Out Loud: Psychedelics as Therapy
By The New Yorker
In
the nineteen-fifties and sixties, researchers explored the therapeutic
effects of LSD on alcoholism, depression, and a number of other
conditions. Then the counterculture came along, LSD became a
recreational drug, and the research dried up. In this week’s
magazine, Michael Pollan writes about a new wave of researchers who are
using hallucinogenic drugs to help terminally ill cancer patients cope with the fear of death.
On Out Loud, Pollan joins host Amelia Lester, the executive editor of newyorker.com, to discuss the history of psychedelics research, the difference between a recreational psychedelic journey and a therapeutic one, and why he finds the effects of these drugs so intriguing. Whereas we don’t typically trust the insights we have when we’re drunk or dreaming, Pollan says, patients who take hallucinogens report having “a sturdy, authoritative experience.” “It takes us into an interesting and difficult to navigate intellectual space,” he says. “It’s very exciting territory.”
You can listen to the episode above or subscribe to Out Loud for free on iTunes or via RSS. Listen to the latest episodes of all New Yorker podcasts here.
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/loud-therapeutic-tripping
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