Symposium: Cultural and Political Perspectives on Psychedelic Science
CIIS, August 18 and 19, 9 am to 6 pm
This symposium will launch the book Plant Medicines, Healing and Psychedelic Science: Cultural Perspectives, co-edited by Beatriz Labate & Clancy Cavnar, (Springer, 2018). The event explores both cutting edge and enduring issues related to psychedelics, culture, and politics. Speakers offer a meta-reflexive approach to central aspects of the so-called “psychedelic renaissance” that are often not addressed in psychedelic conferences or publications. These include challenges and opportunities for the emerging career of “psychedelic therapist” and discussions around regulation, decriminalization, power, and money in psychedelics. Some of these questions involve the impact of various options for regulating psychedelics, where psychedelics fit into larger War on Drugs, how we will integrate psychedelics into Western culture, the impact of profit motives on the free sharing of materials and information, and who will hold power and control over the medicines. Longstanding concerns about diversity among practitioners and researchers–such as sexual, gender, and race minorities–as well as cultural competence in working with clients and accessibility are also addressed. Panelists also explore cultural assumptions and blind spots, such as how scientists represent and relate to indigenous peoples and their knowledge of psychedelics, the role of plants as subjects, interspecies communication, and definitions around the concept of “healing.” This is a transformational space that will spark dialogue on issues that are essential to all interested in psychedelics and the science around them.
Presented by: Chacruna and CIIS East-West Psychology Program
Sponsors: Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research, Psychedelic Support, Psychedelic Safety, Support, and Integration, Chicago, MAPS and Soltara
Attendance
- 1 day: $ 130.00
- 2 days: $ 185.00
- Faculty, students, and staff pay through Ebiz: $55.00 per day
Registrations here.
Saturday, August 18
9:00 – 10:00am – Registration
10:00 – 12:00am – Panel 1 – Cultural Perspectives on Psychedelic Science
Moderator: Diana Negrin
1 – Bia Labate – Presentation of the book Plant Medicines, Healing and Psychedelic Science: Cultural Perspectives
2 – Nidia Olvera – Restrictions on Psychedelic Science in Mexico from a Historical Perspective
3 – Laura Dev – Plant Knowledges: Indigenous Approaches and Interspecies Listening Toward Decolonizing Ayahuasca Research
4 – Joanna Steinhardt – Reflections on the Role of Psychedelics in North American Countercultural Spirituality
12:00 – 13:30pm – Lunch
1:30 – 3:30pm – Panel 2 – Capitalism’s Systemic Issues: Will They Emerge in Psychedelic Medicine and Practices?
Moderator: Katie Stone – It’s Too Late For Cannabis, But What About the Future of the Psychedelic Industry?
1 – Bob Jesse – Statement on Open Science and Open Praxis
2 – Geoff Bathje – Profits and Prophets: Addressing Capitalism and Power in Psychedelics
3 – David Nickles – The Dire Need for Systemic Critique Within Psychedelic Communities
4 – Rick Doblin – Psychedelics as Medicines: Non-Profit v. For-Profit Drug Development
3:30 – 4:00pm – Break
4:00 – 6:00pm – Panel 3 – Psychedelic Therapist’s Opportunities & Challenges
Moderator: Janis Phelps
1 – Brian Anderson – Researching Psychedelic Medicines in an Academic Setting
2 – Alli Feduccia – Psychedelic Support: Utilizing Technology to Build a New Healthcare Platform
3 – Genesee Herzberg – Bridging the Gap: Diversity & Accessibility in Psychedelic Medicine
4- Julie Megler – Destigmatizing Medical Interventions and Spiritual Emergence
August 19th, Sunday
9:00 –10:00am – Registration
10:00 – 12:00am – Panel 4 – Psychedelics and Drug Policy: Medicalize, Decriminalize, Legalize?
Moderator: Erik Davis – Capitalism on Psychedelics: The Mainstreaming of an Underground
1 – Amy Emerson – Possible scenarios for the regulation MDMA from Phase 3 and expanded access to post-approval clinics
2 – Jag Davies – Drug Decriminalization: Repairing the Harms of Psychedelic Prohibition
3 – Rob Heffernan – Legal Challenges and Opportunities for Ayahuasca Circles in the US
4 – Ismail Ali – A reflection on the Initiatives to Regulate Psilocybin Mushrooms and Ibogaine in the US
12:00 – 13:30pm – Lunch
1:30 – 3:30pm – Panel 5 – Psychedelics, Sexual and Gender Minorities
Moderator: Bett Williams – Psychedelics are Queer, Just Saying
1 – Clancy Cavnar – Historical Perspectives on Psychedelics and Sexual Minorities
2 – Jae Sevelius – Psychedelic (In)Justice: Navigating Tensions between Social Justice Movements and Psychedelic Science
3 – Jeanna Eichenbaum – Dissolving the Binary; The Queerness of Psychedelics
4 – Gregory Wells – Queers, Faeries, and Revolutionaries in the Psychedelic Movement
3:30 – 4:00 – Break
4:00 – 6:00pm – Panel 6 – Psychedelics, Inclusion and Diversity
Moderator: Jennifer Fernández
1 – Madrone Stewart – Becoming Who We Need to Be: Psychedelics as Tools of Empowerment and Liberation
2 – Cristie Strongman – Decolonizing Psychedelics for Latinx and Afro Caribbeans
3 – Kevon Adrian Simpson – Voice of the Underground: Why Legalization is Important in Minority Communities
4 – Kufikiri Imara – Deconstructing False Belief Systems Upholding Racial Barriers in the Psychedelic Community
Book Launch, Plant Medicines, Healing and Psychedelic Science: Cultural Perspectives, co-edited by Beatriz Labate & Clancy Cavnar, Springer, 2018.

This is a book about the intersections of three dimensions. The first is the way social scientists and historians treat the history of psychiatry and healing, especially as it intersects with psychedelics. The second encompasses a reflection on the substances themselves and their effects on bodies. The third addresses traditional healing, as it circles back to our understanding of drugs and psychiatry. The chapters explore how these dimensions are distinct, but deeply intertwined, themes that offer important insights into contemporary healing practices.
The intended audience of the volume is large and diverse: neuroscientists, biologists, medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists; mental health professionals interested in the therapeutic application of psychedelic substances, or who work with substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and PTSD; patients and practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine; ethnobotanists and ethnopharmacologists; lawyers,criminologists, and other specialists in international law working on matters related to drug policy and human rights, as well as scholars of religious studies, anthropologists, sociologists, and historians; social scientists concerned both with the history of science, medicine, and technology, and concepts of health, illness, and healing. It has a potentially large international audience, especially considering the increasing interest in “psychedelic science” and the growing spread of the use of traditional psychoactives.
Click here and here for more information.