A Global History of Psychedelics

A review of Expanding Mindscapes by Erika Dyck and Chris Elcock [eds.]

For a long time, the history of psychedelics was a domain that existed largely outside the academy. In the 1980s, excellent, popular histories began appearing intermittently, concentrating largely on America, and paying particular attention to the dissemination of LSD and mushrooms in scientific, military, and countercultural contexts. Although a broad, complex picture emerged, it still remained somewhat isolated from wider historical forces. This was also true for the odd article that did appear in the academy, when psychedelics were typically wrapped up within ‘The Sixties’™.

There remains a great deal to be said, and unearthed, about the role of psychedelics in the postwar West. Over the last few decades, the focus of the ‘psychedelic community’ and the hallowed halls of the academy has also widened its geographical contexts. Not only have people been travelling the world in larger numbers to partake in psychedelic ceremonies, but this has been mirrored by the interest of the humanities, as scholars have sought to give more attention to cultures other than their own. Where anthropologists and ethnobotanists first trod, historians have begun to follow.

It goes without saying that the renaissance in psychedelics has been driven by scientific research and therapy. So far as popular culture goes, this is where the glossy splashes have landed. While the humanities has been relatively slow to pick up on this trend, there have been notable exceptions, including the brilliant Psychedelic Psychiatry: From Clinic to Campus (2008) by Erika Dyck. Indeed, Dyck (and others) have been instrumental in bringing more historical focus to psychedelics and, along with Chris Elcock, she has recently edited the mammoth Expanding Mindscapes (2023).

Noting the predominance of the United States, Timothy Leary and the Sixties, the editors write, ‘psychedelics have a much deeper and broader history that challenges both the chronology and geography of that particular location and time frame’. The essays in Expanding Mindscapes cover Europe, Africa, the Americas, the Middle East, and Asia, and can therefore claim to be a global history. There are of course limitations to this approach, it can easily be spread too thinly and lack substance, yet these 20 essays are an admirable introduction to a labyrinthine global story.

Ian A Baker opens the collection with a classic discussion around the identity of soma in the Rg Veda, and the author’s investigations into a ‘living tradition’ of soma in India. This neatly sets the book’s overall outlook—navigating existing questions, current trends, and new contexts. It also opens the first section, ‘Evaluating Evidence/Experience’. This includes two chapters dealing with France, delving into the scientific context of Sartre’s mescaline experiments, and ‘Women, Mental Illness, and Psychedelic Therapy in Postwar France’, plus several on early LSD cultures.

The following section (7 chapters) is subtitled ‘Global Networks of Psychedelic Knowledge’. Excellent examples of the mycelium-like spread of information can be found in Timothy Vilgiate’s analysis of how a ‘transnational imagination’ has understood Voacanga africana seeds; Julien Bonhomme’s history of Tabernanthe iboga; and the ‘transnational’ research of mushroom aficionado Roger Heim. In many respects, this is a stand-out section of the book and really gives a compelling impression of the extent to which psychoactive plants and substances are threaded through the life of the planet.

‘Psychedelics as Cultural Phenomena’ contains the final 7 chapters and deals with such different topics as the shared conceptual relationship of electronics and psychedelics as technologies of consciousness; three chapters on the impact of LSD and other drugs in the Netherlands, Brazil, and Israel respectively; ayahuasca use in China; queerness in Pakistan. As you might imagine, there is something of a shared perspective in regard to the proliferation of both therapeutic and indigenous psychedelic techniques—these two worldviews jockey and vibe across the global landscape.

There are 4 chapters dealing with the question of psychedelics in Britain, two of which, on Dr Frank Lake and the acid anarchism William Dwyer, deal with subjects that long-time readers of the Psychedelic Press are already very familiar with. Wendy Kline describes the work of Dr Ronald Sandison, and is particularly interesting for testimonies she gathered from people who remember Powick Hospital where he worked. The LSD Unit was something of a closed, almost secret, part of the hospital, shutting out other members of staff—fuel for other questions.

The final chapter on British psychedelia, ‘Did the Master’s Tools Dismantle the Master’s House?’ by Mark Gallagher, also touches on acid anarchism, bringing in the question of anti-psychiatry, plus game theorist and frequent mental health patient Robin Farquharson. A South African, anti-apartheid activist, Farquharson wrote Drop Out! about his experiences doing just that in London. Gallagher writes an excellent exploration of the many social tracks LSD trod in the 1960s and, in regard to the British-centred pieces, it is a stand-out chapter.

In conclusion, Expanding Mindscapes is essential reading for anyone interested in psychedelic history. Its overall breadth is a reminder that psychedelics have touched upon and influenced lives in myriad ways, and that while users may always be deemed as marginal characters—especially in regard to their legal or medical status in society—their history reflects and animates crucial changes. It’s a book I shall definitely be revisiting and will enjoy chasing up its historical threads.