Art Bell Vault, 2001-03-08: Plant-Based Psychedelics

Plant-Based Psychedelics

Date
Thursday - March 8 2001
Host
Art Bell

In hours 2-5, Art was joined by ethnopharmacologist Dr. Dennis McKenna, the late Terrence McKenna's brother. Dennis worked with Terence on several groundbreaking books sharing their discoveries about the indigenous use of plant-based psychedelics. The discussion focuses on hallucinogenic drugs, specifically, ayahuasca, a powerful South American brew that is used by shamans for healing and vision quests. They also talked about how the "war on drugs" hurts people, and the contextual uses of psychedelic drugs and their benefits for society, and achieving personal clarity.

Dennis recalled memories of growing up in the 1960's with his brother. McKenna touched on LSD usage and people who "don't come back" from bad trips. He addressed the chemical processes of birth and death, and how the effects of ketamine can be similar to a near-death experience. There is conversation about the legalization of marijuana, drugs used for "black magic," the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, and how many beneficial herbs that grow there could be in jeopardy.

In the first hour, Richard C. Hoagland comments on former astronaut John Glenn's appearance on NBC's Frasier on March 6th, 2001. Hoagland offers conspiracy theories related to Glenn's dialogue and NASA.