Interview With Daniel Carcillo, Natalie Ginsberg, Olivia Mannix & Klee Irwin
Interviews, Podcasts
This week on the Psychedelic Spotlight podcast, we provide a recap of the inaugural Benzinga Psychedelic Capital Conference which took place in Fontainebleau Miami Beach on April 19, 2022.
I agree with most of your talking points. Your opinion on Rogan and Pollan being bafoonish and bland is a little mean-spirited, even if they are not your cup of tea. One has the biggest podcast in that medium’s history, and one is an older, well-respected journalist/writer. So, for them to bring awareness to the masses of the psychedelic experience and how it has changed their lives can only be a good thing for the movement.
I, too worry about the impact money will have on the impending medicalization of psychedelics and their subsequent legalization. Will it minimize and degrade the true awesomeness of the psychedelic experience? I hope not, but again, creating high-quality psychedelics and making them available to the public is a good thing.
I also think comparing it to the road that cannabis legalization took is a little off. No one serious in the medical community was saying cannabis cures cancer; it can help and alleviate certain aspects of cancer and chemotherapy, sure. People just wanted to smoke weed without getting arrested. They were trying to legitimize it by using medical lingo and referencing some of its medical benefits. That’s not the case with psychedelics and psychiatry. Those who are part of the programs studying the psychological benefits of psychedelic therapy are saying it’s groundbreaking in treating PTSD and depression symptoms. Yes, cannabis at high doses can provide a psychedelic-like experience, but it’s nothing compared to a high dose of any of the major “true” psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, DMT). The history of psychedelic research in psychiatry was well on its way in the 50’s and 60’s before people like Timothy Leary brought the wrong kind of attention to these substances. I think what he did and how he talked about it was the main reason the government banned the many studies taking place in the U.S. and Europe. This is why the talk around psychedelic research is so “boring.” They’re not talking to those of us who know the power of the experience, they’re talking to the dorks in government making decisions based on what their mommies, daddies, and Nancy Reagan told them. They speak and listen boring. It’s almost as if people like Roland Griffiths and Rick Strassman are speaking in code. Of course they want to rave about how amazing psychedelics are, but they need to choose their words carefully in not going full Leary to get those law-creating “dorks” on board. Right now, it should be, “See, here are the results. This is science. You can no longer deny its efficacy.” Not, “I saw God, she was enveloping me with love. Love was everything and everwhere. Then there were the elves.” Once we get the boring folks (those who never would’ve considered psychedelics as a source for bettering their lives) on board, then I think we can start to get excited. THAT is exactly what has been happening for the past 15-20 years, and that’s why I’m excited for the future. We have better, smarter psychedelic leaders today than we did in the 60’s and 70’s. They’re more measured in their language. The archaic revival is well and truly on its way, and maybe these life-changing substances will force capitalism to rethink the danger of its infinite growth paradigm.
Hey! I’m surprised the mundane discourse about psychedelics is taken in such a cynical tone. I think it’s great the pie in the sky psychedelic idealism is being taken into the mundane task of operationalization and everyday life. Most of life is mundane, yet beautiful.
The capitalistic machine meeting psychedelics could be a beautiful thing as well. Pharmacological companies seeking to extract the anti-depressant benefits without the psychedelic and hallucinatory experiences could help so many people. Same with companies like Mindbloom which are making ketamine therapy accessible inside peoples homes all around the company.
Criticizing capitalism is as common and normalized as saying you microdose, in this space. So what’s your alternative? And why are you so sure it would work? I’d like to read an article about that.
I really like your criticisms of the utopian discourses about psychedelics. I also think your exposition on how the utopian idealism died off with the first wave of criminalization is apt and correct.
Why would returning to psychedelics original state of openness and play be good? And who would it be good for?
Thanks for writing this. Thanks for receiving my criticisms!
Pollan and Rogan both SUCK and I wish more people had the globes to say it.