Which Celebrities Use Psychedelics?

There’s no beating around the bush: psychedelics are becoming more popular, and it looks like it’s going to stay that way. Not only are scientists and researchers dedicating hours of time and effort into proving to the mainstream community that psychedelics are valuable therapeutic substances, but more and more celebrities are opening up about their psychedelic usage.

For better or for worse, the world’s celebrities have a huge influence on what’s considered acceptable or not. So when large numbers of celebrities reveal to the public that they’re big fans of psychedelic drugs, you can bet that the public opinion of psychedelics is going to start shifting.

The Changing Psychedelic Scene

Nowadays, we’re entering an era where psychedelics are becoming widely accepted. Psilocybin (from magic mushrooms), MDMA, ketamine, and DMT have all been used in scientific studies and show promise in helping people manage mental health conditions of all different types.

But even just a few decades ago it would have been considered outrageous for a celebrity to publicly declare their love for psychedelics. Even though some groups identified with an image associated with psychedelics – like the Beatles – they often received a lot of backlash for it. Many celebrities would entirely avoid acknowledging the use of psychedelics due to the way that it could affect their public image.

So, it’s still a relatively recent thing for mainstream celebrities to come clean about their psychedelic use. But nonetheless, it is happening. Celebrities can slip a mention that they’ve used psychedelics in a casual conversation and people might not even bat an eye.

So what’s the cause of this? Why are people getting more comfortable expressing their appreciation for psychedelics?

Among the scientific-minded and older generations, the biggest reason is the increasing mainstream awareness regarding the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. It’s been known since time immemorial that psychedelics are powerfully transformative and very healing, but this knowledge was usually only discussed by people who actually used psychedelics.

The rest of the world, however, was waiting until psychedelics were “approved” by the religion of Science. No matter that hundreds of thousands of people have reported positive experiences from psychedelics; if they haven’t been scrutinized, studied, picked apart, tested, and quantified by men in lab coats, people didn’t want to have anything to do with them.

Luckily for everyone, scientists finally have taken it upon themselves to start studying psychedelics and – guess what? – they’re coming to the same conclusions that psychedelic users and tribal cultures have known all along: that psychedelics can provide powerful, transformative experiences with the power to help people overcome lifelong mental and emotional health conditions.

For those who are less domineered by science, psychedelic drugs have also been pushed into the mainstream by various media sources. The world’s most popular podcast, for example, The Joe Rogan Experience, is hosted by a man who considers it his duty to “de-demonize psychedelics.” The psychedelics documentary Netflix is running, Have a Good Trip, tells the stories of celebrities who have used psychedelics.

All of this has led to widespread curiosity and excitement. Now that psychedelics aren’t as taboo as they used to be, people are becoming more comfortable talking about them. Not to mention that psychedelics are being made legal. This relieves people of the potential legal concerns that might be involved with announcing to the public that they’re using illegal drugs.

Celebrities Who Have Used Psychedelics

Here are a few tales from celebrities who have used psychedelics during their lives. These people have reported profound and life-changing experiences because of their psychedelic usage.

1. Seth Rogen

Seth Rogen is a popular Canadian actor and comedian who is well-known for his advocacy regarding the use of certain drugs. He’s starred in a number of films that involve the copious smoking of marijuana – most people who know his name also know this. He’s a daily toker. However, he’s also enjoyed some more adventurous outings such as attending movie premiers while rolling on MDMA.

Rogen also attributes magic mushrooms to helping to accelerate his development and possibly contributing to his sense of humor. A journalist interviewing the actor for a piece in Vulture asked him how drugs affected his comedic ability. Rogen said that he didn’t quite know, but he suspected that because he “did a lot of shrooms when I was like 13 and 14 years old,” they might have had an impact on his developing psyche.

“[I did them] dozens of times at a formative age. It’s a real consciousness-expanding drug,” he says, “so maybe it’s had pretty deep effects.” Whether or not Rogen’s creativity and comedy were influenced by his preference for magic mushrooms or if he’s simply a silly guy can’t be known for sure. What we do know, however, is that he certainly helped to bring marijuana acceptance into the mainstream.

2. Sting

Sting, the famous English musician, recalls on a Netflix documentary how a large number of psychedelic experiences that he’s had throughout his life. He casts no illusions, acknowledging that many of them were difficult trips. However, like a true psychonaut, he also acknowledges that there’s always something to be learned during a psychedelic experience.

Sting’s in seniorhood now, but he believes that his psychedelic experiences helped to keep him grounded and stable by keeping his ego under control. Not only this, but they helped him begin to engage with concepts that many people find difficult to approach during their busy lives, concepts that spiritual groups like the Buddhists have been attempting to tackle for thousands of fo years.

He says that a psychedelic trip “presents you with the idea of mortality… it’s your own mortality, the mortality of the planet. That is the central issue of consciousness.” Rather than attempting to dress up psychedelic trips with lights and bright colors, or talking about how celebrities boost creativity with psychedelics, Sting acknowledges that they can help you pull back the veil and understand some of the deeper and most difficult questions that life has to offer.

Part of this insight was received during one powerful trip that Sting had at a friend’s farm during which he had to help a cow give birth. As he helped deliver the baby animal, he found that he was becoming increasingly high. Not everyone has a chance to come up on drugs while they’re helping a cow give birth, but Sting took it in strides and, during this experience, said that “the meaning of the universe cracked open.”

3. Daniel Carcillo

This story shows that the reasons why celebrities use psychedelics can be very different: some seek to get high, others seek to find themselves or their spirit, and others seek to heal physical illnesses. Daniel Carcillo was one of the first celebrities to come forward about the physical healing powers of psychedelics.

Carcillo was a two-time Stanley Cup champion, a hockey player who loved his career even after it left him severely injured with brain damage caused by at least seven concussions.

The head injuries left him with a number of unpleasant symptoms, ranging from headaches and insomnia to issues controlling his own impulses. This culminated into serious depression and Carcillo reported that he often felt suicidal.

Things changed, however, when he tried ayahuasca. Ayahuasca is a powerful brew that has been drunk for millennia by a number of South American tribes because of its ability to induce powerful healing visions. Ayahuasca’s plant spirit is alleged to be able to heal injuries of all types, both physical and mental, and Carcillo attests to its powers.

Shortly after he got to use ayahuasca, he found that his brain injuries were almost entirely healed. The transformation was so complete and powerful that Carcillo felt inspired to bring the treatment to other athletes who had suffered similar injuries.

Carcillo now co-owns a company known as Wesana Health Inc, where he and the other co-owner work to provide psilocybin to clients who struggle with brain injuries.

4. Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson is anything but shy when it comes to his use of psychedelics.

Most recently, he was somehow able to keep himself together after chomping down four grams of psilocybin mushrooms before recording a podcast. The podcast, appropriately titled “Impaulsive,” doesn’t cut any corners as Mike is heard to chew down a big handful of strong golden mushrooms.

The resulting podcast has been viewed nearly seven million times on YouTube alone!

Tyson’s not really trying to shock people, here, though. He’s really just being open and honest about the way that psychedelics affect him and his everyday life. After eating the mushrooms on the podcast, he reports that “mushrooms make you pretty objective. They make you objective to what’s really going on. Mushrooms really tell you that you’re nothing.”

While that might sound a bit depressing, he adds that, “They make me a better me.”

Earlier on, Tyson accredited psychedelics with helping him to revive his career. He had been feeling nearly suicidal prior to being offered the chance to partake in 5-MeO-DMT, a drug that is frequently acknowledged as being the most potent, powerful, mind-blowing, and life-changing psychedelic that has ever graced the earth.

5-MeO-DMT can be produced synthetically or extracted from natural organisms, such as the Colorado River Toad. This is where Mike’s product came from.

“I came across this thing called the toad,” he said on a podcast with Joe Rogan. “I smoked this drug, whatever you want to call it, and I’ve never been the same.”

The experience was so powerful for Mike that he has trouble bringing it into words. “I look at life differently, I look at people differently. It’s almost like dying and being reborn… it’s inconceivable. I tried to explain it to some people, to my wife, I don’t have the words to explain it. It’s almost like you’re dying, you’re submissive, you’re humble, you’re vulnerable… but you’re invincible still in all.”

Watching the world’s heavyweight champion lose himself in such powerful, emotional recall certainly says something for the wonders of psychedelic medicine! And this brings us to our next celebrity…

5. Joe Rogan

No list of celebrities who use psychedelics would be complete without Joe Rogan, for it’s because of his podcast that so many other people have gone public about their use of psychedelics. In fact, Joe Rogan himself is often given credit for being one of the trailblazers responsible for helping to bring psychedelic drugs into mainstream acceptance.

His podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, is the most downloaded free podcast that’s ever been released. Considering how passionate he is about advocating for psychedelic medicines, and for seeking out guests who explore hallucinogenic highs, it’s no wonder that there’s been such a growing shift in awareness.

“Psychedelic drugs and [cannabis] are beneficial… a lot of different drugs, especially plant-based ones, can be beneficial… I feel like you can learn something from them. From psilocybin mushrooms, from peyote, from marijuana. They can be used as a tool.”

Or, in a more blunt and perhaps more accurate statement, he points out that, “there is not a therapy in the f____ world that will get a crazy, sociopathic, egomaniacal person to really look at themselves like a bag of mushrooms will.”

Conclusion

Why do celebrities use psychedelics?

There are as many answers for that as there are celebrities. Hopefully, these tales have shown you that people from all walks of life can benefit from using psychedelics. These tales remind us that hallucinogenic drugs can provide physical and emotional healing, encourage spiritual growth, and keep us grounded in an ever-changing world.