Yes, as someone who wants the government's hands OFF psychedelics, I'm both encouraged and concerned about where things are going. Encouraged because there is much more acceptance of the topic and there are more and more places that are moving toward legalization or something of the sort.
I'm concerned because, well, for me psychedelics are Spirit Medicine, and I'm concerned that too many of the scientific types, because of their worldview, will restrict HOW they are used in order to legitimize them.
For example, some of my most life-changing psychedelic experiences have been when I took them with small groups of friends in nature, or at music festivals or even inside clubs. I know I learned to truly love myself and my fellow humans more because of those experiences.
Yet all too many describe such situations as "dangeorus" and want to restrict their use to ceremonies, or in some sort of clinical setting. Sure, there's absolutely a place for that---but well, as an amateur astrologer, I put psychedelics into the archetype of Pisces (the letters give it away!), and well, Pisces is about NO LIMITS. The more we try to limit what psychedelics are and how they can be used, the less we will learn from them.
Just my two cents. If you want to read more of my thoughts on this topic, here's a three-part blog series I wrote five years ago. I based some of it on having just read Pollan's book (and this is part three, but you can read parts 1 and 2 from links at the top of the article).
