Since some of the earliest civilizations known the humankind, parallels between mystical abilities such as shamanism and “witchcraft”, and gender variance and neurodivergence, for example, have been drawn. However, dominant narratives have erased the significant presence and influence of queer people in these practices, and with higher rates of drug use in queer communities typically associated with addiction, problematic use, and other stigma it’s important to model a different perception, especially for our community.As the old saying goes, knowledge is power, and we can claim ours by unlearning what we’ve been told and becoming intimately familiar with psychedelics and natural drugs, the clinical and ethnobotanical research, and leveraging them for our own benefit as we see fit in our everyday lives-whether it’s used recreationally for pleasure or performance enhancement. Not necessarily in the physical sense of giving us enhanced stamina, but in the context of making us feel more attractive and more sociable which can be productive in building healthy relationships that aid in our personal growth and well-being, or for healing.
A conversation by Mohawk Greene (they/them) at Queering Psychedelics II (San Francisco, April 23rd 2023)