|
Interview: Dennis McKenna |
|
|
Written by Michael (we know him as Rev. MeO)
|
|
Wednesday, 24 December 1997 |
|
Page 7 of 8
(DM:)
Well, for a lot of people. Some of the ones who are most important are not known for their involvement in this field, and actually weren't. I had a supervisor, Dr. Siegel, who was a teacher when I was a master's student in Hawaii in the mid-70's. He was... That was very important experience for me. He taught me how to link imagination and science. And then, there were others, more familiar to everyone...Schultes... Shulgin, Wasson, etc. I'd have to say that Schultes was a big influence... I tried to study under him, even made a pilgrimage to Harvard in the early 70's to meet him, and try to get into grad. school... He was wonderful, very kind and encouraging, but Harvard didn't see me as “their” kind of student, so I didn't get accepted...as it turned out, this was for the best.
(Rev:)
Often things that seem bad at the time turn out to be the greatest help there is! Do you feel entheogen explorers are assisting human evolution, by slowly altering the genetic make-up of the species, transforming into Dr. Leary's “futants”?
(DM:)
I ended up going to the U. of Hawaii, where Dr. Siegel took me under his wing, then I went to UBC to study psilocybin under Neil Towers, another mentor and wonderful person...if I had gone with Schultes, I would have become a plant taxonomist, as it was. No, I don't really think they work on that level. Genetic evolution is a slow process, much outstripped by cultural evolution. I do think psychedelics propel the cultural evolution process...the changes of the last fifty years or so owe a lot to the different things like ayahuasca are literally “emerging from the jungle” because they have a very important message for our species... I really think these plants are the way we communicate with the rest of the biosphere...I'm not speaking in any mystical sense here.
(Rev:)
Do you have any strong opinions about Dr. Leary? The more I read of his, the more I understand it, but don't fully believe it.
(DM:)
You really have to view these compounds in the larger context. Psychedelics, the natural ones anyway, are plant secondary compounds. A good deal of human history is shaped by human interactions with plant secondary compounds. Sorry--got to raving there...Leary? I didn't know the man well, but basically, I admired him. I think he had some very interesting ideas, and in lots of ways he was ahead of his time.
(Rev:)
His own special LSD-code speak! It was recently announced that Jim DeKorne would be ending his reign as the editor for the Entheogen Review. Have you kept up with this marvelous jewel of a newsletter, and Jim DeKorne's own books? (sorry if I'm working fast...the nature of the beast I am!)
(DM:)
Right. I regret to say I haven't. I've seen issues of ER, of course, and there's no doubt that Jim does a good job with it. I'm sorry to hear he's giving it up. Its a sign of the times, I guess. Everyone seems to be just getting swamped with information. There is less time, and more to process. Do you get that feeling?
(Rev:)
What are your opinions on the feline/child anesthetic Ketamine?
|
