This Is Your Mind on Plants

Pollan observes that people need plants to satisfy many needs and desires, one of which is to “change consciousness” (xii). Some of these plants are ubiquitous, such as tea and coffee, while others, like the opium poppy, are illegal. The author questions society’s consequential distinctions between plants, such as coffee beans and poppies, and notes that it is difficult to “construct a sturdy definition of drugs” (1). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and US government tightly police some plants that they have labeled illicit drugs. Pollan posits that the government allows some drugs, such as caffeine, to remain legal because they allow people to remain productive while psychedelics are perceived as a “threat to social norms and institutions” (2). Pollan notes that psychedelics are not more toxic or more addictive than caffeine, implying that their bad reputation is the result of a flawed narrative rather than scientific data. However, psychedelics such as psilocybin are experiencing an academic renaissance as researchers are allowed to explore their potential medical use. Pollan compares this approach to the Indigenous rituals around peyote, a psychedelic plant revered for its healing powers that is still used legally in Indigenous American rituals.