Psychedelics are ancient social and spiritual enhancers. They are socially expedient when combined with rituals which serve a function of creating egalitarian bonding between people who ingest or smoke them. I have argued with empirical and academic ethnographic evidence for this thesis around the social bonding between groups of people for my Honours thesis. Based on scholarly feedback of my anthropology Honours I have a book, further elaborating on this topic with more careful structure and synthesis, you can find at:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/henrywilloughby
With carefully contrived rituals, usually by a shaman ritual ‘architect’ leader, they also bind partaking individuals with neuro-theological experiences. These also serve a function of enhancing biophilia in a spiritual way or realm. These socio-brain-esoteric practices and praxes inform ancient theological ways of being in the world, and constitute a strong and enduring archetype of socially crafted psychotropic use. An umbrella term for the commonalities of a series of social and entheogen practices, pioneered and widely undertaken in the ‘hunter-gatherer period’, may be termed Psychotropic Shamanism. Dr. Michael Winkelman, the U.S. anthropologist and author who has academic specialisation based around neuro-theological research synthesis, has dubbed these psychedelic entheogens and their ancient use in social ritual as psychointegrators: see Winkelman 2001, Psychointegrators: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the Therapeutic Effects of Hallucinogens, Complementary health practice review, Vol. 6(3), pp. 219-231. Please see https://michaelwinkelman.com/ for further resources on shamanism and some related scholarly fields. I bought his book Shamanism: A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing. I find it to be a rich information source and synthesis on shamanism – and believe it is a topic we must acquaint ourselves with in order to understand our evolved and evolving psychology as humans.
The question of particularly residual neurotoxicity of the plethora of different kinds of psychedelics is a widely and hotly debated topic by many diverse socially and vocational commentators and experts. At the least, psychedelics and other entheogens temporarily exhaust the brain through the eliciting of a highly stimulated conscious waking state. Some allege that marijuana, for instance, may cause residual neuroinflammation, particularly in individuals so genetically disposed. It seems clear that all drugs which elicit an intense altered state of consciousness cause some kind of damage to the brain, which may or may not heal through periods of sobriety; it is clear that many people will not develop a severe mental handicap from use, whilst a small minority will develop serious mental health conditions from particularly protracted use. Currently, it would seem wise to abstain or desist from their use, whilst patiently awaiting the advent of safer synthetic psychedelics substances, better knowledge of the effects of the range of psychedelics on neural functioning, careful, sophisticated and nuanced genetic screening of people potentially more biologically vulnerable and predisposed to neural and/or neurochemical damage, and biomedical advances in correcting any residual damage done by ingestion or inhalation of these substances. I will delve, now, into the latter of these scientific advances in biomedicine and neuroscience.
Soon, I allege that, and sincerely hope, we will be able to correct any damage done to the brain from use of psychedelics through nanotech neuroprosthetic interventions, dispersing into intersecting neural networks. These nanobots could be built at the molecular level in advances in nanotechnology. This could be facilitated through a non-invasive injection of neuro-adhesive nanobots into the cerebral spinal fluid which subsequently migrate to brain tissue. This adding of miniature devices to neural networks, via cerebral spinal fluid, is in contrast to more mechanical based brain implantations and augmentation through surgical means such as chips and electrodes; this circumvents brain surgery which is more risk and complication laden. Dr. Saniotis and Professor Henneberg have intellectually pioneered a design through sketching a model inspired by endomyccorhizae (an ancient fungal-plant root symbiosis) called endomyccorhizae ligand interface or ELI (after a female nickname) for short.
ELI would operate from a decentralized and de-localized digitally instructed nano-bots, linking in with and connecting neurons through its artificially designed tendrils. This is in contrast to the extant more linearly-commanded chips or electrodes. Currently existing medical neural surgical implantations are theoretically opposed to the dispersal into networks proposed by ELI. For feasibility of this novel model, further detailed and comprehensive neural mind-mapping as to the differing and myriad functionalities of neural networks may be a requisite.
A podcast interview by David Olney and Tim Whiffen of the academic and intellectual powerhouse dynamic duo hailed from the University of Adelaide’s Medical School Dr. Arthur Saniotis and Professor Maciej Henneberg is linked in below. In dialogue, they flesh out the intricacies of their (mind) prototype of ELI. Medical applications and enhancement of brain are objectives of this scientific model and thesis. If you are socially and scientifically attentive, I am sure you will enjoy this fabulous podcast!
As briefly signposted above, another avenue integrally worthy of our time and investment, alongside augmenting nano and biotech healing methods canvased above, is eliciting psychedelic or entheogen peak experiences through new synthetic substances which are, at the molecular and chemical levels, designed to be safer, without the neurotoxicity for all kinds of genetically, socially and environmentally – and the overlapping of these three factors – diverse brains.
In summation, perhaps for your interest, I have written on, and argued for, the potentiality of a very partial and moderate legalisation and regulation of psychedelics for mature adults, but not for those with a history of mental health conditions, as I claim above, and particularly not those who have had (a) psychotic break/s, with a universal legal device of indemnity deployed discharging liability of manufacture and administering, and with the individual user legally adopting all risk of potentially ensuing and precipitated medical complication(s). In quoting that entry:
Potential neuro-toxicity and residual neuro-toxicity of entheogen psychotropics used for recreational altered states of consciousness is a concern. Some persons may be more susceptible to cognitive damage from entheogens than others. Furthermore biological brain immaturity may predispose entheogen consumers to more neural damage than in biologically matured brains. Thus, legalisation for 25 year old’s and older, combined with moderation or abstinence in consumption may be desirable. Consumers would take entheogens at their own risk, with abstinence the safest and most encouraged option, until we know more about the brain, and entheogen effects on the brain. I suggest that governmental legalisation, regulation and manufacture such that recreational drugs such as psychedelics are only legally available for mature adults at 25 years of age or older every five years as a minimum quota, will substantially minimize their risks to residual brain functioning, allowing for their beneficial properties to users in regards to tapping the unconscious mind with spiritually nourishing, entheogenic and shamanist religiosity, and/or enlightening (peak) experience(s) benefits accrued. Use of any entheogenic psychotropic substance would exhaust each five year quota. So, users may choose marijuana in for the first five years, peyote for the second, ayahuasca for the third for example, or just keeping with the one drug for each five year period, from the 25 years of age legal cushioning restriction. Minimalist and careful consumption in this way, circumvents a lot of their risks to brain health. It is well worth the endeavour of designing synthetic entheogens that could be provenly safe for use in the future. Legalisation promotes individual responsibility re entheogen consumption for mature adults.1
- Willoughby, H 2023, ‘Some Machinations of Libertarian Socialism: Pornography, Sex Work, and Entheogens’, last viewed 29 January 2025, https://henrywilloughbyssocialjusticeblog.com/2021/01/24/some-machinations-of-libertarian-socialism-pornography-sex-work-and-entheogens/ ↩︎
Short Reference and Works Consulted List
Appiganesi, R and Zarate, O 2007, Introducing Freud: A Graphic Guide, Icon Books Ltd, London.
Bagot, K and Chang, A 2018, ‘Marijuana and Psychosis: Policy Implications for Treatment Providers’, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 57, no. 8, pp. 613-614.
Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement Administration, April 2000, ‘Drug Fact Sheet: Marijuana/Cannabis’, last accessed 29-1-2025, https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/Marijuana-Cannabis-2020_0.pdf
Hyde, M and McGuinness, M 2008, Introducing Jung: A Graphic Guide, Icon Books Ltd, London.
Lulu Author Spotlight, last viewed 30 January 2025, Henry Willoughby, https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/henrywilloughby
Malone, D, Hill, M and Rubino, T 2010, ‘Adolescent cannabis use and psychosis: epidemiology and neurodevelopmental modes’, British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 160, no. 3.
Neuroscience News, 21 November 2024, ‘Cannabis Worsens Brain Connectivity Deficits in Psychosis Risk, https://neurosciencenews.com/cud-synapses-neurodevelopment-psychosis-28097/
Neuroscience News, 6 December 2024, ‘Psychosis Risk Tied to Heavy Cannabis Use and Genetic Factors’, https://neurosciencenews.com/psychosis-thc-genetics-28199/
Neuroscience News, 16 December 2024, ‘Study Challenges Myths About Cannabis, Brain Health, and IQ’, https://neurosciencenews.com/cognitive-decline-cannabis-28252/
Neuroscience News, 28 January 2025, ‘Cannabis Use Reduces Brain Activity in Key Memory Regions’, https://neurosciencenews.com/cannabis-working-memory-neuroscience-28388/
Olney, D and Whiffen, T 1st May 2022, Nanobots in Therapy and in Human Augmentation (Special Guests Arthur Saniotis and Maciej Henneberg, last viewed 30 January 2025, https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/blind-insights-nanobots-in-therapy-and-in-human/id1446204559?i=1000559243850
Willoughby, H 2023, ‘Some Machinations of Libertarian Socialism: Pornography, Sex Work, and Entheogens’, https://henrywilloughbyssocialjusticeblog.com/2021/01/24/some-machinations-of-libertarian-socialism-pornography-sex-work-and-entheogens/
Winkelman, M, Michael James Winkelman [Official Website], last viewed 30 January 2025, https://michaelwinkelman.com/
Winkelman, M 2001, Psychointegrators: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the Therapeutic Effects of Hallucinogens, Complementary health practice review, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 219-231.
Winkelman, M 2010, Shamanism: A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing, Praeger, Santa Barbara.
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