The Psychedelic History Archive

A scholarly archive of psychedelic history, broadly construed

The Psychedelic History Archive is an educational platform to collect some of the most significant public domain historical sources relating to the history and culture of psychedelics from the early modern period to the present.

Our goal is to create a free, objective, non-profit resource for students, researchers, patients, and others who want to access historical primary sources and learn about understudied aspects of psychedelic history.

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The Homeric Hymn to Demeter
Ancient Text, c. 650–550 BCE (this translation published 1914)Hymn to DemeterThe Homeric Hymn to Demeter (7th-6th century BCE) is the founding myth of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Disguised as an old woman, Demeter drinks kykeon (barley meal, water, and mint) and later teaches the Eleusinians the 'awful mysteries.'
Cueva del Chileno
Archaeological Site, 905-1170 CECueva del ChilenoA rock shelter in southwestern Bolivia where archaeologists found direct chemical evidence for ancient use of coca, harmine-bearing plants, DMT-bearing plants, and possibly psilocin.
On Teonanácatl, the "Flesh of God"
Manuscript, c. 1541 (published 1858/1914)Teonanácatl, "carne de Dios"Motolinía's account of Aztec mushroom intoxication from Historia de los indios de la Nueva España. He describes small bitter mushrooms producing visions of serpents and worms, names them Teonanácatl ("flesh of God"), and compares the rite to other Aztec communal meals.
De la yerva que llaman Ololiuhqui
Book, 1615On the Herb Called OloliuhquiChapter 14 of Francisco Ximénez's 1615 Spanish redaction of Hernández's natural history, describing ololiuhqui. Ximénez gives the plant's Nahuatl name cohuaxihuitl ('serpent herb'), its medicinal uses, and records that priests ate it to commune with the devil and see a thousand phantasms.
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Pre-500 CE4 sourcesArchaeology & Antiquity
500–15001 sourcesMedieval Worlds, Pre-Columbian Americas
1500–180011 sourcesConquest, Encounter, Pharmacopoeia
1800–18504 sourcesRomantic Pharmacology
1850–190017 sourcesPsychonauts & Isolation
1900–194224 sourcesMescaline & Modernism
1943–196216 sourcesThe Discovery Decades
1963–197932 sourcesCounterculture & Prohibition
1980–Present11 sourcesUnderground & Renaissance
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Newspapers5Books9Manuscripts4Academic Articles33Audio5Video2Testimony12Field Notes1Websites45
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Psychedelic Information Bulletin
Psychedelic Information BulletinThree late issues of the Psychedelic Information Bulletin / PIC Bulletin, a Boston-based periodical associated with Lisa Bieberman and the Psychedelic Information Center. The issues collect research summaries, drug-policy commentary, movement news, and practical notes from the turn of the 1970s.3 sources
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FDA Psychedelic Drugs GuidanceFDA Division of Psychiatry, Center for Drug Evaluation and ResearchJuly 2026 (finalizing a June 2023 draft)SourceLSDPsilocybinFDA Division of Psychiatry, Center for Drug Evaluation and ResearchFDA advisory committee on MDMA, 2024Rajesh NarendranJune 4, 2024TestimonyPTSDTherapyRajesh NarendranOregon Measure 109Sheri Eckert and Thomas EckertApproved by voters November 3, 2020; codified as Oregon Laws 2021, chapter 1SourcePsilocybinSheri EckertChurch of the Holy Light of the Queen v. MukaseyOwen M. PannerMarch 18, 2009SourcePharmacologyDMTOwen M. PannerGonzales v. O CentroJohn G. RobertsFebruary 21, 2006SourceDMTAyahuascaJohn G. Roberts
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