Ethnopharmacologic Search for Psychoactive Drugs

Own the next chapter in the world's most enduring exploration of psychoactive medicine and human potential-and help shape the ethical, ecological, and visionary renaissance unfolding now. 

For anyone shaping the future of psychedelics, from academics, clinicians, ethnobotanists, psychedelic practitioners, and visionary thinkers, ESPD55 is essential reading—an authoritative reference and a catalyst for future inquiry. Enter the living dialogue where science meets spirit, ecology meets consciousness, and ancestral intelligence meets cutting-edge research.

For more than half a century, Ethnopharmacologic Search for Psychoactive Drugs has stood as the foundational gathering point for scholars exploring the interface of ancestral plant wisdom and modern psychedelic science. In this landmark continuation of that legacy, ESPD55 brings together the proceedings of the 2022 conference—an extraordinary convergence of more than thirty leading thinkers in ethnobotany, pharmacology, ecology, anthropology, consciousness studies, and Indigenous plant medicine traditions.

Curated by Dennis McKenna, PhD, and hosted by the McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy, this volume captures a moment at the frontier of a global psychedelic renaissance. With contributions from some of the most respected voices in the field—including Sir Ghillean Prance, Wade Davis, Andrew Weil, Monica Gagliano, Glenn Shepard, Paul Stamets, Jonathan Lu, and many others—ESPD55 offers a rigorous, multidimensional exploration of how psychoactive plants and fungi shape culture, cognition, and healing.

Across six thematic spheres—the ethnosphere, phytosphere, mycosphere, faunasphere, archeosphere, and sonosphere—readers are invited into groundbreaking research and cultural insight spanning continents and knowledge systems. Featured chapters include:

• Ancient Psychoactive Plant Use in Eurasia - Mark D. Merlin, PhD
• Coca: The Divine Leaf of Immortality – Wade Davis
• The Therapeutic Potential of Coca – Andrew Weil
• Ethnopharmacology of Psychoactive Substances in Chinese Culture – Jonathan Lu
• The Ark: Biocultural Sustainability for the San Pedro Cactus – Laurel Sugden & Josip Orlovac Del Ríiacute;o
• The Harpy’s Gift & the Jaguar’s Curse: Matsigenka Hunting Medicines – Glenn H. Shepard

From the ceremonial use of Ephedra and San Pedro to emerging ethical frameworks for ayahuasca sustainability, from cognitive evolution studies to sonic ethnomedicine, this book illuminates both the ancient past and the unfolding future of entheogenic research.