Can Drugs Enhance the Psychic Experience?

The question of whether certain drugs can be used as a tool to enhance psychic ability goes back many years, probably to the beginning of time. However, in terms of modern scientific observation, we will limit the question to the past fifty years or so, and to the psychoactive drugs that have been in the most common use during this time.
In the 1970s, British writer Aldous Huxley recommended taking mescaline as a desirable way of opening the door to the unconscious. Other drugs that have been spoken of in this connection include peyote, lysergic acid diethylamide (better known as LSD), and, of course, marijuana. Particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, the field seemed wide open for experimentation with various drugs. Many celebrated mediums experimented with these drugs, under controlled conditions and the supervision of psychiatrists. As yet, the full impact that drug use would have on society had not dawned on us. It was a novelty--something done by the avant-garde and daring--and was said to produce far-out sensations.
As the years went on, the dangers of drug-taking became apparent. Many psychics who had taken even small amounts of LSD in the hope of having extraordinary psychic experiences became ill, and had to discontinue the practice. Some doctors still maintained that only "hard" drugs were habit-forming and damaging to the body and mind, while "softer" drugs such as marijuana were not. Today, though, we know that the results of drug-taking are cumulative and may not show for many years, and there are very few doctors who would consider marijuana anything other than undesirable.
From the point of view of psychic research, drug-taking is utterly useless. Not only does it cause serious disorientation, in the long if not the short run, but the results obtained while under the influence of drugs do not seem to be related to any kind of reality remotely comparable to the realities of genuine ESP experiences. True, the fantasies encountered under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs, especially LSD, seem to suggest one is entering into a higher realm of consciousness, and visions described by some drug users seem to have the breadth and scope of extraordinary spiritual encounters. But any material gained with the use of drugs is artificial, and is due solely to the altered chemical state of the observer's bloodstream.
Mental imagery is largely controlled by the delicate chemical balance in the body's systems. When alien substances such as hallucinogenic drugs are injected into the system, they alter this delicate balance and so produce altered states of consciousness. While these altered states may mimic authentic states of bliss or even ecstasy, they are nevertheless due to interference from outside agents rather than to genuine contact with another dimension.

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