Summary: MAPS Founder and Executive Director Rick Doblin, Ph.D., and Bia Labate, Ph.D., MAPS Public Education and Culture Specialist and Chacruna Institute Executive Director, provided compelling arguments for the legalization of psychedelics in a debate hosted by Intelligence Squared.
Originally appearing here.
Psychedelics, in medical terms, is an inexact category of drugs that affect perceptions and cognition. Their proponents say 1960s-era associations have undermined exciting research in the field of neuroscience. Psychedelics should be made much more widely available, they contend, to treat a range of mental and emotional issues, as well as to ascertain a more profound sense of ourselves. People should also be empowered to make their own decisions in its use. Not so fast, say opponents. These are powerful substances. And society does not know enough about the broader consequences of greatly increasing access. Cautionary tales should be heeded. Either way, like cannabis, the movement for wider use is growing. So… here’s our debate: Should society legalize psychedelics?
To kick things off, psychedelics comedian Sarah Rose Siskind offers up her two cents.
