PSYCHEDELICS - Sciencemadness.org

Psychology
PSYCHEDELICS
The Uses and Implications
of Hallucinogenic Drugs
by Bernard Aaronson and
Humphry Osmond
In 1957 Dr. Humphry Osmond first coined the
word "psychedelic" to describe the mind-expanding
drugs, then familiar to only a small minority of
researchers and "acid-heads." In these remarkably
few years, this term—and the drugs it refers to—
have become household words. Ominous headlines
have warned us of their dangers, while Madison
Avenue has revelled in the delights of the psychedelic
sub-culture.
This book is a broad and serious inquiry into this
much-discussed topic. It will enlighten and surprise
the uninitiated, as well as the frequent user. It
includes first-hand reports of the nature of the
experience; recent scientific theories; the use of
psychedelics in primitive and non-western cultures;
and the sociology of drugs in our own society. There
are also sections on the potential creative uses of
psychedelics, from the enhancement of religious
experience to the treatment of alcoholics and the
design of mental hospitals.
The contributors include noted scientists, psychologists,
sociologists, and religious leaders. All of
them help to throw some light on a subject which,
in spite of the interest it generates, has produced a
great deal of misinformation. Government restrictions
have in fact brought the progress of muchneeded
research almost to a halt. PSYCHEDELICS is
a plea for—and an invitation to—enlightenment.
Painting by Jose and Miriam Argüelles;
cover design by Ted Bernstein
A Doubleday Anchor Original