cultural anthropology

 Alice Korkin


Mr. Roddy


IHSS

31 August 2021

Psychedelics as Medicines


Psychedelics are a type of drug that gives the human brain serotonin. The anthropologist that wrote this report studied in the San Francisco area. Drugs like these have been recently “reborn.” In the 50s and 60s, there were plenty of plant-based drugs that were used for religious healings and practices but these psychedelics were never considered medicine. Now, these drugs have the same concept but different ingredients. The natural components are mixed with synthetic components. During the anthropologist's fieldwork, she learned that people have made a bunch of loopholes for seeking these medicines. Different people have different uses for them. Some of these people include religious healers and therapists. Technically if you are seeking help from trauma or different things from the past you might be eligible for access to psychedelics. People have turned to these medicines when doctors have tried everything possible for them  or sometimes people want to “connect to the earth.” There are many groups that she studied and a lot of the people she observed talked about how magic mushrooms have helped them through mental, physical, and other drug abuse. Using things from the past and incorporating different traditions can help us heal different people “one at a time.”

https://culanth.org/fieldsights/on-the-rehabilitation-of-psychedelics-as-medicines

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