A Brief History of Psychedelics

The history of psychedelics is colourful, controversial and mysteriously intriguing. Understanding the place that psychedelics had in our evolution as a species can really connect some dots and bring clarity to the standpoint of psychedelics in modern-day society. Additionally, it can highlight the marks it made on religion, science, culture, politics and consciousness.

Psychedelic substances are considered sacred in many cultures while they are being completely demonized by other cultures/societies. In this article, I will be going over the historical timeline of psychedelics, starting with ancient times, where it all began.

When were psychedelics first used?

The oldest evidence of psychedelic use can be found in a cave in the Tassili-N-Ajjer region of the Sahara desert (Algeria). We can gather a lot of insight into the past by studying cave paintings and this cave is no exception! In the cave of Tassili-N-Ajjer, there is a mural depicting what is referred to as the ‘mushroom man’ or the ‘mushroom shaman’, a bee-headed figure with mushrooms sprouting out of his body.

The mushrooms in this particular painting have been identified and are believed to be the psychedelic mushrooms native to the region in which the cave art resides. These mushrooms are called Psilocybe Mairei. This ancient mural is between 7,000 and 9,000 years old! This cave painting suggests that the locals of the area during that era used Psilocybe Mairei and found them impactful enough to express through art.

Another famous piece of evidence of early psychedelic use comes from another cave mural near Villar del Humo (Spain). This art piece features mushrooms that researchers believe to be Psilocybe Hispanica which is another type of psychoactive mushroom local to the area of the cave. This mural has been confirmed to be at least 6,000 years old!

These findings strongly suggest that we have been using psychedelic mushrooms for centuries. Who knows, perhaps we have been using them even before these murals were created! There is an incredible amount of evidence pointing towards this possibility, expanding the mysterious nature of this timeline. What we do know without a doubt is that shamans utilized natural compounds for centuries to follow.

Even to this day, you can find shamans carrying on their sacred traditions, using psychedelic substances and other plant medicine(s) to enhance healing during their spiritual ceremonies.

But, how did psychedelics make their way to the west? Let’s look at this now.

Western discovery of Psychedelics

This is where things started to get tricky. Bringing such substances into a world ruled by capitalism, politics and pure greed/lust for power became a threat to organized governments. But first, let’s go over exactly how psychedelics made their way to the west and the reactions that such discoveries fueled.

1496 – Friar Ramon Pane (who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his 2nd journey to the Americas), noted how the people of the Dominican Republic would consume psychoactive snuff called yopo/cohoba. The snuff is made from Anadenanthera Peregrina. Essentially, it is a snuff made out of a type of shrub that contains 2 active ingredients; DMT and 5-MeO-DMT. These are both tryptamines, a class of hallucinogens that magic mushrooms also fall into.

1560 – Fray Bernardino de Sahagun was a Spanish missionary priest that wrote about the Aztec’s usage of peyote and Psilocybe Mexicana.

shamanism south america

1851 – The English ethnobotanist, Richard Spruces, explored the Amazon and observed the Tukano Indians of the Rio Uapes (Brazil) and how they including the psychedelic brew Ayahuasca in their ceremonies.

1864– Griffon du Bellay, a French physician, reported the use of the iboga root (containing ibogaine) in Gabon and the Congo.

Western Use of Psychedelics

1799 – The first-ever magic mushroom experience that took place in London. A father went to gather mushrooms from a field he often relied on to feed his family. However, it turned out that he picked the psychedelic species. Specifically, he picked and accidentally ingested Psilocybe Semilanceate. Oops!

1887 – Dr J.R. Briggs published a detailed article about his self-experimentation with peyote.

1897 – A pharmacologist named Arthur Heffter consumed 150mcg of mescaline hydrochloride that he has successfully isolated. This was the very first experience with a purified version of mescaline!

1914 – Science magazine published an article going over the trippy experience of a man who went by the name ‘Mr W’ that ingested psilocybin mushrooms.

1943Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist, consumed 250mcg of LSD, a famous compound that he had invented and synthesized himself. Since then, it has become the most well-known synthesized psychedelic substance to date.

Albert Hofmann
Albert Hofmann; Credit: Britannica

1956 – Psychiatrist Stanislav Grof had his first-ever LSD experience, consuming 250mcg. Later that year, the chemist injected himself with DMT and was the first person to publicly describe its psychedelic effects when injected.

By the time the 60s and 70s hit, underground chemists went to work. One interesting case came later that includes chemists Leonard William Pickard, Nick Sand and Owsley Stanley. They developed a large-scale laboratory used to manufacture LSD and distribute to the general public. In their 9 years of operation, they produced millions of doses of LSD, being the world’s #1 supplier! If you took LSD during their time of operation, it was likely produced by their literal underground laboratory hiding below the Earth’s surface in Kansas, USA. It was the largest LSD manufacturing case/bust in history. Following their arrest, there was an apparent 99.5% drop in LSD availability in the US.

The prohibition of Psychedelics

It is no surprise that after LSD and other psychedelic substances went mainstream lobbyists decided to take action. Specific bans on psychedelic substances started to be introduced long before the LSD laboratory bust mentioned above was functioning, of course.

Not long after the first bans were put into place, we would see the prohibition of nearly all psychedelics.

1966 – The use and/or sale of substances like mescaline, LSD, peyote and DMT were prohibited in the USA.

1970MDA, LSD, DMT, psilocybin, psilocin, cannabis, peyote and mescaline all become Schedule 1 drugs under the United States Controlled Substance Act. This indicated (in the terms of the law) that these substances had zero recognized medical value and only offered a high potential for abuse and harm.

President Nixon Signing Controlled Substances Act of 1970; Credit: Kyhempsters

This marked a huge turning point for psychedelics as this resulted in nearly two decades where we didn’t see the return of sanctioned research into psychedelics, which had been an ongoing field of research years prior to the Controlled Substance Act. This was a huge shame as it put a halt to this very important and beneficial area of research.

Current events: The Psychedelic Renaissance

Essentially, the ‘psychedelic renaissance’ refers to the renewal of government-approved studies revolving around hallucinogens and their expanding popularity in mainstream society once again.

1990 to 1995 – Rick Strassman, a psychiatrist, administered DMT to 60 volunteers and recorded the effects in his published book, DMT: The Spirit Molecule.

1998 – Fanz Vollenweider, a neuroscientist from Switzerland, discovered that both LSD and psilocybin achieve their unique effects through binding to the 5-HT2A receptor in the brain.

2009 – Charles Grob, a published researcher, showed us that psilocybin was an effective tool that can be used in reducing anxiety in patients with advanced cancer. He also published a different study around the same time that demonstrated MDMA to be a safe and effective drug that improved treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

2014 – Another study was conducted using brain scans. It showed us that psilocybin increases communication between areas of the brain that do not usually communicate. This was an exciting discovery made by Carhart-Harris that increased curiosity in the neuroscience community.

2016 – Carhart-Harris strikes again with another groundbreaking study conducted with brain scans. He and his team published the very first images of how LSD physically affects the brain.

Increase in the brain connectivity after LSD (right), compared to placebo (left). Credit: Imperial College London

2018 – Another fantastic study was conducted but this time on Ayahuasca. This study suggested that it can lead to a significant decrease in symptoms of depression.

2019 – The world’s first Center for Psychedelics Research was born at Imperial College London. Some months later following the launch of their new research center, John Hopkins created his own Center for Psychedelics and Consciousness Research Center. Both of the centers are currently carrying out research into psychedelics, revealing knowledge that can help us better understand consciousness. Additionally, they work with psychedelic compounds with the motive of treating conditions such as depression, addiction and PTSD. So far, so good!

Final Thoughts

I have had to cut out a lot of events that have occurred between the moments I have highlighted above. When you really dive into this topic, the list of events goes on and on. There is no doubt that the history of psychedelics is full of ups and downs, twists and turns. With more funding being designated towards modern-day psychedelic research, we can expect to see many more historical moments in psychedelics during our lifetime.

We are beginning to open up to the truth and accept that psychedelics do have very healing properties, both in ceremonial settings and clinical environments. It is a very exciting time to be alive, especially when you take a look around you through a trippy lens. It is time for us to wake up and truly utilize these beautiful compounds that nature has gifted us.

Where will this path take us? Only time can tell.

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