Week Three

Psychedelics have been around since the beginning of civilization, but have waxed and waned in use and popular opinion over the years. While traditionally used in ancient times during religious rituals, we now tend to associate psychedelic use with the counter culture of the youth in the 1960s. In the 1970s, the United Nations created a treaty banning the use or distribution of psychotropic drugs. The US adopted this treaty and shortly thereafter psychedelics became a Schedule I drug. Then, after twenty years of silence on psychedelics, a few studies began to look at how these substances could help patients in a way, beyond the capabilities of traditional medicine.

Works Cited 

Sayin, H.Umit. “The Consumption of Psychoactive Plants During Religious Rituals: The Roots of Common Symbols and Figures in Religions and Myths.” NeuroQuantology, vol. 12, no. 2, June 2014, pp. 276–296. EBSCOhost, doi:10.14704/nq.2014.12.2.753.