I remember when magic mushrooms were legal in the UK. You could walk into a shop, chat with the proprietor about all the different strains they had, and make your choice. Available any time you wanted them. It did wonders for my mental health, taking shrooms regularly. It felt like clearing out all the old mental junk and resetting my brain every time I did them. I found myself not only more optimistic and less anxious, but more productive too. Normally I worked only one job before becoming disabled, but during the time shrooms were available in shops I found myself motivated to take on extra jobs and even do a couple of courses of study. Probably due to the increased enthusiasm for life in general that they gave me, combined with lower depression and anxiety levels. So I worked more, and paid more tax. Bought more stuff, really contributed to capitalism.
So it seems mad to me that they’re banned now. Fewer jobs, less things being bought and sold, less tax being paid. People less motivated. Why?
Is it because they sometimes cause people to open their eyes and see society as it really is? I’ve heard it causes more people to reject the system, however I rarely saw that actually happen in real life.
Is it because they want people on pharmaceutical drugs, and if you’re taking shrooms regularly you are less likely to need antidepressants? I certainly didn’t need antidepressants when I wash shrooming regularly, now I’m on antidepressant and anti anxiety meds with a load of side effects, which aren’t even really working.
My brain needs another good clear-out and it’s infuriating that I can’t access a natural plant. Oh I’ve tried the grow kits and they didn’t work for me. Well, I wouldn’t be able to afford them now anyway. They should be available on the NHS.
Honestly I wouldn’t even say that it’s some plot from the pharmaceutical industry. It’s just a regrettable side effect of living in a puritanical society.
There is precedent with pharmacists in the UK lobbying for a law in 1868 to limit the sale of opium to only pharmacists and to patients with prescription. Coupled with puritanical moral arguments at the time, and a desire by the capitalists to make their workforce more productive (inebriation been seen as counter-productive), this progressively led to the prohibition of all psychedelics by the 20th century.
Nowadays though, the only real motivation behind the prohibition of drugs is mostly moral panic, coupled with prohibition being the status quo, and thus hard to change. Most people don’t understand the difference between hard, lethal drugs, and low-addiction safe psychedelics.
Do you have research showing that the legality of psychedelics is correlated with capitalism, or are you going by vibes?
I did not say that legality is correlated with capitalism. I’m not commenting on the legality of psychedelics in non-capitalist countries at all. I’m saying they should be legal in capitalist countries since capitalist countries are obsessed with making money, so why ban something that makes money?
I think it is a nice combination from multiple strong sides. Corporations don’t want us to be better by using some plant or mushroom we can grow by ourselves. This is pharmaceutical, alcohol, tobaco…
But also a lot of the reason is some are using illegal trade to make secret money, some for them selves, others for secret operations, third group use it for blackmailing.
Generally only criminals want those illegal and are pushing narative on media who is making propaganda.
