Life is an Illegal, Drug-Induced Psychedelic Experience
Our consciousness is built on the foundation of electric and chemical signals in the brain, which dance together to cause our subjective awareness to emerge. These internal drugs regulate all of our most precious and painful experiences.
They allow us to feel a deep sense of connection and empathy with our closest friends, as well as a stinging sense betrayal toward a cheating lover, or the melancholic longing of a deceased loved one.
Everything from saudade to wonderment, these endogenous drugs provide us with the instantaneous glow of the rapturous now.
Neurologically, They control the speed of impulses in the brain. They interact with other drug-like compounds in our bodies, which mediate everything from sexual arousal to social behavior. For instance, serotonin, a common neurotransmitter, regulates mood, hunger, and our sleep-wake cycles.
Dozens more of these compounds are constantly in flux to bring about everything we perceive as existence.
Serotonin, Psilocybin, and DMT—the Compounds of Experience
Strangely, governments ban drugs that alter our experience and grant us visions; but what they ban by association are the drugs of experience in our brains. When government says a psychedelic like psilocybin (the hallucinogenic chemical in magic mushrooms) is illegal, what they are saying is that serotonin is illegal, because psilocybin is nearly identical to it.
Government's have also banned DMT—or dimethyltryptamine.
This is an even more of a grievance against life. DMT is another compound that is closely related to serotonin, and it is also a powerful psychedelic compound. If a chemist moves mere atoms around, he could turn serotonin into DMT. And more fascinatingly, DMT is already naturally occurring in most plant and animal life.
It has been speculated that it occurs in humans as well via the pineal gland. If this is the case, governments have banned chemicals that currently exist in the body...making life illegal at all times.
The War on Drugs is a War on Consciousness
The war on drugs, then, is essentially a war on consciousness, a war on life, and an attack on cognitive liberty. It is an assault on the very firmament of our existence.
These laws go against the ascendancy of our own nature. They make little sense. How insane does a species have to be to claim that its own nature is immoral and illegal? It suggests that humans should hate themselves since they are naturally evil, based on the dictates of biochemistry and evolution.
No wonder the bible portrays humanity as having fallen from a state of grace. Our consciousness is essentially based on a perpetual psychedelic experience. And ironically, this is unacceptable to most religious leaders and government drug warriors.
If we took government's and society's anti-drug mentality to its conclusion, consciousness and subjectivity of the individual would be banned, since serotonin partially activates one of the most amazing and precious experiences: life.
What should we do to reclaim our right to consciousness?
“Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behavior and information processing. They open you up to the possibility that everything you know is wrong."~Terrence McKenna
My name is Sterlin. Follow me at @sterlinluxan, Psychologic-Anarchist. I also run the Psychologic-Anarchist Facebook page and produce many YouTube videos. My interests lie in the intersection of counseling psychology and anarchism. I write about the depredations of psychiatry, and also the new philosophy of compassionate anarchism. We have a large community devoted to discussing psychology and relational voluntaryism.
The last quote is particularly germane. Perhaps the modern war on drugs might have been started with political funding by industries that didn't want to compete with things like weed and coke, but it went forward and got to the point it is today because the societal influence and control exerted by government absolutely relies upon the absence of philosophical exploration.
The existence of government cannot survive scrutiny and rational examination, and so government will always strenuously resist anything that encourages such activities.
Thank god we are now in the Second Psychedelic Revolution!
Good Article @sterlinluxan . A small clarification because The Devil hides in the details:
Drugs are Illegal because most people are afraid of them.
They are afraid because they don't know about them.
People that are afraid of drugs vote for policies that prohibit them.
It is wrong to say that "Goverments prohibit drugs". The term, like I said in my pevious critique is too generic. Many citizens that don't know about drugs vote through Goverment to prohibit drugs. They would do the same in an an-cap society for any subject from pedophelia to caging torture.
A better way to see this is to examine how the situation is handled in scientific research. Due to public opinion, most psychedelic drug research cannot get any funding. This is not because of "The Goverment" but because companies and colleges that do not want to see their reputation go to shit. It creates an endless circle of superstition and fear. No one is ready to take the first step.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/end-the-ban-on-psychoactive-drug-research/
You make an interesting point. Technically, this is all about people. I will agree with that 110%. Now, the core reason people hold these fears and misunderstandings is due to a government-designed system of education which teaches them improperly. Back to what you said - this government-designed education is still created by people. It's always an endless circle.
You cannot change the government without educating people, and it's dificult to educate people who've recieved 15 years of indoctrination. When someone has built their perspective of the world on biased beliefs and bullshit opinions handed down from others who are know-nothing followers, it becomes very difficult to gain any real ground in convincing them otherwise. When push comes to shove, even if 60% of the population are pro-psychedelic, it's the government who seems to have the final say - at least from a legislative position.
I agree with Sterlin's motive here and I also agree with your perspective. I enjoy conversing these issues and philosophies.
I like to add, that I cannot agree - at least in certain company - that "government prohibits drugs" is something wrong to say or too generic. Technically they do, regardless of the fact that the government is just a group of people. I say this because some people who are new cannot understand the concepts without first identifying a perpetrator. After some deeper education, yes. But nobody simply jumps in that deep. For example, with that argument, it's easy for me to say "discussing anarchism is too generic because by doing so, we're lending the idea that government is valid, and true anarchists wouldn't even discuss the idea of having rulers." Now, that's totally valid from a certain perspective, but it's a bit too deep when people are just learning the concepts of not having a ruler. People with no experience aren't going to randomly dive into examining the scientific research of the morality of psychedelics - they first need cause. Since most people identify with government as a core cause for law, rather than people, I think there's a fine line there. Let them blame the government, it's a stepping stone in the right direction.
I do respect both of your opinions and perspective for various reason, just to make that clear. I also thank you both for your contributions here and for putting your mind into your work.
It's true that in a voluntary society there would be some mechanism that stops things like pedophilia (well, pedophilia that gets acted on), but that's because it has a victim. If a voluntary society restricted you from doing something that had no victim, then it's not a voluntary society.
It's chicken/egg, which is maybe what you're getting at. Being illegal is part of why it hurts their reputation. And it's also part of why people can so stubbornly assume it's big bad scary stuff (it's hard to accept the government would do this for no reason).
When someone criticizes the war on drugs, they're not hyper-focused on state actors and dismissing that the attitude of ordinary people might contribute to it. They're trying to help change that attitude.
MDMA was originally used as couples therapy -- often referred to as months of therapy in one session. An old reddit thread comes to mind, where a war veteran suffering from treatment resistant PTSD found a solace in MDMA: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/236o6g/im_a_veteran_who_overcame_treatmentresistant_ptsd/
The war on drugs is a waste of time, money, and has created a body count larger than 9/11. It needs to end.
Have you experimented with DMT? If so, what were your experiences like?
Hey Daut, I tried DMT once and it was a pretty intense experience! But also quite a short one and although during the trip I was a bit freaked out, I'm still glad I did it - I've always been the type of person who wants to see for myself. One thing I found interesting about DMT was that afterwards I was able to remember it much more clearly than with other psychadelics I've used (perhaps because it didn't last as long?). There was more colour involved than I usually experience with LSD, as well as a strange effect on my hearing - kind of like the distance of sounds was all messed up. The closest thing I'd experienced before was the first time I tried philosopher's stone mushrooms in Amsterdam, but subsequent experiences with them were never quite as intense (as with most things in life, if I'm honest) so maybe the same thing will happen if I try DMT again. As with any new psychadelic, I'd definitely recommend being in a comfortable environment if you do decide to give it a go!
I'd also like to say thanks Sterlinluxan - really interesting to read about the similarities between serotonin, psilocybin and DMT. Cheers!
@sterlinluxan well put. Wars on abstract nouns like drugs and terror never make sense ethically. Unfortunately, government has little to do with ethics in modern society.
Instead, the legislation is there now (and arguably always has been there) to benefit backers of the state, as all oligarchies eventually do. In this instance it's tobacco, alcohol, big pharma, the police unions and the for profit prisons that all want it to remain, and they continuously lobby for it.
On the scientific front, it again is a matter of funding. There is greater public sector appetite for studies proving "drugs are bad, m'kay?" than there is to prove the opposite. That removes huge levels of funding to prove the opposite, which is an issue inherent to politicising scientific endeavours. Ive read the studies that got published too early - so far all were not just statistically insignificant, but irrelevant as well. Unfortunately again, most people just see the catchy title "marijuana causesschizophrenia
Hey @lupinate, great response. Thank you. I agree totally with the political undertones regarding drugs. Hopefully, as we move into the future those things start to change. It is cool that organizations like MAPS are cropping up to counter all the paranoia and fear mongering. I appreciate your support, friend.
I've long viewed the War on Drugs as an awful failed experiment, and an excuse to police for profit, but I hadn't thought of it as a war on consciousness. Another thought-provoking piece @sterlinluxan... Thanks so much!
My pleasure, friend. This just adds another dimension to why the drug war is insane. Thanks for the comment as usual, Randy.
Excellent post! I just posted the most powerful psylocibin experience in my life! I would be honored if you gave it a read.
Thanks, Richard. Please share your link with me.
Thank you! https://steemit.com/travel/@richardcrill/backpacking-in-europe-how-a-dream-an-idea-a-close-call-and-some-mushrooms-changed-my-life-forever-part-4-amsterdam-and-the
If the war on drugs is indeed on consciousness. Do you have any views on Ayahuasca tourism? Do you think that consciousness can be commodified? You know like spiritual materialism?
Another great article, @sterlinluxan --we're really appreciating your presence in and contribution to this community! You've inspired some thoughts:
--Not only does DMT occur in the pineal gland, it is released every night during REM sleep (also, oxytocin is released in a 20 second hug).
--We totally agree that the war on drugs is a war on consciousness. Nature loves us and wants us to come back to our divine selves, evidenced by her beautiful healing gifts of cannabis, psylocibin, ayahuasca, and many others. Since the powers that be aren't strong enough to control awake, empowered beings, they use man's law, fear-mongering, and chemicals (in food, water, and air) to dupe the sheeple into "forgetting" their birthrights.
--When you know that the authorities are desperate for control, that the pineal gland is the insightful "third eye", and that fluoride causes calcification in this spiritual center, is it any surprise to learn that this halogen is intentionally added to municipal water supplies for mind-control purposes? (Fortuitously, IODINE is an essential nutrient that detoxes halogens, heavy metals, and even radiation as well as being required by every cell in the body for every chemical reaction, but 98% of Americans are deficient in it.)
Ahh the great terence mckenna...imagine if he were still here wouldnt he make just the very the best content for steemit
Absolutely, dude. McKenna would have been all about this stuff. He did seem to have the paradoxical vision that technology could either save us or destroy us.
The war on drugs is
shit!!!