Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered (Drug Policy Classics Reprints Series Number 1)

Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered (Drug Policy Classics Reprints Series Number 1)
Lester Grinspoon and James B. Bakalar

This book is excellent. Though it was printed in 1979, it's still an extremely forward thinking and well composed book.

The first chapter discusses the major types of psychedelic drugs, including LSD, ibogaine, DOM, and many other substances. It gives a good deal of information on each, including a picture of the molecule.

The second chapter is on psychedelic plants before the 20th century. It gives an overview of drug use throughout history, talking about fly agaric, morning glory seeds, etc. and the cultures that used them. This is followed by an overview of drugs in the 20th century, including peyote churches, Huxley, and the progression of the LSD movement.

The next chapter talks about the nature of psychedelic experiences, and is filled with case studies of users of legal and illegal drugs, including a huge quantity of therapy sessions from when LSD and MDA were legal.

This is followed by a section on adverse effects and how to treat them. It contains a rebuttal of effects that people often incorrectly attribute to psychedelics, and talks about how to calm or treat a person experiencing a bad trip or a flashback.

Next, the theraputic uses of drugs are assessed, and it is shown how psychedelics can aid therapy for pain management, terminal illness, depression, anxiety, and other conditions.

This is followed by a large section on drugs and the mind. It gives several surprisingly cutting edge speculations on how and why drugs have what effects they do.

Finally, the future of psychedelics is discussed. This was pretty much the same as it is now, as psychedelic research hasn't really gone much farther than it had in '79. It gives a lot of possibilities of uses of the drugs mentioned throughout the book. Beyond this is an appendix which discusses the legality of psychedelics. This is the only part which is somewhat dated, though it gives the correct scheduling for DOM and DOB.

I was really impressed with the quality of this book. I expected it to be far more dated than it was, but in fact it contained speculations about uses of drugs that were far more innovative and modernistic than is generally seen today. It was very well researched and well written, and people who take drugs were not seen automatically as deadbeats or freaks. Their words were given credence as the only people to have tried the substances which were being discussed. It was written by two highly educated people, one of whom began writing with the intent to prove the evils of drugs, but along the way began to really read the information about substances, changed his mind and began to actively support the legalization of substances. This is a great read, and I would recommend it to all.