Psychedelic Justice: Toward a diverse and equitable psychedelic culture

Field: Social Sciences (Social Sciences)

Psychedelic Justice presents a powerful community of voices lesser heard, and commands our attention, persuades us to action.The central thesis carries a cautionary talethat if we are not careful, we may find ourselves simply following the same-old patterns of perpetuating harm, and systemic oppression, no matter how "good" our intentions, or how "noble" the pursuitour revolution of spiritual enlightenment, healing, a better way of being in the world through altered states of consciousness.With the re-emergence of psychedelics into mainstream Western consciousness, the 'renaissance' for all its noble vision, suffers a potential for the arrogance of ignorance.Many in the community fear that to date, the underground has avoided trappings of modern capitalism, Western medicalization, and other communally distasteful dominant cultural attitudesbut this may change, and perhaps that change is running away with us… fast.Here the authors and editors alike excel, in their collective abilities to bring together the myriad of considerations, woven around common threads, acknowledging the struggle for a prioritization of efforts of collective action that will have meaningful impact, and yet without the sense of overwhelm that usually accompanies the consideration of large scale complex world-changing problems.The work embodies Haraway sense of "staying with the trouble" (Haraway, 2016) and makes visible the conflict, the cognitive dissonance in considering design of what was borne a revolutionary movement, now somehow graduating into a stark world of problems without simple idealistic answers.Psychedelic Justice comprises a collection of essays from multiple authors, diverse in their backgrounds, expertise, and perspectivegalvanized through the dimension of activism.Divided into six sections, readers are invited to explore various aspects of collective action in the field: (1) Inclusion, diversity, and equity; (2) Perspectives on cultural appropriation, colonialism, and globalization of plant medicines; (3) Psychedelics and Western Culture; (4) Queer; (5) Sex and Power; and (6) Sustainability, Policy, and Reciprocity.Each layer unearths new meaning, expands our compassion, offers new doorways to slide through worlds outside our own direct experience.We find ourselves archeologists carefully brushing away the silt to see the bonesand hoping we won't commit the ultimate sin of displacing such precious findings out of context in a darkened museum archive, alone, vulnerable, rendered sterile for want of clinging to a singular "truth".Much of the current literature around social justice within the psychedelic sphere is focused on decriminalization and accessibility of these 'new' therapies, particularly for minority groups.Psychedelic Justice moves beyond this conversation, steps deliberately into the deeper roots of the psychedelic movement, and a grounding in the belief systems which perpetuate harm against marginalized populations.The authors call for a more equitable world through awareness, understanding, and diligence in addressing the unconscious bias that plagues usrecognition of alternative ways of knowing; dismantling traditional power dynamics that perpetuate systemic oppression; stewardship and respect outside a singular lens of dominant culture, care for the earth, voice to the unheard.One noticeable omission was a neurodivergent perspective, which the authors may choose to explore in future works.