Benedikt Sarreiter

Benedikt Sarreiter is a writer for Nansen & Piccard. He is the author (with Paul-Philipp Hanske) of Neues von der anderen Seite – die Wiederentdeckung des Psychedelischen (2015). Sarreiter lives in Munich.

Talk: From Therapy to Mind Control to Fun to Self-Optimization – Substance Use in the 20th and 21st Century

Track: What Will Be Contemporary?
Date: Day 1 – 12:30
Location: Neufert-Mansion, Gelmeroda

The use of psychedelics and related substances changed over the last 70 years almost every decade. In the beginning there was psychotherapy. The treatment with LSD became hip in the late 1950ies and early 60ies to heal the tormented souls of Hollywood celebrities or ordinary German citizens. At the same time, the military complex discovered all kinds of drugs und tried to use them for a modern approach to interrogation techniques. Then the hippies came, then a backlash, before, ten to fifteen years ago, the renaissance of psychedelics began and lead to several different ways of substance use, ranging from all kinds of therapy to leisure time fun and to self-optimization. This talk will give a short overview of the past, present and future of modern substance use.