The psychedelic evangelist
Before he died last year, Roland Griffiths was arguably the world's most famous psychedelic researcher. Since 2006, his work has suggested that psilocybin, found in magic mushrooms, can cause mystical experiences and that these experiences, in turn, can help treat anxiety, depression, addiction and fear of death.
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Dr. Griffiths and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University received wide recognition among scientists and the popular press, helping to bring the psychedelic field out of the depths of the hippie movement of the 1960s. This second wave of research into hallucinogenic compounds strengthened political campaigns to decriminalize them and spurred investment in biotechnology.
Dr. Griffiths was known to his friends and colleagues as an analytical thinker and a religious agnostic, and he warned his fellow researchers against media hype. But he also saw psychedelics as more than just drugs: Understanding them could be “essential to the survival of the human species,” he told a conference. Late in life, he admitted to taking psychedelics himself and said he wanted science to help unlock their transformative power for humanity. important role among psychonauts, the growing community of psychedelic believers who want to introduce the drugs into mainstream society. For years, critics have decried profligate financial and financial spending.
Before he died last year, Roland Griffiths was arguably the world's most famous psychedelic researcher. Since 2006, his work has suggested that psilocybin, found in magic mushrooms, can cause mystical experiences and that these experiences, in turn, can help treat anxiety, depression, addiction and fear of death.
Open this article in the New York Times Audio app on iOS.< /p>
Dr. Griffiths and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University received wide recognition among scientists and the popular press, helping to bring the psychedelic field out of the depths of the hippie movement of the 1960s. This second wave of research into hallucinogenic compounds strengthened political campaigns to decriminalize them and spurred investment in biotechnology.
Dr. Griffiths was known to his friends and colleagues as an analytical thinker and a religious agnostic, and he warned his fellow researchers against media hype. But he also saw psychedelics as more than just drugs: Understanding them could be “essential to the survival of the human species,” he told a conference. Late in life, he admitted to taking psychedelics himself and said he wanted science to help unlock their transformative power for humanity. important role among psychonauts, the growing community of psychedelic believers who want to introduce the drugs into mainstream society. For years, critics have decried profligate financial and financial spending.
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