Upcoming Events
Walking Tour of Harvard’s Psychedelic History
May 7 2025
5:00pm-7:00pm, 42 Francis Ave
Hosted by the Center for the Study of World Religions
While research on psychedelics is ever present in our contemporary moment, there is a long tradition of interest in psychoactive drugs at Harvard University—from the ethnobotanical studies of the 1940s, to “mind-control” experiments of the 1950s, to the “heyday” of psychedelic research and activism of the 1960s. This walking tour traipses through the history of psychedelics at Harvard—stitching together figures as far back as Ralph Waldo Emerson, to little-known heroes of ‘60s drug culture, to contemporary felons, fugitives, and academics.
Featured News
“Just Call it Weed: On Arabic Edibles”
Adam Bremer-McCollum, CSWR
Drifters might call it “the Sufis’ well-known.” Women singers call it “branches of bliss.” Others call it “bush of rapture” and “bush of understanding.” The use of cannabis or “hemp” for rope making was long known, and rope makers, in fact, had their own moniker for weed, “the load-lightener,” as a recreational intoxicant.
Recent Research
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Psychedelic Intersections: 2024 Conference Anthology
Jeffrey Breau and Paul Gillis-Smith, CSWR, Psychedelic Intersections: 2024 Conference Anthology The Psychedelic Intersections: 2024 Conference Anthology presents interdisciplinary research from scholars and practitioners working at the crossroads of psychedelics, religion, medicine, race, Indigeneity, law, and the underground, history, anthropology, and beyond. Edited by Jeffrey Breau and Paul Gillis-Smith, the Anthology expands on research presented…
Latest News
What Western medicine can learn from the ancient history of psychedelics
David Cox explores what the long history of psychedelics, drawing from traditions in the Americas and Europe, could teach contemporary medical interest in these substances. Featuring CSWR Postdoctoral Fellow Osiris González Romero on Mesoamerican histories of psilocybin mushrooms.
Introducing Petrie-Flom’s POPLAR and PULSE Affiliated Researchers on Psychedelics
The Petrie-Flom Center is excited to announce our affiliated researchers for the Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation (POPLAR) and our new project, Psychedelic Use, Law, and Spiritual Experience (PULSE). Through research, writing, workshops, and other projects, POPLAR and PULSE affiliated researchers will provide expertise and a range of perspectives on psychedelics law and policy. We look forward to learning from them and sharing their insights with our audiences.
Front of mind for Michael Pollan: psychedelics
What is unique to the new Harvard project, Pollan stressed, is its integration of expertise from the Divinity School and Law School as well as disciplines from across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Scholars at the University of California, Berkeley, will also contribute. This diversity of thought will enable researchers to pursue nonclinical applications including those in the religious realm.
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