Summary

“In Praise of Neural Diversity.” Pollan begins this final section of the book with a description of a conference on past, present, and future of research into psychedelic drugs and therapies associated with them, a conference attended by many of the persons (researchers and guides) he had spoken with while working on the book. The mood of the convention, he says, is generally positive, with those attending responding to news that governmental agencies like the FDA starting to move forward with further, expanded clinical trials of psychedelics. There are warnings and concerns, however; mostly having to do with the necessity for caution to not move too quickly or too recklessly, given the lingering public perception that psychedelics are dangerous. According to the conference, Pollan reports, the main benefit to further experimentation with psychedelics is to ease concerns and struggles about death – both dying well...