The old adage ‘reality is only for people who can’t handle drugs’ was very much of its time. Mushrooms were magic and most things were far out. Hallucinogenic drugs had experimental uses for those in the counter culture community.
Apart from the addictive nature of drugs like LSD, there was evidence of enhanced creativity as the brain ran riot with heightened stimulation. R.D. Laing was a renowned psychiatrist who saw potential benefits for psychiatric patients in the use of LSD.
Julia Kristeva et al talked about ‘new and shared meanings that can create realities with medical consequences’. Julia Kristeva et al went on to question the distinction between the ‘objectivity of science’ and the ‘subjectivity of culture’. Other scientists were more cautious in their approach, wanting to develop a deeper understanding of the limitations of psychedelic drugs.
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