History of Psychedelics: An Overview

This historical survey traces the long human engagement with substances, plants, and fungi later classified as psychedelics, drawing on archaeological, anthropological, botanical, and clinical evidence. It emphasizes the diverse ways societies have made sense of mind-altering experiences, from early ceremonial and clinical uses to the dramatic shift brought by the war on drugs in the late twentieth century, which recast psychedelic exploration and its seekers in a negative light.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article offers an overview of the history of substances, plants, and fungi later classified as psychedelic. Drawing from archeological, anthropological, botanical, and clinical claims about the risks and benefits of psychedelics, this historical survey emphasizes diverse attempts to make sense of these mind-altering experiences. It tracks early efforts to harness the properties of psychedelic substances in ceremonial and clinical settings, before the war on drugs in the latter part of the twentieth century changed the script on psychedelic explorations and the characterization of those who sought out these non-ordinary states.