Spokespeople
For authors exclusively, see psychonaut media index.
This index lists notable people who have devoted themselves to speaking out (often by writing) about psychonautics, psychedelics, entheogens, and the general expansion of consciousness.
| Name | Profession | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Abbie Hoffman | Drug policy reformist | |
| Allen Ginsberg | Poet, philosopher, writer | |
| Alan Watts | Philosopher, writer, lecturer | |
| Albert Hofmann | Chemist | Discovery of LSD and psilocybin |
| Aldous Huxley | Philosopher, writer | "Brave New World" (1932), "The Doors of Perception" (1954), "Heaven and Hell" (1956) |
| Aleister Crowley | ||
| Alex Grey (website) | Artist | Psychedelic art |
| Alexander Shulgin (website) | Chemist | PiHKAL, TiHKAL, 2Cx, DOx, popularized MDMA, Shulgin Rating Scale |
| Amanda Feilding | Drug policy reformer, neuroscience researcher | Founder of Beckley Foundation |
| Andrew Feldmar (website) | Lay therapist | Tryptamines, phenethylamines |
| Ann Shulgin (website) | Writer | PiHKAL, TiHKAL, Shulgin Rating Scale |
| Ben Sessa | ||
| Benny Shanon | Psychologist | Biblical entheogen hypothesis based on 2,500 ayahuasca experiences |
| Casey William Hardison | Chemist | Psychedelic clandestine chemistry |
| Carl Sagan | Astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, and author. | Science communicator in astronomy and other natural sciences. Sagan penned an essay, The piece, in 1969, in which he described the benefits he felt from using marijuana. Sagan criticized cannabis prohibition in the US. |
| Christian Rätsch (website) | Anthropologist | Writer on topics like ethnopharmacology, psychoactive plants and animals |
| D. M. Turner | Psychonaut | Author, psychedelic researcher |
| Daniel Siebert | Ethnobotanist, pharmacognosist | Salvia divinorum |
| David E. Nichols | Pharmacologist and medicinal chemist | Escaline, LSZ, 6-APB, 2C-I-NBOMe and other NBOMe variants |
| David Nutt | Neuropsychopharmacologist | MDMA controversy, scientific career |
| David Pearce | Philosopher | "The Hedonistic Imperative" (1995), "The Good Drug Guide", "Can Biotechnology Abolish Suffering?" (2017) |
| Dennis McKenna | Ethnopharmacologist | Psilocybin mushroom cultivation |
| George Harrison | Singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, music and film producer | Co-founder of The Beatles, a psychedelic rock band and the best-selling band in history. The Beatles called for cannabis legalization. Harrison's use of psychedelic drugs encouraged his path to meditation and Hinduism. |
| Gordon Wasson | Author, ethnomycologist | Popularized psilocybin mushrooms and Salvia divinorum |
| Graham Hancock (website) | ||
| Hamilton Morris(website) | Writer, documentarian, psychonaut | Hamilton's Pharmacopeia, and Vice correspondent |
| Howard Marks (aka Mr Nice) | Writer, former Welsh drug trafficker, drug policy reformist | Author of "Mr Nice" served 7 years for cannabis smuggling, associate of The Brotherhood of Eternal Love, MI6and the IRA and others. |
| Humphry Osmond | Psychiatrist | Psychedelic therapy, socio-architecture theory, invented the word psychedelic |
| Hunter S. Thompson | Writer, journalist | |
| Jack Herer (website) | Cannabis rights activist | Jack Herer (Cannabis strain) |
| Jerry Garcia | Singer-songwriter and guitarist | Co-founder, lead guitarist, and vocalist, in the psychedelic rock band Grateful Dead |
| Jim Morrison | Singer-songwriter, poet, filmmaker, director, actor | Lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Morrison used LSD frequently. |
| Jimi Hendrix | Guitarist, vocalist | A psychedelic rock solo artist who regularly used cannabis, LSD and amphetamines, particularly while touring. |
| John Lennon | Singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, activist | Co-founder of The Beatles, a psychedelic rock band and the best-selling band in history. Solo artist. The Beatles called for cannabis legalization. Lennon was a LSD user. |
| John Lilly | Physician, neuroscientist, psychoanalyst, psychonaut, philosopher, writer and inventor | Ketamine, isolation tank |
| John M. Allegro | ||
| Jonathan Ott | Ethnobotanist | Entheogens |
| Ken Babbs | ||
| Ken Kesey | ||
| Kenneth Ring (website) | Professor Emeritus of psychology at the University of Connecticut, author | Founded Journal of Near-Death Studies, and co-founded International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) |
| Leo Zeff | Psychologist and psychotherapist | Psychedelic therapy |
| Lumir Hanus | ||
| Marcia Moore | Ketamine | |
| Michael Pollan | Author, journalist, professor | Speaker, author |
| Myron Stolaroff | Author | Underground psychedelic psychotherapy |
| Nicholas Sand | DMT and LSD clandestine chemist | |
| Owsley Stanley | LSD clandestine chemist | |
| Paul McCartney | Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, cannabis activist | Co-founder of The Beatles, a psychedelic rock band and the best-selling band in history. The Beatles called for cannabis legalization. McCartney was a habitual cannabis user. |
| Paul Stamets | Mycologist | Psilocybin mushroom |
| Raja Ram | Musician | Considered as one of the pioneers of psytrance, psybient, and psychill. Co-founded 1200 Micrograms, and Shpongle. |
| Ralph Metzner | Psychologist | Psychedelics, yoga, meditation and shamanism |
| Ram Dass (website) | Spiritual teacher | |
| Rick Doblin | Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) | |
| Rick Strassman (website) | Medical doctor | Research on DMT, "DMT: The Spirit Molecule" book |
| Robert Anton Wilson | Writers | |
| Robert McPherson (aka Psylocybe Fanaticus) (website) | Pioneered PF Tek | |
| Robert Monroe | Author, radio broadcaster, researcher | The Monroe Institute (TMI) |
| Robin Carhart-Harris (website) | ||
| Roland Griffiths (website) | Psychopharmacologist | Psychedelic researcher |
| Russell Brand (website, YouTube) | Comedian, actor, radio host, author, and activist. | Celebrity. Psychedelic drug advocate. |
| Stephen LaBerge | Psychophysiologist | Oneirology, lucid dreaming |
| Terence McKenna | Ethnobotanist, mystic, psychonaut, lecturer, author | Lectures and books on the use of psychedelic compounds |
| Tim Scully | Chemists | Psychedelic clandestine chemistry. Companion with Owsley Stanley |
| Timothy Leary | Psychologist | Psychedelic therapist, and advocate |
| Tom Wolfe | Author | The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test |
| Uncle Fester (website) | Author | Clandestine chemistry |
| William Leonard Pickard | Author, formerly American drug trafficker | Convicted in the largest LSD manufacturing case in history with Clyde Apperson |