, and we all just need to come back to that and hold on to it.”
You can watch the entire episode here:
This is not the only time that Channel 4 (UK) has brought two people with fervently opposing opinions together to argue, undergo a magic mushroom ceremony, and then re-do the debate.
In another episode, the documentary crew recreated the experiment by bringing together left-wing commentator Benjamin to debate his pro-cancel culture views with right-wing commentator Dominique, who is of the opinion that cancel culture robs people of their freedom of speech.
In the episode, although this time both Dominique and Benjamin express their opinions more eloquently than the climate change debaters, we witness the development of the same interrupting dynamic. However, it was quite interesting to hear the participants’ opinions about taking part in a psilocybin mushroom experience.
When asked how he felt about the Higher Ground experiment, Benjamin was clearly more open to dive into the magic mushroom experience. “I’m not sure that I’m going to end up like Enoch Powell at the end of this, but I am open to changing my mind and learning about other people’s views, and hopefully in that process we’re gonna find some higher ground,” he said.
Dominique, on the other hand, expressed her anxiety to take the magic mushroom truffles, because to her, it is “just not socially acceptable.” She explains that she has a “sneaking suspicion that [she’s] just gonna become further radicalized.” Dominique’s stance on consuming what many now define as plant medicine vividly illustrates how the war on drugs has influenced and continues to shape public perception of psychedelics, often demonizing them as catalysts for societal upheaval.
What we witness after she undergoes the transformative psilocybin journey is Dominique’s shift in perspective towards these substances and towards herself as she explains that she “doesn’t see [herself] anymore as left, right, center.”
Similarly, Benjamin explained that “through the division, we understood the unity.” While intently gazing back at Dominique, he said, “It was the fact that we had different opinions that made me realize we were united. It was like I wasn’t a conscious being before, but afterwards I grew – you know, like a new plant.”
Instead of continuing on with their debate, the participants opened up about the powerful insights they obtained from the mushroom ceremony.
Although the ten-minute docuseries does showcase the capacity of magic mushrooms to facilitate communication between individuals with extreme opposing views, it feels like the Channel Four crew missed an opportunity to illustrate what could have been a great case study on what an actual debate looks like post-psychedelic experience by heavily editing the clips in order to keep them short. On the other hand, it is fascinating to see British television airing these types of experiments — something that would not have been perceived as acceptable a decade ago. The show is an example of the global shift in perspectives surrounding psychedelic substances, once villainized by the Nixon administration.
