Breaking Convention: Essays on Psychedelic Consciousness [Paperback]

Cameron Adams (Editor), David Luke (Editor), Anna Waldstein (Editor), Ben Sessa (Editor), David King (Editor)

Breaking Convention--a collection of essays and articles from the international conference of the same name--is a multifaceted exploration of the history, use, and benefits of psychedelics since the dawn of humankind. Some pieces address the archaeological and ethnographic evidence of psychedelic use as a vital part of early human development. Others focus on modern psychedelic history--such as pre-World War II psychedelic research and self-experimentation, or the fear-mongering nuclear era of the 1950s and 1960s, when psychedelics were banished into a forty-year Dark Ages. Still other pieces examine contemporary drug use, particularly MDMA and poly drug use (the use of a combination of drugs for a specific effect). The book concludes with a piece by Rick Doblin, PhD, founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), in which he offers a bold vision of the future, one in which psychedelics and expanded consciousness are an integral part of modern cosmopolitan society.