Unearthing the Unheard: An Exploration of the Love Ethic in Black Experiences with Psychedelics

Abstract

Psychedelic medicine is a burgeoning field that analyzes the psychotherapeutic effects of hallucinogenic drugs on the mind, body, and spirit. While psychedelic medicine is lauded for its success in alleviating the detrimental impact of grief, PTSD, and depression, Black people are severely underrepresented as participants and practitioners in this space. This thesis highlights the lack of critical engagement with race as a pivotal influence in the set and setting of psychedelic experiences. I interviewed 45 college-aged Black people to explore how their recreational psychedelic experiences serve as a mode of healing. By using evocative ethnography to focus on five of my interlocutors’ psychedelic trips, I demonstrate how their choice to engage with these affective experiences is a resilient act of self-love in the face of historical and present-day discrimination. Ultimately, this thesis contributes to a small but mighty subset of psychedelic research that centers Black people’s dynamic responses to structural violence.