The latest edition of The Psychologist is a special open-access issue on the science and social impact of hallucinogenic drugs.
There’s an article by me on culture and hallucinogens that discusses the role of hallucinogenic drugs in diverse cultures and which also covers how cultural expectations shape the hallucinogenic experience – from traditional Kitanemuk society to YouTube trip videos.
The other articles cover some fascinating topics.
Neuroscientists Robin Carhart-Harris, Mendel Kaelen and David Nutt have a great article on the neuroscience of hallucinogens, Henry David Abraham discusses hallucinogen persisting perception disorder or post-trip flashbacks, and there’s also piece that talks to a researcher, participant and clinician on the use of psilocybin to alleviate cancer anxiety, while Keith Laws discusses an intense painting and its psychedelic aspects.
There’s also an excellent piece on the influence of psychedelic drugs on literature from Dirk Hanson – long-time writer of the essential drug blog Addiction Inbox, and Mo Costandi (who you may know from the Neurophilosophy blog) has written a fantastic retrospective of the use of psychedelics in psychiatry.
Overall, a fascinating read and well worth checking out.
Link to special issue of The Psychologist on hallucinogens.
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