4 documentaries on psychedelics to check out today

There has been a rise in scientific research, and following that here are some documentaries to get you started:

1. Fantastic Fungi

A visually breathtaking film directed by Louie Schwartzberg that celebrates the wonders of the fungi kingdom and its power to heal, sustain and contribute to the regeneration of life on Earth. Through the eyes of leading mycologists like Paul Stamets, writers like Michael Pollan and Eugenia Bone and many other scientists and practitioners, we discover how psychedelics can offer solutions for some of today’s most pressing challenges, from treating illness to healing the environment.

2. The Way Of The Psychonaut: Stanislav Grof’s Journey Of Consciousness (2020)

Dives into the life and work of Stanislav Grof, the renowned Czech-born psychiatrist and pioneer of transpersonal psychology. Commencing with the film director Susan Hess Logeais’s personal existential crisis, the film shares how Stan’s insights around non-ordinary states of consciousness have profoundly changed the lives of many. Stan’s techniques and discoveries range from breathwork to spiritual exploration as a way to liberate people from their shadows, conflicts and traumas.

3. The Mind, Explained: Psychedeliccs (2019)

Narrated by actor Emma Stone and illustrated with playful animations, this is a bite size 20-minute Netflix episode. It dives into how psychedelic experiences can reduce health-related anxiety for cancer patients, help people quit smoking and give people relief from treatment-resistant depression.

4. Magic Medicine (2018)

Addressing the question, ‘Can magic mushrooms cure depression?’, filmmaker Monty Wates was given exclusive access to Imperial College London’s Centre for Psychedelic Research clinical trials led by Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, a Synthesis advisor, and Synthesis’ own clinical director Dr. Rosalind Watts. This remarkable film gives an absorbing portrait of the human suffering of clinical depression and features deeply moving footage of the patients’ psychedelic journeys and the inspirational scientists contributing to groundbreaking psychedelic research.