Own the next chapter in the world’s most enduring exploration of psychoactive medicine and human potential—and help shape the ethical, ecological, and visionary renaissance unfolding now.
For anyone shaping the future of psychedelics, from academics, clinicians, ethnobotanists, psychedelic practitioners, and visionary thinkers,
ESPD55
is essential reading—an authoritative reference and a catalyst for future inquiry. Enter the living dialogue where science meets spirit, ecology meets consciousness, and ancestral intelligence meets cutting—edge research.
For more than half a century,
Ethnopharmacologic Search for Psychoactive Drugs
has stood as the foundational gathering point for scholars exploring the interface of ancestral plant wisdom and modern psychedelic science. In this landmark continuation of that legacy,
brings together the proceedings of the 2022 conference—an extraordinary convergence of more than thirty leading thinkers in ethnobotany, pharmacology, ecology, anthropology, consciousness studies, and Indigenous plant medicine traditions.
Curated by
Dennis McKenna, PhD,
and hosted by the
McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy
, this volume captures a moment at the frontier of a global psychedelic renaissance. With contributions from some of the most respected voices in the field—including
Sir Ghillean Prance, Wade Davis, Andrew Weil, Monica Gagliano, Glenn Shepard, Paul Stamets, Jonathan Lu,
and many others—
offers a rigorous, multidimensional exploration of how psychoactive plants and fungi shape culture, cognition, and healing.
Across six thematic spheres—
the ethnosphere, phytosphere, mycosphere, faunasphere, archeosphere, and sonosphere
—readers are invited into groundbreaking research and cultural insight spanning continents and knowledge systems. Featured chapters include:
Ancient Psychoactive Plant Use in Eurasia
–
Mark D. Merlin, PhD
Coca: The Divine Leaf of Immortality
Wade Davis
The Therapeutic Potential of Coca
Andrew Weil
Ethnopharmacology of Psychoactive Substances in Chinese Culture
Jonathan Lu
The Ark: Biocultural Sustainability for the San Pedro Cactus
Laurel Sugden & Josip Orlovac Del Río
The Harpy’s Gift & the Jaguar’s Curse: Matsigenka Hunting Medicines
Glenn H. Shepard
From the ceremonial use of Ephedra and San Pedro to emerging ethical frameworks for ayahuasca sustainability, from cognitive evolution studies to sonic ethnomedicine, this book illuminates both the ancient past and the unfolding future of entheogenic research.