Existence Is Illegal

This is your brain. This is your brain manufacturing its own illegal drugs.

Anyone with at least a hint of intellect that has inquired about the efficacy of the U.S. drug policy should be well aware that our “War on Drugs” has been an abject failure on virtually all fronts. Most, however, remain unaware of what is perhaps the most delicious hypocrisy of all with respect to this failed policy: that all human beings are in possession of an illegal substance at all times. Yup, that’s right. We are all just a bunch of drug-addled criminals that deserve to be locked in a cell and chained to our captors. Seriously though, if the current drug laws were actually carried out to the fullest extent, every citizen in the country would end up behind bars.

The substance I am alluding to is DMT (N, N Dimethyl-tryptamine), which is a “psychedelic” chemical found all throughout the natural world and produced by the human brain. The exact biological function of endogenous DMT is virtually unknown; however, some hypothesize that it plays a central role in “normal” waking consciousness, thus making everyday existence a sort of “controlled psychedelic experience.” It is only when this control is loosened in some way that altered (psychedelic) states can arise. Rick Strassman, M.D., one of the leading researchers of this chemical, speculates that this loosening of control over DMT production in the brain is what helps create the imagery associated with dreams, near-death experiences, and mystical-type states. These theories, at the very least, call for serious continued study of this mysterious chemical. Unfortunately, DMT research has been severely limited from the beginning in large part due to government restrictions, which are perpetuated by a deeply-ingrained skepticism and prejudice among the scientific community with regard to psychedelic drugs.

DMT is considered a Schedule I substance in the U.S., which is the most tightly controlled class of illicit drugs. Although this law is explicitly written for the drug in its pure form, it also extends to ayahuasca, which is a commonly ingested tea made from DMT-containing plants.

Let’s examine this a little closer:

It is basically illegal to own plants that contain a chemical that is also produced naturally in the human brain. The reasoning behind making these natural DMT-containing plants illegal seems to be: if one is in possession of such plants it can be inferred that that the possessor plans to “abuse” the chemicals inside the plants by consuming them with the goal of intoxication, which of course is illegal. This same logic could be applied to our possession of endogenous DMT if we accept Strassman’s theory that the chemical plays an active role in producing dreams and mystical states. This would essentially amount to us all committing crimes when we drift off to sleep at night or practice intense spiritual disciplines like meditation or yoga, for example. Thus, natural human experience could rightly be considered illegal.

Now, let’s consider whether or not DMT and ayahuasca can rightfully be deemed a schedule 1 drug according to the DEA’s standards:

“For a drug to be classed as schedule 1 it must be found that:

(A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
(B) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
(C) There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.”

There is no basis whatsoever to say that ayahuasca or pure DMT have a high potential for abuse. Repeated use of these “drugs” does not result in the common addictive symptoms of tolerance and withdrawal. On the contrary, sensitivity rather than tolerance to DMT develops through repeated use. In other words, a smaller (not larger) dose becomes necessary to achieve the same effect over time. I should also mention that DMT is classified among the most dangerous drugs to consume (class A) despite the fact that it appears impossible to overdose on and that there are no specific health problems associated with its use.

It is ridiculous to say that ayahuasca in particular does not have any accepted medical use in this country, chiefly because our drug policies actively stifle the research that would be necessary to back up this claim. In fact, anti-psychedelic-drug sentiment squashed the legitimate study of endogenous DMT almost as soon as it was first discovered. In contrast, scientists who discovered morphine-like endorphins were awarded Nobel prizes (Strassman, 48).

Thankfully, research projects investigating the potential medical uses of ayahuasca are currently being conducted in various places abroad. Preliminary results from these studies suggest that ayahuasca, rather than being a drug of abuse, can actually be effective in treating addictions to real “drugs” like alcohol and heroin. Other claims for ayahuasca’s unique healing properties have also been supported by anecdotal evidence for years, although these still remain largely unsupported by research. Regardless, the standard of accepted medical use remains somewhat ambiguous. For example, despite clearly having a high abuse potential, cocaine is less controlled (level II) than DMT in our current system because it is claimed that it has “some accepted medical applications.” Cocaine was indeed once used commonly as a topical anesthetic; however, this medical use of the drug was largely abandoned in the early 20th century when more effective and less debilitating treatments (e.g., lidocaine) took its place. Heroin’s early use as a pain reliever suffered a similar fate, yet that drug is no longer considered to have “some medical applications.” Go figure. (Please contact me if you think you can solve that riddle)

Since the intoxicating effects of ayahuasca and DMT can be very intense, it is understandable that one may draw the conclusion that such drugs cannot be given in safety under medical supervision. This, however, is simply not true. When taken under the right kind of medical supervision, which would include proper preliminary screening and careful attention to psychological (set) and physical (setting) variables, a fair amount of safety can be ensured. Rick Strassman’s groundbreaking clinical DMT trials in the mid 1990’s proved that the drug can be administered with relative safety. Although, even these conditions were less than ideal, primarily due to research restrictions i.e., having to administer the drug in a drab, sterile lab environment rather than providing a setting that would be more inviting to a psychedelic experience. More recent research with psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”), however, provides a better example of how psychedelic research can be conducted to maximize safety precautions for subjects.

In conclusion, an analysis of the three conditions that are used to justify DMT as a schedule 1 illegal drug makes it clear that this classification is founded upon pure, unadulterated horseshit. I believe it is time for the orchestrators of the “Drug War” puppet show to step it up a notch and imprison the whole lot of us for possessing endogenous DMT. At least that way this heinous and entirely ineffective policy would appear to have some logical coherence rather than remaining ultra-ambiguous and insanely hypocritical. An alternative, of course, would be to drop these ridiculous laws in order to at least enable qualified professionals to study important chemicals like DMT as thoroughly as possible.

References

Strassman, R. (2001). DMT: The Spirit Molecule. Vermont: Park Street Press.

~Wolf