May 28, 2025 • 24 mins
The hidden truth about psychedelics might be one of modern medicine's most shocking cover-ups. What if powerful healing tools weren't banned because they were dangerous, but because they were too effective at liberating people from systems of control?
The Evolved Podcast pulls back the curtain on how these ancient medicines—once revered by civilizations worldwide for healing, insight, and spiritual connection—were systematically suppressed by political powers, religious institutions, and the medical industry. This wasn't about protecting public health; it was about maintaining authority over consciousness itself.
Consider the evidence: While nearly one billion people worldwide suffer from mental health conditions with minimal treatment innovation, substances like psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, and ketamine have demonstrated remarkable efficacy in treating depression, PTSD, addiction, and existential distress. Research from prestigious institutions confirms what indigenous cultures preserved through millennia—these aren't recreational drugs but powerful medicines for mind, body, and spirit.
Unlike pharmaceuticals that require daily dosing and create dependency, psychedelics often need just 1-3 sessions for lasting effects. They promote neuroplasticity, dissolve rigid thought patterns, and facilitate profound healing experiences. Yet they were classified as Schedule I substances with "no medical value"—a classification that contradicts mounting scientific evidence but serves institutional interests.
The suppression follows historical patterns: from monotheistic religions labeling plant ceremonies as "sorcery" to colonial powers outlawing indigenous rituals to Nixon-era criminalization targeting counterculture movements. As John Ehrlichman later admitted, "We couldn't make it illegal to be black or against the war, but by getting the public to associate hippies with LSD, we could disrupt those communities."
Today's psychedelic renaissance represents more than new treatment options—it's a reckoning with systems that profit from disconnection and suffering. It challenges us to reclaim our autonomy in healing and to protect the wisdom traditions that preserved these medicines through centuries of persecution.
Join us weekly as we continue to unveil the systems shaping our world and explore pathways to higher awareness through truth and knowledge. If this episode resonated with you, please follow, share, and support our evolution of consciousness movement.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Evolved
Podcast, a space for unfilteredtruth, deep reflection and
heightened awareness.
Here, knowledge isn't justinformation.
It's a tool for transformation.
Each episode is designed tochallenge illusions, reveal
(00:25):
patterns and empower not toentertain, but to awaken.
Today, we're stepping into oneof the most misunderstood
battlegrounds in modern medicineand spirituality psychedelics,
once revered by ancientcivilizations as sacred tools
for healing, insight andcommunion with the divine.
As sacred tools for healing,insight and communion with the
(00:47):
divine, these compounds havebeen banned, buried and
demonized by the veryinstitutions that claim to
safeguard our health.
But why?
In this episode, we exploredthis question and uncovered the
deliberate suppression ofpsychedelics by political powers
, religious institutions and themedical industry itself.
We'll uncover how thesesubstances capable of unlocking
deep healing, neuroplasticityand spiritual awakening, were
(01:10):
sidelined, not for lack ofefficacy, but because they posed
a threat to centralized control.
You'll hear how modern researchis now confirming what
indigenous cultures have knownfor millennia that these are not
recreational drugs.
They are medicines for the mind, the.
These are not recreationaldrugs.
They are medicines for the mind, the soul and the trauma we
carry.
So ask yourself why were thesetools made illegal?
(01:33):
Who benefits from yourdisconnection, from your
suffering and what becomespossible when we reclaim our
right to heal, awaken and see.
Clearly, let's begin.
Unlike many areas of medicine,such as oncology or cardiology,
mental health has seen almost notrue innovations in the last
half century.
Mental health conditions havenot only become more visible,
(01:56):
they've become more prevalentand more urgent worldwide.
Some key facts as of 2019, anestimated 970 million people
globally were living with amental disorder.
The most common conditionsAnxiety disorders and depression
.
In the United States, rates ofdepression and anxiety have
surged.
Suicide rates among youth ages10 to 24, have increased by 56%
(02:22):
between 2007 and 2017, markingone of the most alarming public
health trends in decades.
Globally, nearly one in eightpeople live with a diagnosable
mental disorder.
However, up to 85% of people inlow and middle-income countries
receive no treatment at all.
This due to lack of resources,infrastructure and stigma.
(02:42):
The economic cost of mentalillness was approximately $2.5
trillion in 2010, and isprojected to rise to $6 trillion
by 2030, factoring in lostproductivity, absenteeism,
healthcare utilization andpremature death.
Now, while traditional medicinestagnated, alternative
modalities like psychedelicswere either dismissed or banned
(03:03):
entirely.
Substances like psilocybin, lsdand MDMA showed early promise
in treating PTSD, depression andend-of-life anxiety as early as
the 1950s and 60s, but in the1970s these were classified as
Schedule 1 drugs, effectivelyhalting decades of research.
This suppression wasn't purelyabout safety.
(03:24):
It was about control.
Psychedelics, when usedresponsibly, increase individual
awareness, ego dissolution andconnection, all of which
challenge social conformity andinstitutional authority.
Their spiritual and healingpotential was incompatible with
the model of medicine builtaround repeat prescriptions,
symptom management and passivepatient roles.
(03:45):
While we are now witnessing arenaissance of mental health
innovation from telehealthplatforms to renewed psychedelic
research, the field is stillcatching up.
Ketamine and S-ketamine are nowFDA-approved for treatment
resistant depression.
Psychedelics like psilocybinand MDMA are in late-stage
clinical trials for PTSD andmajor depression.
But to create truebreakthroughs we need not just
(04:07):
new tools.
We need a new philosophy ofmental health, one that embraces
complexity, honors personalhealing and removes the fear of
consciousness expansion.
We need to stop ignoring theshortcomings of present-day
treatments and come to therealization that across the
mental health industry andsociety at large, a shift is not
only responsible but absolutelynecessary.
(04:28):
Remarkably, psychedelics haveshown tremendous medicinal
benefits, especially in thetreatment of mental health
disorders, trauma andend-of-life distress.
Modern clinical research,combined with centuries of
traditional use, supports theirtherapeutic potential when used
in controlled, intentionalsettings.
Here are the most studiedpsychedelics and their specific
(04:51):
medicinal benefits, backed bycurrent real evidence.
We have psilocybin, apsychedelic that has been
burdened by the commonnomenclature magic mushrooms.
There are medically proven,documented benefits to their use
in treating mental healthillness.
They have helped individualswith treatment-resistant
depression.
Johns Hopkins and ImperialCollege London show rapid and
(05:12):
lasting reduction in depressivesymptoms after one to two
high-dose sessions.
That's incredible.
Individuals with anxiety anddepression and terminal illness
have shown that they reduceexistential dread and improved
quality of life for patientsfacing death.
They have shown miraculousbenefits in treating
obsessive-compulsive disorder,or OCD.
Preliminary studies showreduced compulsive thought loops
(05:35):
and anxiety, and psychedelicsare reshaping treatment of
alcohol and tobacco addiction.
They have displayed highsuccess rates in quitting due to
increased self-awareness andmotivation.
The mechanism at play here ispsilocybin enhances
neuroplasticity, decreasesactivity in the brain's default
mode network and increasesemotional openness.
(05:55):
Now a more potent psychedelicthat has been burdened by
immense prejudice is LSD.
Lsd has been shown to benefitthrough research or historical
use.
There's been anxiety reductionin end-of-life patients.
It has been shown to relievecluster headaches in microdoses
and even alcoholism.
Specifically, in the 1950s and60s, studies showed LSD
(06:16):
increased abstinence rates inalcoholics by around 50%.
They also enhanced creativityand problem-solving.
Although not strictly medicinal, these increased faculties are
highly valued in a variety oftherapeutic contexts.
The mechanism here is that LSDalters serotonin receptor
activity, increases connectivitybetween the brain regions and
disrupts rigid thought patterns.
(06:39):
We have the NFAD, psychedelicayahuasca, which is a
combination of DMT and MAOI.
Ayahuasca has been shown tobenefit through research or
historical use.
It has worked miracles fortreatment-resistant depression
and anxiety.
It's especially powerful inreleasing emotional trauma
during ceremonies.
It has shown remarkable resultsin addiction recovery,
(06:59):
especially alcohol and cocaine.
Ayahuasca has also shownbenefit in PTSD and complex
trauma.
The mechanism here is with DMTinducing powerful emotional
catharsis and visionary insight.
The MAOI extends and deepensthis experience.
Lastly, and what is now moremainstream, is ketamine, which
can be best described as adissociative anesthetic with
(07:20):
psychedelic properties.
Here we have seen rather rapidbenefits in treating severe
depression and suicidal thoughts.
It acts within hours versusweeks for SSRIs.
It has shown tremendous impactwith bipolar depression and pain
and trauma-related disorders.
The mechanism at play here isit increases glutamate and
promotes synaptic repair andneuroplasticity.
(07:41):
There's a vast array of otheremerging applications.
We have eating disorder, adhd,chronic pain syndromes,
neurodegenerative diseases.
Now let's make sure we caveatthis and highlight the inherent
risks with the use ofpsychedelics.
They are not for everyone.
They can exacerbate psychosis,bipolar disorder or trauma if
(08:02):
used irresponsibly.
With all use cases, healingdepends heavily on mindset and
environment.
And then there's the currentlegal status, which varies by
country and region.
Many psychedelics are stillclassified as Schedule I
substances.
And yet, despite the profoundtherapeutic potential that
psychedelics have shown intreating conditions like
depression, ptsd and addiction,their mainstream acceptance has
(08:24):
been systematically obstructed.
What follows is a closer lookat how the medical establishment
and regulatory systemssuppressed these treatments, not
due to lack of efficacy, butbecause of a deeper political,
cultural and economic motivation.
The medical industry,particularly in the West, has
historically refused or delayedthe serious consideration of
(08:45):
psychedelics for treatingdisease, not because of a lack
of evidence, but due to acomplex mix of political
pressure, cultural bias,institutional conservatism and
profit-based incentives.
In the 1970s, psychedelics wereclassified as Schedule I under
the US Controlled Substances Act, defined as having quote no
accepted medical use, a highpotential for abuse and a lack
(09:07):
of safety under medicalsupervision.
This labels severely restrictedresearch funding, clinical
trials and institutionalinterest.
Even today, this classificationcontradicts modern data but
remains in place for mostpsychedelics.
Psychedelics are not idealproducts for the pharmaceutical
industry either.
They often only require one tothree doses for long-lasting
(09:30):
effects.
Psychedelics do not producedependency or require daily use.
They are also oftenadministered in non-standard
settings like therapy rooms,with guides making them hard to
monetize.
Ssris and benzodiazepines, thedrugs commonly used to treat
these illnesses, by contrast,provide recurring revenue over
(09:50):
months or years, for many alifetime.
There has been thisinstitutional conservatism in
psychiatry.
Psychiatry has been dominatedby biochemical models, treating
mental illness as brainchemistry imbalance.
Psychedelics challenge this byoffering rapid symptom relief,
emphasizing subjective,spiritual or mystical experience
(10:11):
hard to quantify.
They also require psychologicalintegration, not just chemical
balance.
There have been widespreadresearch blockades.
Until recently, even eliteinstitutions faced denial of
research grants, institutionalreview board resistance and
negative stigma among peers andjournals.
And negative stigma among peersand journals.
Studies were often forcedunderground, outside academia or
(10:37):
in fringe circles.
Let's examine the mainstreammedical arguments against
psychedelics and why they fallapart.
One argument they're dangerousand addictive.
In truth, most psychedelics arenon-addictive and have low
physiological toxicity.
Alcohol and opioids are farmore harmful.
Another argument they're notevidence-based.
In truth, dozens ofpeer-reviewed clinical trials
(10:58):
like a Johns Hopkins, nyu andImperial College show efficacy
for depression, ptsd, addictionand anxiety.
Then we have the.
They're unpredictable.
However, with proper set andsetting, you minimize real risk.
Modern protocols includescreening, supervision and
integration therapy.
There's the commonlymisunderstood statement they're
(11:22):
not real medicine, it's just atrip.
However, mystical experiencescorrelate directly with
therapeutic outcomes, especiallyfor depression and end-of-life
anxiety.
Subjectivity does not make itinvalid.
And then, as I mentionedpreviously, the argument that
they can trigger psychosis Truefor a small subset, like those
with schizophrenia or bipolardisorder, but screening
(11:44):
protocols mitigate this.
Most users reported enhancedpsychological resistance.
Today, with the psychedelicrenaissance underway,
institutions are beginning toreverse course.
But it took decades ofresistance.
And the truth is thesemedicines were never rejected
for being ineffective.
They were rejected for beingtoo effective in liberating
(12:05):
people from external control.
Beyond their clinical efficacyin alleviating mental health
disorders, psychedelics offersomething even more profound the
potential to reconnect us witha deeper sense of meaning, unity
and self-awareness.
Their ability to dissolve egoboundaries and foster
transcendent experiences opens apathway not only to healing but
(12:25):
to spiritual awakening.
The history of psychedelics inspiritual and religious practice
is long, global and deeplyintertwined with humanity's
earliest attempts to connectwith the divine, to understand
consciousness and to transcendthe material world.
Across continents and cultures,psychoactive plants and fungi
have been used as sacraments,oracles, tools of initiation and
(12:49):
vehicles for communion withgods or spirits.
We see reference to the use ofpsychedelics as far back as
prehistoric cave art from around7,000 to 10,000 BCE.
Tassili and Adger in Algeriafeatures cave paintings of
humanoid figures with mushroomheads, interpreted as evidence
of ritual psilocybin use.
(13:10):
Shamanic cultures in Siberia,africa and the Americas likely
used psychoactive plants forhealing, trance and
communication with spirits.
Indigenous and traditionalpractices have been culturally
and, as a result, spirituallyanchored in the use of
psychedelics.
In Mesoamerica, psilocybinmushrooms were used by Aztecs.
Mesoamerica, psilocybinmushrooms were used by Aztecs,
(13:31):
mixtecs and Mayans in religiousrituals.
Peyote cactus was consumed insacred rites among Huacal and
Tarahumara people for centuries,possibly millennia.
In the Amazon basin, ayahuasca,a psychoactive brew combining
MAOI and DMT were used incommunal shaman-led ceremonies
to heal, receive visions andaccess spiritual worlds.
(13:52):
Indigenous cosmologies viewayahuasca as a conscious entity,
often referred to as la madreor the mother, and with Andean
cultures, the San Pedro cactuswas used by shamans in Peru and
Ecuador in pre-Incancivilizations as early as 2000
BCE.
This was often combined withmusic and chanting and healing
(14:13):
and visionary ceremonies.
The use of psychedelics werealso well documented within the
mystery religions and theancient world.
There were the EleusinianMysteries in Greece between 1500
BCE and 400 CE.
This was a yearly ritualdedicated to Demeter and
Persephone that offeredinitiates an experience of death
(14:34):
and rebirth.
Most scholars now believe thedrink, kikion, contained ergot
alkaloids similar to LSD,producing mystical visions.
Participants were sworn tosecrecy, but many reported
profound transformation.
Then we have in India, duringthe Vedic period around 1500 BCE
, soma, a sacred psychoactivedrink mentioned in Rig Veda,
(14:55):
praised for granting divinesight and immortality, was used.
The exact identity of Soma isdebated, but it was clearly a
theogenic.
Even with Zoroastrian beliefsystems we see the use of heoma
Similar to soma.
Heoma was a ritual drinkconsumed to connect with Ahura
Mazda or God, and align withdivine order or Asha.
(15:17):
It was believed to grant health, strength and spiritual clarity
.
And yes, these practices eventranscended to the Middle Ages
and the early modern era withmystical Christianity, sufism
and Kabbalah.
While these traditionstypically discouraged drug use,
some mystics sought alteredstates through fasting,
(15:40):
breathwork or extreme devotion.
There is speculation, thoughdebated, that certain medieval
mystics used ointments thatcontained datura, mandrake or
belladonna plants withhallucinogenic effects.
What we all typically, andunfortunately, associate
psychedelics with is themid-20th century psychedelic
revival there was in the 1950s.
Through 60s scientific andspiritual exploration.
(16:01):
We saw Albert Hoffman, whosynthesized LSD and later became
a strong advocate for itssacred use.
Gordon Wasson, who rediscoveredmushroom rituals in Mexico,
publishing his experience inLife magazine.
Timothy Lirian Ramdas, whopromoted LSD as a tool for
consciousness expansion andspiritual awakening.
And in the present 21st centurywe are experiencing another
(16:24):
re-emergence, a remembering,through neo-shamanism and
psychedelic spirituality.
Ayahuasca tourism, mushroomretreats and ceremonies guided
by Western or indigenouspractitioners have grown
worldwide.
Groups like Santo Dami mixChristian mysticism with
Ayahuasca rituals, which arelegal in Brazil and parts of the
US.
(16:45):
Not surprisingly, psychedelicshave been repeatedly suppressed
by religious, colonial andpolitical power structures, not
because they were ineffective orirrelevant, but precisely
because they were powerful.
Their capacity to disruptcontrol, dissolve ego, foster
direct spiritual experience andchallenge centralized authority
made them a threat to thoseseeking to monopolize truth,
(17:08):
obedience and social order.
Let's examine how, where andwhy psychedelics were removed or
banned and what larger aimsthose actions served.
We see this overtly with therise of centralized religion,
such as Judaism, christianityand Islam.
With the rise of centralizedreligion, such as Judaism,
Christianity and Islam,psychoactive plants and folk
(17:33):
atheogens like mandrake, syrianrue and mushrooms were common
and pre-monotheistic and pagantraditions.
As monotheism spread,especially during the formation
of the Hebrew Bible and later,the church rituals involving
altered states were labeled assorcery, idolatry or demonic.
This followed in tandem thesuppression of the mystical or
female goddess concept, whenthese religions were working to
establish patriarchy and amaterial-based view of the world
(17:55):
.
Their aim A control ofspiritual authority.
Psychedelics offered directexperience of the divine which
bypassed the need for priests,temples or scripture.
They sought to consolidatedoctrine.
Hallucinatory experiences areunpredictable and personal.
They couldn't be standardizedor institutionalized.
They sought to enforce moralcontrol.
(18:17):
Altered states often definerigid moral categories and
encouraged ecstatic or eroticexpressions.
The results of these actions arewell documented, but whose
context has been obfuscated.
Folk healers, mystics andmidwives who used plants were
criminalized, seen as witches orheretics.
These methods of suppressionwere too ever-present with
(18:41):
global colonialism and therejection of indigenous
religions.
Spanish and Portugueseconquistadors outlawed peyote,
psilocybin, ayahuasca and coca.
In the Americas, catholicmissionaries destroyed sacred
objects, outlawed rituals andoften replaced plant sacraments
with the Eucharist.
The aim here was to destroyindigenous identity.
Psychedelic rituals werecentral to community cosmology
(19:04):
and oral history.
They sought to replaceindigenous cosmologies.
European powers imposedChristianity and European models
of governance.
They sought to break resistance, plant ceremonies, sustained
cultural resilience andresistance to the colonial rule.
These actions resulted incenturies of cultural trauma,
secrecy and disconnection fromtraditional medicine and
(19:26):
spirituality.
And, as we all know, historytends to repeat itself.
This suppression extended tomodern nation-states and the war
on consciousness In the 20thcentury.
Psychedelics like LSD,psilocybin and mescaline were
criminalized worldwide under UNtreaties and US federal law.
The United States, with the1970 Controlled Substances Act,
(19:48):
labeled psychedelics as aSchedule I drug, which means
that they serve no medical useand have high abuse potential.
The aim here was more culturaland control-oriented Suppression
.
In these instances was toreject counterculture movements.
Psychedelics were linked toanti-war activism, civil rights
and a rejection of capitalistnorms.
(20:09):
They felt to control minds andnot just bodies.
States feared mass disobedience, radical empathy and
deconditioning of authority.
Maybe the most tangible exampleof this suppression was a
desire to institutionalize asort of pharmaceutical monopoly.
You see, psychedelics offeredhealing outside the biomedical
model threatening the emergingpsychopharmacological industry.
(20:32):
As Nixon advisor JohnEhrlichman later admitted, we
couldn't make it illegal to beblack or against the war, but by
getting the public to associatethe hippies with LSD we could
disrupt those communities.
These methods of suppressiontranscended macro levels of
societal control andmetastasized through methods of
institutional psychiatry andrationalism.
(20:53):
The rise of modern psychiatry inthe early 20th century
dismissed non-materialist modelsof the mind.
Indigenous and entheogenicpractices were viewed as
superstition, psychosis ordelusion.
The aim here was to centralizemental health authority under
Western materialist science,pathologize spiritual experience
that wasn't quantifiable ortestable, protect pharmaceutical
(21:17):
institutional dominance overmental health.
See.
Psychedelics were seen as toounpredictable, subjective and
transformational, a threat toreductionist paradigms.
However, despite suppression,these substances survived
underground through indigenouslineages, secret societies and
mystery schools, even artistic,literary and spiritual
(21:39):
countercultures.
And now, as psychedelicsre-enter clinical and spiritual
contexts, the same systems thatonce banned them are seeking to
regulate or commercialize them,highlighting that the original
aim was never safety or efficacy, but control.
What we've explored today isn'tjust about psychedelics.
It's about power who holds it,how it's maintained and what
(22:02):
happens when people begin toremember their own.
How it's maintained and whathappens when people begin to
remember their own.
These medicines, long vilifiedand criminalized, were not cast
out because they were harmful.
They were cast out because theyopened doors that the dominant
systems could not control.
Psychedelics break more thanmental patterns.
They break dependence onexternal authority.
(22:23):
They dissolve the illusion thathealing must be outsourced,
that spirituality must bemediated, that wholeness must be
prescribed.
They reconnect us not just toneurochemistry, but to the
sacred within ourselves, in oneanother and in the living earth.
But that reconnection threatensthe systems built on
disconnection Medical industriesthat profit from chronic
(22:46):
illness, religious hierarchiesthat fear unfiltered experience
of the divine, governments thatthrive on numbered obedient
populations.
And so for decades thesecompounds were buried, not
because they failed the science,but because they bypassed the
system.
Yet here we are, standing atthe edge of remembrance.
Clinical data now validateswhat indigenous cultures have
(23:09):
carried for millennia, andpeople across the world are no
longer asking permission to heal.
The return of psychedelics isnot a trend, it's a reckoning.
So as we move forward, we mustask will we reclaim these tools
responsibly, with reverence andintegrity?
Will we protect the wisdomkeepers who safeguarded them
through centuries of persecution, and will we finally begin to
(23:31):
heal not just our minds but thebroken systems that taught us to
fear our own awakening?
Because this isn't just aboutmedicine, it's about memory,
it's about freedom and it'sabout the sacred right to see
clearly outside the veil, beyondthe prescription and within the
truth.
As you continue listening to theEvolved podcast, I'm going to
(23:53):
unveil the true nature of theworld that exists right under
your nose.
I'm going to analyze with you,out in the open, the systems at
play here and the ways we cangrow together and evolve.
My aim To provide you with realways to touch higher levels of
awareness through truth andknowledge.
Episodes are updated weekly.
If you want to change yourworld for the better and support
(24:13):
this evolution of consciousness, please show me by following,
sharing this podcast with thoseyou love and leaving a review.
If you enjoyed our time today,please donate on BuyMeACoffee,
linked in the show notes below.
Until next week, let's level upand master your universe.
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Evolved
Podcast, a space for unfilteredtruth, deep reflection and
heightened awareness.
Here, knowledge isn't justinformation.
It's a tool for transformation.
Each episode is designed tochallenge illusions, reveal
(00:25):
patterns and empower not toentertain, but to awaken.
Today, we're stepping into oneof the most misunderstood
battlegrounds in modern medicineand spirituality psychedelics,
once revered by ancientcivilizations as sacred tools
for healing, insight andcommunion with the divine.
As sacred tools for healing,insight and communion with the
(00:47):
divine, these compounds havebeen banned, buried and
demonized by the veryinstitutions that claim to
safeguard our health.
But why?
In this episode, we exploredthis question and uncovered the
deliberate suppression ofpsychedelics by political powers
, religious institutions and themedical industry itself.
We'll uncover how thesesubstances capable of unlocking
deep healing, neuroplasticityand spiritual awakening, were
(01:10):
sidelined, not for lack ofefficacy, but because they posed
a threat to centralized control.
You'll hear how modern researchis now confirming what
indigenous cultures have knownfor millennia that these are not
recreational drugs.
They are medicines for the mind, the.
These are not recreationaldrugs.
They are medicines for the mind, the soul and the trauma we
carry.
So ask yourself why were thesetools made illegal?
(01:33):
Who benefits from yourdisconnection, from your
suffering and what becomespossible when we reclaim our
right to heal, awaken and see.
Clearly, let's begin.
Unlike many areas of medicine,such as oncology or cardiology,
mental health has seen almost notrue innovations in the last
half century.
Mental health conditions havenot only become more visible,
(01:56):
they've become more prevalentand more urgent worldwide.
Some key facts as of 2019, anestimated 970 million people
globally were living with amental disorder.
The most common conditionsAnxiety disorders and depression
.
In the United States, rates ofdepression and anxiety have
surged.
Suicide rates among youth ages10 to 24, have increased by 56%
(02:22):
between 2007 and 2017, markingone of the most alarming public
health trends in decades.
Globally, nearly one in eightpeople live with a diagnosable
mental disorder.
However, up to 85% of people inlow and middle-income countries
receive no treatment at all.
This due to lack of resources,infrastructure and stigma.
(02:42):
The economic cost of mentalillness was approximately $2.5
trillion in 2010, and isprojected to rise to $6 trillion
by 2030, factoring in lostproductivity, absenteeism,
healthcare utilization andpremature death.
Now, while traditional medicinestagnated, alternative
modalities like psychedelicswere either dismissed or banned
(03:03):
entirely.
Substances like psilocybin, lsdand MDMA showed early promise
in treating PTSD, depression andend-of-life anxiety as early as
the 1950s and 60s, but in the1970s these were classified as
Schedule 1 drugs, effectivelyhalting decades of research.
This suppression wasn't purelyabout safety.
(03:24):
It was about control.
Psychedelics, when usedresponsibly, increase individual
awareness, ego dissolution andconnection, all of which
challenge social conformity andinstitutional authority.
Their spiritual and healingpotential was incompatible with
the model of medicine builtaround repeat prescriptions,
symptom management and passivepatient roles.
(03:45):
While we are now witnessing arenaissance of mental health
innovation from telehealthplatforms to renewed psychedelic
research, the field is stillcatching up.
Ketamine and S-ketamine are nowFDA-approved for treatment
resistant depression.
Psychedelics like psilocybinand MDMA are in late-stage
clinical trials for PTSD andmajor depression.
But to create truebreakthroughs we need not just
(04:07):
new tools.
We need a new philosophy ofmental health, one that embraces
complexity, honors personalhealing and removes the fear of
consciousness expansion.
We need to stop ignoring theshortcomings of present-day
treatments and come to therealization that across the
mental health industry andsociety at large, a shift is not
only responsible but absolutelynecessary.
(04:28):
Remarkably, psychedelics haveshown tremendous medicinal
benefits, especially in thetreatment of mental health
disorders, trauma andend-of-life distress.
Modern clinical research,combined with centuries of
traditional use, supports theirtherapeutic potential when used
in controlled, intentionalsettings.
Here are the most studiedpsychedelics and their specific
(04:51):
medicinal benefits, backed bycurrent real evidence.
We have psilocybin, apsychedelic that has been
burdened by the commonnomenclature magic mushrooms.
There are medically proven,documented benefits to their use
in treating mental healthillness.
They have helped individualswith treatment-resistant
depression.
Johns Hopkins and ImperialCollege London show rapid and
(05:12):
lasting reduction in depressivesymptoms after one to two
high-dose sessions.
That's incredible.
Individuals with anxiety anddepression and terminal illness
have shown that they reduceexistential dread and improved
quality of life for patientsfacing death.
They have shown miraculousbenefits in treating
obsessive-compulsive disorder,or OCD.
Preliminary studies showreduced compulsive thought loops
(05:35):
and anxiety, and psychedelicsare reshaping treatment of
alcohol and tobacco addiction.
They have displayed highsuccess rates in quitting due to
increased self-awareness andmotivation.
The mechanism at play here ispsilocybin enhances
neuroplasticity, decreasesactivity in the brain's default
mode network and increasesemotional openness.
(05:55):
Now a more potent psychedelicthat has been burdened by
immense prejudice is LSD.
Lsd has been shown to benefitthrough research or historical
use.
There's been anxiety reductionin end-of-life patients.
It has been shown to relievecluster headaches in microdoses
and even alcoholism.
Specifically, in the 1950s and60s, studies showed LSD
(06:16):
increased abstinence rates inalcoholics by around 50%.
They also enhanced creativityand problem-solving.
Although not strictly medicinal, these increased faculties are
highly valued in a variety oftherapeutic contexts.
The mechanism here is that LSDalters serotonin receptor
activity, increases connectivitybetween the brain regions and
disrupts rigid thought patterns.
(06:39):
We have the NFAD, psychedelicayahuasca, which is a
combination of DMT and MAOI.
Ayahuasca has been shown tobenefit through research or
historical use.
It has worked miracles fortreatment-resistant depression
and anxiety.
It's especially powerful inreleasing emotional trauma
during ceremonies.
It has shown remarkable resultsin addiction recovery,
(06:59):
especially alcohol and cocaine.
Ayahuasca has also shownbenefit in PTSD and complex
trauma.
The mechanism here is with DMTinducing powerful emotional
catharsis and visionary insight.
The MAOI extends and deepensthis experience.
Lastly, and what is now moremainstream, is ketamine, which
can be best described as adissociative anesthetic with
(07:20):
psychedelic properties.
Here we have seen rather rapidbenefits in treating severe
depression and suicidal thoughts.
It acts within hours versusweeks for SSRIs.
It has shown tremendous impactwith bipolar depression and pain
and trauma-related disorders.
The mechanism at play here isit increases glutamate and
promotes synaptic repair andneuroplasticity.
(07:41):
There's a vast array of otheremerging applications.
We have eating disorder, adhd,chronic pain syndromes,
neurodegenerative diseases.
Now let's make sure we caveatthis and highlight the inherent
risks with the use ofpsychedelics.
They are not for everyone.
They can exacerbate psychosis,bipolar disorder or trauma if
(08:02):
used irresponsibly.
With all use cases, healingdepends heavily on mindset and
environment.
And then there's the currentlegal status, which varies by
country and region.
Many psychedelics are stillclassified as Schedule I
substances.
And yet, despite the profoundtherapeutic potential that
psychedelics have shown intreating conditions like
depression, ptsd and addiction,their mainstream acceptance has
(08:24):
been systematically obstructed.
What follows is a closer lookat how the medical establishment
and regulatory systemssuppressed these treatments, not
due to lack of efficacy, butbecause of a deeper political,
cultural and economic motivation.
The medical industry,particularly in the West, has
historically refused or delayedthe serious consideration of
(08:45):
psychedelics for treatingdisease, not because of a lack
of evidence, but due to acomplex mix of political
pressure, cultural bias,institutional conservatism and
profit-based incentives.
In the 1970s, psychedelics wereclassified as Schedule I under
the US Controlled Substances Act, defined as having quote no
accepted medical use, a highpotential for abuse and a lack
(09:07):
of safety under medicalsupervision.
This labels severely restrictedresearch funding, clinical
trials and institutionalinterest.
Even today, this classificationcontradicts modern data but
remains in place for mostpsychedelics.
Psychedelics are not idealproducts for the pharmaceutical
industry either.
They often only require one tothree doses for long-lasting
(09:30):
effects.
Psychedelics do not producedependency or require daily use.
They are also oftenadministered in non-standard
settings like therapy rooms,with guides making them hard to
monetize.
Ssris and benzodiazepines, thedrugs commonly used to treat
these illnesses, by contrast,provide recurring revenue over
(09:50):
months or years, for many alifetime.
There has been thisinstitutional conservatism in
psychiatry.
Psychiatry has been dominatedby biochemical models, treating
mental illness as brainchemistry imbalance.
Psychedelics challenge this byoffering rapid symptom relief,
emphasizing subjective,spiritual or mystical experience
(10:11):
hard to quantify.
They also require psychologicalintegration, not just chemical
balance.
There have been widespreadresearch blockades.
Until recently, even eliteinstitutions faced denial of
research grants, institutionalreview board resistance and
negative stigma among peers andjournals.
And negative stigma among peersand journals.
Studies were often forcedunderground, outside academia or
(10:37):
in fringe circles.
Let's examine the mainstreammedical arguments against
psychedelics and why they fallapart.
One argument they're dangerousand addictive.
In truth, most psychedelics arenon-addictive and have low
physiological toxicity.
Alcohol and opioids are farmore harmful.
Another argument they're notevidence-based.
In truth, dozens ofpeer-reviewed clinical trials
(10:58):
like a Johns Hopkins, nyu andImperial College show efficacy
for depression, ptsd, addictionand anxiety.
Then we have the.
They're unpredictable.
However, with proper set andsetting, you minimize real risk.
Modern protocols includescreening, supervision and
integration therapy.
There's the commonlymisunderstood statement they're
(11:22):
not real medicine, it's just atrip.
However, mystical experiencescorrelate directly with
therapeutic outcomes, especiallyfor depression and end-of-life
anxiety.
Subjectivity does not make itinvalid.
And then, as I mentionedpreviously, the argument that
they can trigger psychosis Truefor a small subset, like those
with schizophrenia or bipolardisorder, but screening
(11:44):
protocols mitigate this.
Most users reported enhancedpsychological resistance.
Today, with the psychedelicrenaissance underway,
institutions are beginning toreverse course.
But it took decades ofresistance.
And the truth is thesemedicines were never rejected
for being ineffective.
They were rejected for beingtoo effective in liberating
(12:05):
people from external control.
Beyond their clinical efficacyin alleviating mental health
disorders, psychedelics offersomething even more profound the
potential to reconnect us witha deeper sense of meaning, unity
and self-awareness.
Their ability to dissolve egoboundaries and foster
transcendent experiences opens apathway not only to healing but
(12:25):
to spiritual awakening.
The history of psychedelics inspiritual and religious practice
is long, global and deeplyintertwined with humanity's
earliest attempts to connectwith the divine, to understand
consciousness and to transcendthe material world.
Across continents and cultures,psychoactive plants and fungi
have been used as sacraments,oracles, tools of initiation and
(12:49):
vehicles for communion withgods or spirits.
We see reference to the use ofpsychedelics as far back as
prehistoric cave art from around7,000 to 10,000 BCE.
Tassili and Adger in Algeriafeatures cave paintings of
humanoid figures with mushroomheads, interpreted as evidence
of ritual psilocybin use.
(13:10):
Shamanic cultures in Siberia,africa and the Americas likely
used psychoactive plants forhealing, trance and
communication with spirits.
Indigenous and traditionalpractices have been culturally
and, as a result, spirituallyanchored in the use of
psychedelics.
In Mesoamerica, psilocybinmushrooms were used by Aztecs.
Mesoamerica, psilocybinmushrooms were used by Aztecs,
(13:31):
mixtecs and Mayans in religiousrituals.
Peyote cactus was consumed insacred rites among Huacal and
Tarahumara people for centuries,possibly millennia.
In the Amazon basin, ayahuasca,a psychoactive brew combining
MAOI and DMT were used incommunal shaman-led ceremonies
to heal, receive visions andaccess spiritual worlds.
(13:52):
Indigenous cosmologies viewayahuasca as a conscious entity,
often referred to as la madreor the mother, and with Andean
cultures, the San Pedro cactuswas used by shamans in Peru and
Ecuador in pre-Incancivilizations as early as 2000
BCE.
This was often combined withmusic and chanting and healing
(14:13):
and visionary ceremonies.
The use of psychedelics werealso well documented within the
mystery religions and theancient world.
There were the EleusinianMysteries in Greece between 1500
BCE and 400 CE.
This was a yearly ritualdedicated to Demeter and
Persephone that offeredinitiates an experience of death
(14:34):
and rebirth.
Most scholars now believe thedrink, kikion, contained ergot
alkaloids similar to LSD,producing mystical visions.
Participants were sworn tosecrecy, but many reported
profound transformation.
Then we have in India, duringthe Vedic period around 1500 BCE
, soma, a sacred psychoactivedrink mentioned in Rig Veda,
(14:55):
praised for granting divinesight and immortality, was used.
The exact identity of Soma isdebated, but it was clearly a
theogenic.
Even with Zoroastrian beliefsystems we see the use of heoma
Similar to soma.
Heoma was a ritual drinkconsumed to connect with Ahura
Mazda or God, and align withdivine order or Asha.
(15:17):
It was believed to grant health, strength and spiritual clarity
.
And yes, these practices eventranscended to the Middle Ages
and the early modern era withmystical Christianity, sufism
and Kabbalah.
While these traditionstypically discouraged drug use,
some mystics sought alteredstates through fasting,
(15:40):
breathwork or extreme devotion.
There is speculation, thoughdebated, that certain medieval
mystics used ointments thatcontained datura, mandrake or
belladonna plants withhallucinogenic effects.
What we all typically, andunfortunately, associate
psychedelics with is themid-20th century psychedelic
revival there was in the 1950s.
Through 60s scientific andspiritual exploration.
(16:01):
We saw Albert Hoffman, whosynthesized LSD and later became
a strong advocate for itssacred use.
Gordon Wasson, who rediscoveredmushroom rituals in Mexico,
publishing his experience inLife magazine.
Timothy Lirian Ramdas, whopromoted LSD as a tool for
consciousness expansion andspiritual awakening.
And in the present 21st centurywe are experiencing another
(16:24):
re-emergence, a remembering,through neo-shamanism and
psychedelic spirituality.
Ayahuasca tourism, mushroomretreats and ceremonies guided
by Western or indigenouspractitioners have grown
worldwide.
Groups like Santo Dami mixChristian mysticism with
Ayahuasca rituals, which arelegal in Brazil and parts of the
US.
(16:45):
Not surprisingly, psychedelicshave been repeatedly suppressed
by religious, colonial andpolitical power structures, not
because they were ineffective orirrelevant, but precisely
because they were powerful.
Their capacity to disruptcontrol, dissolve ego, foster
direct spiritual experience andchallenge centralized authority
made them a threat to thoseseeking to monopolize truth,
(17:08):
obedience and social order.
Let's examine how, where andwhy psychedelics were removed or
banned and what larger aimsthose actions served.
We see this overtly with therise of centralized religion,
such as Judaism, christianityand Islam.
With the rise of centralizedreligion, such as Judaism,
Christianity and Islam,psychoactive plants and folk
(17:33):
atheogens like mandrake, syrianrue and mushrooms were common
and pre-monotheistic and pagantraditions.
As monotheism spread,especially during the formation
of the Hebrew Bible and later,the church rituals involving
altered states were labeled assorcery, idolatry or demonic.
This followed in tandem thesuppression of the mystical or
female goddess concept, whenthese religions were working to
establish patriarchy and amaterial-based view of the world
(17:55):
.
Their aim A control ofspiritual authority.
Psychedelics offered directexperience of the divine which
bypassed the need for priests,temples or scripture.
They sought to consolidatedoctrine.
Hallucinatory experiences areunpredictable and personal.
They couldn't be standardizedor institutionalized.
They sought to enforce moralcontrol.
(18:17):
Altered states often definerigid moral categories and
encouraged ecstatic or eroticexpressions.
The results of these actions arewell documented, but whose
context has been obfuscated.
Folk healers, mystics andmidwives who used plants were
criminalized, seen as witches orheretics.
These methods of suppressionwere too ever-present with
(18:41):
global colonialism and therejection of indigenous
religions.
Spanish and Portugueseconquistadors outlawed peyote,
psilocybin, ayahuasca and coca.
In the Americas, catholicmissionaries destroyed sacred
objects, outlawed rituals andoften replaced plant sacraments
with the Eucharist.
The aim here was to destroyindigenous identity.
Psychedelic rituals werecentral to community cosmology
(19:04):
and oral history.
They sought to replaceindigenous cosmologies.
European powers imposedChristianity and European models
of governance.
They sought to break resistance, plant ceremonies, sustained
cultural resilience andresistance to the colonial rule.
These actions resulted incenturies of cultural trauma,
secrecy and disconnection fromtraditional medicine and
(19:26):
spirituality.
And, as we all know, historytends to repeat itself.
This suppression extended tomodern nation-states and the war
on consciousness In the 20thcentury.
Psychedelics like LSD,psilocybin and mescaline were
criminalized worldwide under UNtreaties and US federal law.
The United States, with the1970 Controlled Substances Act,
(19:48):
labeled psychedelics as aSchedule I drug, which means
that they serve no medical useand have high abuse potential.
The aim here was more culturaland control-oriented Suppression
.
In these instances was toreject counterculture movements.
Psychedelics were linked toanti-war activism, civil rights
and a rejection of capitalistnorms.
(20:09):
They felt to control minds andnot just bodies.
States feared mass disobedience, radical empathy and
deconditioning of authority.
Maybe the most tangible exampleof this suppression was a
desire to institutionalize asort of pharmaceutical monopoly.
You see, psychedelics offeredhealing outside the biomedical
model threatening the emergingpsychopharmacological industry.
(20:32):
As Nixon advisor JohnEhrlichman later admitted, we
couldn't make it illegal to beblack or against the war, but by
getting the public to associatethe hippies with LSD we could
disrupt those communities.
These methods of suppressiontranscended macro levels of
societal control andmetastasized through methods of
institutional psychiatry andrationalism.
(20:53):
The rise of modern psychiatry inthe early 20th century
dismissed non-materialist modelsof the mind.
Indigenous and entheogenicpractices were viewed as
superstition, psychosis ordelusion.
The aim here was to centralizemental health authority under
Western materialist science,pathologize spiritual experience
that wasn't quantifiable ortestable, protect pharmaceutical
(21:17):
institutional dominance overmental health.
See.
Psychedelics were seen as toounpredictable, subjective and
transformational, a threat toreductionist paradigms.
However, despite suppression,these substances survived
underground through indigenouslineages, secret societies and
mystery schools, even artistic,literary and spiritual
(21:39):
countercultures.
And now, as psychedelicsre-enter clinical and spiritual
contexts, the same systems thatonce banned them are seeking to
regulate or commercialize them,highlighting that the original
aim was never safety or efficacy, but control.
What we've explored today isn'tjust about psychedelics.
It's about power who holds it,how it's maintained and what
(22:02):
happens when people begin toremember their own.
How it's maintained and whathappens when people begin to
remember their own.
These medicines, long vilifiedand criminalized, were not cast
out because they were harmful.
They were cast out because theyopened doors that the dominant
systems could not control.
Psychedelics break more thanmental patterns.
They break dependence onexternal authority.
(22:23):
They dissolve the illusion thathealing must be outsourced,
that spirituality must bemediated, that wholeness must be
prescribed.
They reconnect us not just toneurochemistry, but to the
sacred within ourselves, in oneanother and in the living earth.
But that reconnection threatensthe systems built on
disconnection Medical industriesthat profit from chronic
(22:46):
illness, religious hierarchiesthat fear unfiltered experience
of the divine, governments thatthrive on numbered obedient
populations.
And so for decades thesecompounds were buried, not
because they failed the science,but because they bypassed the
system.
Yet here we are, standing atthe edge of remembrance.
Clinical data now validateswhat indigenous cultures have
(23:09):
carried for millennia, andpeople across the world are no
longer asking permission to heal.
The return of psychedelics isnot a trend, it's a reckoning.
So as we move forward, we mustask will we reclaim these tools
responsibly, with reverence andintegrity?
Will we protect the wisdomkeepers who safeguarded them
through centuries of persecution, and will we finally begin to
(23:31):
heal not just our minds but thebroken systems that taught us to
fear our own awakening?
Because this isn't just aboutmedicine, it's about memory,
it's about freedom and it'sabout the sacred right to see
clearly outside the veil, beyondthe prescription and within the
truth.
As you continue listening to theEvolved podcast, I'm going to
(23:53):
unveil the true nature of theworld that exists right under
your nose.
I'm going to analyze with you,out in the open, the systems at
play here and the ways we cangrow together and evolve.
My aim To provide you with realways to touch higher levels of
awareness through truth andknowledge.
Episodes are updated weekly.
If you want to change yourworld for the better and support
(24:13):
this evolution of consciousness, please show me by following,
sharing this podcast with thoseyou love and leaving a review.
If you enjoyed our time today,please donate on BuyMeACoffee,
linked in the show notes below.
Until next week, let's level upand master your universe.
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