From Mazatec veladas to psychedelic medicine

Notes on psylocibin mushrooms between philosophy, medicine and ethnography

Abstract

Psylocibin mushrooms have been a central topic of cross-cultural and transdisciplinary investigation since their rediscovery by Gordon Wasson in the 1950s. Today psychedelic medicine is experiencing a revival in the US and Europe, as experimental results are confirming the efficacy of psylocibin for the treatment of disorders such as alcohol addiction and depression. At the same time, philosophers and neuroscientists are investigating psychedelic trips as means of transformation of the Ego. In this paper, I examine this recent research against the background of its original ethnographic origin: based on field work in Huautla de Jiménez (Mexico) and the surrounding area, I connect and compare debates in contemporary Mexico and in the USA, arguing that the prospects of psychedelic medicine overlap with broader cultural and political issues.