Kári Stefánsson, director of Icelandic genetic analysis, said Jón Gunnarsson, the justice minister, had raised the idea of experimenting with mind-altering substances on 30 inmates in Icelandic prisons to see if they could improve their lives. and that of their members. of the society.
Open to innovative methods
Kári is the new guest of the Spjallid podcast show with Frosta Logasyn on the Brotkast podcast, in which the director discusses the use of psychedelic substances such as psilocybin, ketamine, LSD and MDMA for therapeutic purposes under many angles.
Regarding the aforementioned idea of the minister, Kári notes that Jón brought it up in a conversation between two people and did not specifically ask him not to talk about it.
“I thought it indicated that the current justice minister had an open mind to innovative ways of caring for people, and I think that should be celebrated.” He said he wasn’t going to do that at all, but he said he thought it was an interesting idea,” Kári said, adding that he considered it a sign that this discussion began to have a considerable impact on society.
Positive for further research
Kári says he’s generally positive about continued research into the substances, but says the substances have not yet been shown to benefit people with illnesses.
People have tried to demonstrate the excellence of drugs, but these studies have only been done on very small populations. He points out that larger studies are needed for them to be fully taken into account.
“These mind-opening drugs often take people to a place they thought they couldn’t get to.” It’s a kind of help wheel to arrive at this wonderful experience that some people have in meditation. That is to say, it can help people get to the different places they couldn’t get to before. This in itself leads to asking; What about people who are simply uneducated? What about people who live normal lives? What about people with little imagination who never felt like they were in touch with the universe? Isn’t it good to let them try?” Kári says.
Nothing so exciting and challenging in 50 years
Kári says nothing has emerged in the pharmacology of brain disease in the past 50 years that is more exciting and challenging. He points out that these drugs affect the content of consciousness, a characteristic that other psychoactive drugs do not have to date. That is why he hopes that these substances can improve the quality of life of human beings.
“I’m not sure, except that it could turn out to be a remarkable life experience for most people, and I even think that it will benefit people, in quotes, who are in good health more than those who are sick.” Because the disorder often has its roots in very specific damage to all sorts of signaling systems, and I think mind-altering substances are very unlikely to be able to solve this problem. It may well be that these substances can get people to the point where such things can fix themselves, but these psychedelics are not going to fix it. But I don’t think it’s unlikely that ordinary people, and somewhat extraordinary people, will benefit from this,” Kári says in conclusion.
Below you can see a clip from the episode where Kári talks about mind-blowing topics in general. To access the full interview and listen to comments on the Minister of Justice, you must subscribe to Brotcast podcast.
