Exploring Consciousness: Old Habits and New Horizons 65authors conclude that the experience “may vary from euphoria to
detachment to panic” (p. 125).
Despite Meyers and DeWall’s claim, Cacioppo and Freberg (2016, p.
219) write, “In 1938, researcher Albert Hoffman reported some unusual
sensations” while working with LSD. “Hoffman deliberately ingested
some of the chemical,” suggest the authors—in contrast to Meyers and
DeWall—“and reported vivid, colorful visual hallucinations.” Also
departing from Meyers and DeWall, the authors remain somewhat neutral
in their reporting, stating that “LSD’s ability to produce hallucination
remains poorly understood” and “Further research is necessary to identify
the mechanisms for this experience.”
As has already been established, Coon and Mitterer (2015) have
adopted an alternative, applied approach to teaching psychology as
evidenced by their module on “Exploring and Using Dreams.”
Subsequently, they title their comparable section on drugs,
“Hallucinogens—Tripping the Light Fantastic.” Contrary to their
intriguing moniker, the discussion that follows is exceedingly grim. They
write, “LSD can produce hallucinations and psychotic-like disturbances in
thinking and perception” (p. 219). The authors make no mention of
mystical experience nor do they attempt to describe what they mean by
“Tripping the Light Fantastic,” perhaps assuming that readers are already
familiar with popular notions of psychedelic experience. Of all the authors
reviewed, Coon and Mitterer are the only ones that mention psilocybin, the
active compound in ‘magic’ mushrooms, or mescaline, the narcotic found
in the peyote plant. Still, the authors only allude to these substances
alongside a list of other hallucinogens and do not describe them at all.
Collectively and without exception, these accounts are sorely
antiquated and culturally insensitive. While it would be too tedious to
describe at length the many attributes of hallucinogens, including several
others (e.g., ayahuasca, san pedro, iboga, soma, etc.) considered sacred
among indigenous cultures, as well as the important roles they have played
throughout human history (Luke & Friedman, 2010; Walsh, 2007), suffice
to say they are misrepresented and underestimated. Our intention herein is
not to offer a full-fledged endorsement of hallucinogens, nor to encourage