TBL Post: Psychedelics: The Revolutionary Drugs That Could Change Your Life – A Guide from the Expert, by Professor David Nutt

Summary

The definitive guide to psychedelics, science and our health by a world-renowned, leading authority, Professor David Nutt.

We are on the cusp of a major revolution in psychiatric medicine and neuroscience. After fifty years of prohibition, criminalisation and fear, science is finally showing us that psychedelics are not dangerous or harmful. Instead, when used according to tested, safe and ethical guidelines, they are our most powerful newest treatment of mental health conditions, from depression, PTSD, and OCD to disordered eating and even addiction and chronic pain.

Professor David Nutt, one of the world’s leading Neuropsychopharmacologists, has spent 15 years researching this field and it is his most significant body of work to date. In 2018, he co-founded the first academic psychedelic research centre – underpinned by his mission to provide evidence-based information for people everywhere. It revived interest in the understanding and use of this drug in its many forms, including MDMA, ayahuasca, magic mushrooms, LSD and ketamine. The results of this have been nothing short of ground-breaking for the future categorisation of drugs, but also for what we now know about brain mechanisms and our consciousness.

At a time where there is an enormous amount of noise around the benefits of psychedelics, this book contains the knowledge you need to know about a drug that is about to go mainstream, free from the hot air, direct from the expert.

Are you ready to change your mind?

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My Review

I started listening to this audiobook yesterday when I went for my walk, and finished it today while I was out on my walk. Honestly, I was looking for a short book that I would be able to get through fairly quickly. I’m putting off diving into a whole library of fantasy books that I really want to listen to, but I need a good run up to because I know they’ll hurt. Also, I’m trying to get my total up for the GoodReads Challenge. Yes, yes, I know, gamification of reading, bad, etc. I can’t help it! I read a lot, but none of it seems to count. I don’t think they have New Scientist or New Humanist magazines on GoodReads. They do have the BFS Journal and BFS Horizons, as well as Interzone, so some of my magazine reading does count.

Back to the book.

I thought this was an interesting, comprehensive look at the research around psychedelics and their potential uses in medicine. The author is obviously passionate about his work and helping people with mental illnesses using psychedelics, but I think he might have some blind spots when it comes to criticism. He’s clearly still upset about being sacked in the 1990s. I get it, it’s frustrating when you’re trying to share information and people refuse to listen because it doesn’t fit their narrative, but he’s had a massively important career in academia since then.

I’ve never taken drugs, it’s not my thing; in fact, I’ve said I would only try these drugs under clinical, research conditions, and since I respond well to my medication, I’d never qualify for the research trials. I found Nutt’s descriptions and his quotes from others, including research participants, fascinating. It’s one of the reasons I got this audiobook, I want to know what people experience without actually trying psychedelics. People I know have told me about their experiences but I’m interested in it from a scientist’s position.

I’m interested in the science of how they work. The explanations of the way the chemicals work on the brain are really easy to understand. Er, for me at least, but I have some background in biochemistry. I think a general reader without a science background should be able to make sense of it. Nutt’s frustration at the waste of research time and opportunity caused by unsupported bans and high costs seems well-founded.

Nutt narrated his book and he has a reasonable narration voice. His accent sounds comforting, he has clear diction and a warm tone.

Nutt has a shallow understanding of neurodiversity. I appreciate him mentioning that he doesn’t want to get rid of neurodivergent people, but he needs to actually understand what he’s saying. Neurodiversity covers everyone, neurodivergent refers to those who’s brains don’t fit the social norm. Neurodiversity is a social and political movement for disability rights; saying you don’t ‘want to get rid of their neurodiversity’ about treating anxiety in Autistic people, doesn’t really mean anything. Why didn’t an editor check that? Why hasn’t Nutt looked into it more deeply if he’s concerned about helping us? Also, ADHD isn’t a mental illness. It’s a form of neurodivergence, like autism, like OCD, like schizophrenia, etc. There are things we need help with and I’m sure psychedelics could be useful in some cases.