David Blackbourn

Psychedelics sharply distort time perception during a trip, but the lasting brain rewiring they trigger can reshape a person's relationship with time long afterwards, helping them escape the stuck, past- or future-fixated temporality of depression, anxiety, and trauma.

Psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD disrupt sleep in the short term, mainly by delaying and reducing REM. But by treating underlying causes such as trauma, depression, and anxiety, they may improve sleep in the long run.

Psychedelic research is expanding fast across the areas of medicine, neuroscience, and commerce, from LSD-based anxiety drugs nearing approval and non-hallucinogenic compounds to wellness tourism, while fragmented US regulation, safety concerns, and ethical questions remain unresolved.

July 2026 saw the psychedelic medicine field accelerate toward mainstream legitimacy - driven by new US legislative mandates, FDA trial guidance, and Eli Lilly's landmark acquisition of AtaiBeckley - along with new research published on psilocybin's neuroplastic window and mescaline's brain effects.

Amanita muscaria has intriguing pharmacological potential, but with no human clinical trials to draw on, current use remains anecdotal folk medicine rather than evidence-based treatment.

Psychedelics like psilocybin show promise in treating dementia by promoting neuroplasticity, reducing neuroinflammation, and alleviating psychological distress, though significant clinical and ethical challenges remain.

A roundup of the current global psychedelic medicine landscape, contrasting the US's rapid, politically driven push to fast-track approvals and research funding with Europe's more cautious, evidence-based approach, while covering shared challenges around trial design, access equity, and commercialisation.

The psychedelic counterculture of the 1960s and 70s profoundly shaped the philosophy, design, and democratising ethos of personal computing and the modern internet.