From 1950 through early 1970s, the psychedelic LSD was administered to thousands of people by psychiatrists, therapists, and researchers. With the scientific community reaping benefits from the discovery of LSD, the U.S. Government wanted to see if they could as well. 

The military and the C.I.A. saw potential in the drug as they thought it could possibly be a mind control agent or truth serum. When they found that it was neither, the military sought to weaponize LSD against foriegn leaders. 

While this was happening, the recreational use of LSD was on the rise due to it escaping from the labs. Timothy Leary, Harvard psychologist, had created an organized series of experiments with psychedelic drugs. 

The counterculture movement amped up the use, starting the downfall of extensive research into psychedelics. By the late 1970s, scare stories and media tactics, paired with President Nixon’s signing of the Controlled Substances Act, had brought the golden age of psychedelics to a premature end. 

Thirty years later, psychedelic research has returned to the forefront. In 2015, a massive study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, led by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology at Trondheim, concluded there is no link between the use of LSD and mental health problems. Psychedelic scientific usefulness is surging: a new generation of scientists are trying to pick up the pieces that were left by their predecessors. 

Researchers have limited access to funding due to psychedelics being categorized as a Schedule 1 substance, which mandates that it has no medical uses, despite the overwhelming evidence showing that psychedelic drugs have positive effects on spirituality and several mental disorders. 

If we dive back into the historical shutdown of psychedelic research, it is clear that the government’s decision was based on the scare stories and the negative media attention. If the government had ignored the media, who knows where psychedelic research could be at this moment. 

This past year has brought attention to this research drought: in September, John Hopkins University opened a new Center of Psychedelic Research. Researchers and professors who take interest in psychedelics are speaking out and sharing their experiences. Michael Pollan’s “How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence” is an incredible resource to build a foundation of knowledge on psychedelics. 

Even with support from scientists and universities, psychedelic drugs are still on the Schedule 1 Drug list. However, there are some cities in which certain substances are not illegal. Denver, CO is currently one of two cities to decriminalize psilocybin, the psychoactive chemical found in magic mushrooms. Oakland, CA is the only other city where psilocybin is legal. 

These states have realized that the medical benefits of these drugs outweigh the miniscule amount of negative effects they have. There is no evidence showing that psychedelics are habit-forming, and the overdose amount for these drugs is extremely high, which makes overdose nearly impossible. Psychedelics have a much smaller chance of severely hurting someone than most legal drugs do. 

This revival of research is only a sign of what is to come. The possible legalization of psychedelic drugs would be a huge opportunity for the scientific community as well as the spiritual population in the country.