When David Nutt started working as a psychiatrist and neuropsycho-pharmacologist in the 1970s, the glow of the first psychedelic era was already fading. Despite evidence that LSD, psilocybin and MDMA might work wonders in mental health, the perceived dangers of mind-altering agents — and their use by counterculture groups — had spooked the medical establishment. When governments made these compounds illegal, research into their potential therapeutic uses ground to a near halt.
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Interviewed by Asher Mullard
Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
