A psilocybin haven: the use of comparison to legitimate transgression at a psychedelic retreat
Jesper Dunell
Drugs Education Prevention and Policy October 9, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/09687637.2024.2412636 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Participants and staff at a psychedelic retreat from Sweden |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Safe haven Marine transgression Hallucinogen Criminology Psychoanalysis |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | Psilocybin use at the retreat was made meaningful by portraying it as benevolent and unrelated to illegal drug use, with positive experiences attributed to the substance and negative ones to personal shortcomings. |
Abstract
Background Currently, there are great hopes for psychedelic substances in treating psychiatric conditions and improving well-being. These substances are illegal in many countries, and we lack knowledge of how conflicting discourses shape psychedelic use in naturalistic settings. This study explores how psilocybin use is made meaningful by participants and staff at a retreat including psychedelic ceremonies aimed at personal growth.Methods Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted at a psychedelic retreat with participants from Sweden. The material was organized using Zinberg’s model of drug, set, and setting. Theoretical work related to comparisons was utilized to elucidate how psilocybin use was distinguished from other illicit drug use.Results The participants’ desires to be fundamentally transformed, combined with the staff’s staging of the setting as a haven primed the participants to approach psilocybin as an inherently benevolent substance. Positive experiences during the ceremonies were attributed to the substance, and negative experiences to personal shortcomings.Conclusions The staff and participants combined different discourses to define the meaning of psilocybin, all of which condemned using it for purely recreational purposes. The psilocybin use at the retreat was considered an improvement and wholly unrelated to illegal drug use, dissociating this practice from such use to establish legitimate transgression.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patients’ Accounts of Increased “Connectedness” and “Acceptance” After Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Patients with treatment-resistant depression enrolled in an open-label trial of psilocybin | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 20 |
| Patient Experiences of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Adults aged 22 to 69 with clinically elevated anxiety associated with a cancer diagnosis | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 13 |
| Psychedelic therapy for smoking cessation: Qualitative analysis of participant accounts Participants who completed a psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation pilot study | 2018 | Qualitative follow-up study using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis | n = 12 |
| Response of cluster headache to psilocybin and LSD Cluster headache patients who used psilocybin or LSD | 2006 | Qualitative study | n = 53 |
| Cancer at the Dinner Table: Experiences of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Cancer-Related Distress Adult participants with clinically elevated anxiety associated with a cancer diagnosis | 2017 | Qualitative study using interpretative phenomenological analysis | n = 13 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 30
- Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Psychopharmacology July 7, 2006
- Mystical-type experiences occasioned by psilocybin mediate the attribution of personal meaning and spiritual significance 14 months later Journal of Psychopharmacology May 30, 2008
- The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelic Drugs: Past, Present, and Future. Neuropsychopharmacology April 26, 2017
- Psychedelics and the essential importance of context. Journal of Psychopharmacology February 15, 2018
- Psychiatry & the psychedelic drugs. Past, present & future. Neuropharmacology December 25, 2017
and 25 more in the library