From a workshop on how to grow mushrooms to a psychedelic women’s circle, the Psychedelic Society informs the community on how controversial drugs like LSD should be seen.
London’s Psychedelic Society is trying to change the common opinion about LSD, a mood-changing chemical that was popularised in the 1960s.
“LSD is improving yourself and the connection with the others,” says Josh Hulbert, 31, Psychedelic Society facilitator.
The Society believes that responsible use of psychedelics can help people connect with each other, whilst at the same time discover themselves.
“We don’t encourage people in breaking the law, people make their own decisions, we are interested in making the risks lower,” says Hulbert, a gardener who has a degree in Human Sciences, and previously worked for the charity Drug Science, an advisory committee.
LSD use is on the rise in the UK, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, and new scientific discoveries surrounding its use are drawing attention to it.
Psychedelics are considered part of the A class drugs group, which also contain hallucinogens, cocaine, and heroin.
LSD though is a particular type of substance, which was known for its therapeutic use in psychiatry in the 1950s and 1960s, supported by well-known psychiatrist Humphry Osmond. His research at St George’s hospital in London about this drug contributed to important discoveries about the dysregulation of chemicals in our body, resulting in mental disorders such as schizophrenia.
The Psychedelic Society believes that “the conscious use of psychedelics can help create a more compassionate and joyful world through an appreciation of the unity and interconnectedness of all things”.
As psychedelic drugs are currently illegal in the UK, they promote Psychedelic Experience Retreats in the Netherlands, where the drug is legal, to “allow people to explore the transformative potential of psychedelics in a safe and legal environment”. This experience is extended to people from all ages and all backgrounds who come seeking their first psychedelic experience and they are “looked after with compassion and care,” says Hulbert.
The psychedelic retreat is organised every month where groups up to 20 people can live the experience taking psilocybin-containing truffle (a safe and legal drug in the Netherlands) under the supervision of a facilitator.
“I was in Amsterdam and I tried psychedelics, I was in the centre of the universe where I felt lifted and free from every constriction but at a certain point I felt very sad,” says a Psychedelic Society member who wanted to be identified as “John Smith”.
LSD - which is proven to not be addictive- has, in fact, some risks influenced by the environment where it’s taken provoking a traumatic trip.
For this reason the organisation campaigns for the normalisation and legalization of psychedelics educating people about taking these drugs responsibly.
“After I took 200 grams of LSD my life changed and after two years I realized that everybody else had to know about it and I joined the Psychedelic Society,” says Anya Spelt Oleksiuk, 35, co-director of the Psychedelic Society and filmmaker.
This organisation is not only about campaigning for psychedelics legalization but also for the wellbeing of the community.
During every week the group organises talks with researchers and psychiatrists like Dr. Ben Sessa but also yoga classes, discussions about breaking taboos regarding sex or sessions of dance in the dark.
Each venue is a journey about self-consciousness and connections with other people, “we don’t want to be limited to simple campaigning in living a better life we can already live better now connecting with other people,” says Josh Hulbert.
The 2015- born society has important partners like the Beckley Foundation, DrugScience charity and the unit of Neuropsychopharmacology of Imperial College London.
The recent researches are showing the effects that LSD could give on the brain; they are partial but important, it repristinates the levels of serotonin in the body, a hormone that maintains mood balance.
“We have to put our suits on, leave our hippy clothes and only approaching things from a scientific point of view and only, in that case, politicians will listen,” says Oleksiuk.
The Psychedelic Society is also campaigning for the legalization of psilocybin. This compound helped 67% of patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression (Beckley Foundation).
“One of the causes of misunderstanding is people associating LSD, something so powerful with something that is completely harmful if compared to the widely known risks of nicotine addiction,” says Hulbert.