From Science to Pleasure: Justifications of the Use of Classic Psychedelics in Finland.
Nordisk Alkohol Nark December 30, 2025 Mika Tsupari, Aleksi Hupli
Finnish psychedelics users justify their use through a wide range of moral and personal logics, drawing on almost all of Boltanski and Thévenot's justification frameworks except market-based reasoning. An additional 'world of self' was identified to capture justifications tied to personal experiences, including pleasure. Users distinguished psychedelics from other drugs and offered justifications spanning personal to societal levels and spiritual to technological themes. Their reasoning was shaped by the new wave of psychedelic research, self-experienced benefits, and individualism. Positive effects included euphoria and other positive feelings, even when use was for self-development or self-medication. The findings suggest that recreational and positive aspects are important to users and may be integral to therapeutic benefits.