Yesterday, Netflix released a documentary series on psychedelics. The first episode taps into the healing potential of LSD.
This is powerful.
When you zoom out and see how far the culture has come to talking about this subject in the past decade, it’s highly encouraging for humans’ continued growth, evolution, and integration.
The episode also dives into the history of the research done on the substance in the 50’s and early 60’s. But when I learned more deeply how the establishment shut this research down and initiated the so-called War on Drugs, a part of me felt deeply sad.
The sadness comes from a need to mourn the damage done by the War on Drugs over generations – throwing innocent humans in cages, and catalyzing violence, to say the least. So tragic.
Doubly tragic is the opportunity cost.
If research on healing substances like LSD hadn’t been shut down in the 60’s through laws and propaganda, the culture could have been much more loving and peaceful right now. A culture founded on coercion (punishments, laws, and demands) could be much closer to a culture founded on compassion (trust, wholeness, and consent).
How much violence and war could have been prevented?
But alas. That’s how it played out. Of course, the laws themselves were manifestations of unhealed trauma from the individuals in government.
So, I’ll accept my sadness, and turn toward celebration for the renewed, “third wave” of psychedelics. Hopefully, the momentum can build, compassionate channels can widen, and eventually the politicians themselves might want an MDMA love-bomb to support and heal their own locked away inner child.
Much love to all.
*Disclaimer: psychedelics are not a magic bullet. Set and setting is everything.
