Psychedelics: Trip or Treatment?

Psychedelics, such as MDMA, LSD, ketamine, and psilocybin, are on the rise as treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder or depression. After early psychiatric experimentation in the 1950s and 60s in the US, followed by decades of prohibition, psychedelics are gaining interest in the therapeutic setting. Research on their therapeutic use is receiving more funding than ever, with various corporations investing in the new miracle drugs, while more and more renowned knowledge institutes are committing themselves to explore their promising effects.

At the same time, there are worries about the commodification and increasing monetization of psychedelics, giving rise to concerns about capitalism corrupting the meaning of psychedelic practices. The rise of psychedelic medicine in Western countries has also been regarded as an attempt at re-colonizing ancient sacred medicine. Where do psychedelics fit in the Western medical paradigm? What are the risks of their commodified and unsupervised use? Can we interpret the mind altering effects of psychedelic drugs as a trick (i.e., placebo), a trip, or a treatment?

This Mindwise Debate will challenge doctors, drug dealers, and deities.

Against the proposition:
Caroline Murphy
Jurriaan Strous
Morten Lietz

For the proposition:
Berend Pot
Jon Keller Munoz 
Pamela González Dávila

Mindwise Debate
Mindwise Debate is a series of public debates organized by Studium Generale Groningen, Institute for Science Education and Communication and Mindwise Groningen. The debates have the aim of creating a university-wide platform for risky and engaging dialogue on topics ranging from the role of standardization in education systems to the nature of consciousness. The event consists of a formal debate between two teams composed of both students and staff members from UG followed by an open discussion between everyone in the audience and the debaters.

Image: Cristian Menumortu