The Psychedelic Society of Barcelona | EDABEA

Psychedelic Society BCN

Last February, the Psychedelic Society BCN or Psychedelic Society of Barcelona was launched in Barcelona. As many of you may know, Psychedelic Societies constitute a global movement of psychedelic societies occurring in various countries around the world and are relatively interconnected. They generally involve European countries and North American states.

According to an article by José Carlos Bouso, published in issue 155 of Cannabis Magazine, it seems that this initiative is currently being led by a group of friends interested in “psychedelia, psychonautics, expanded states of consciousness, psychology, transpersonal psychotherapy, visionary art, manifestations of psychedelic culture, and of course, psychedelic science.”

Based on Bouso's account, it is very likely that this Barcelona psychedelic society emerged during the Beyond Psychedelics conference (beyond psychedelics), which took place in Prague in October 2016. Interestingly, this conference was organized by the Psychedelic Society of Prague.

In any case, the launch of this new Barcelona society took place at the civic center of Drassanes, in Raval, and was a great success. Over a hundred people attended the event.

During the presentation, the idea was conveyed that “the Psychedelic Society BCN should be open, where anyone who wants to participate can do so, horizontal, bringing together anyone interested in any aspect related to psychedelic culture.” We found this idea commendable, indeed. We hope it succeeds and becomes a gathering place, a participatory association that brings together people interested in psychedelia.

Apparently, Fernando Pardo was one of the speakers who excited the audience the most with anecdotes about his youth. In 1969, under Franco’s regime, Fernando studied Philosophy and traveled to the Isle of Wight to attend the famous festival of the same name. Once there, he looked for someone to sell him tripis to fully enjoy the concert of Bob Dylan... and he found someone. Fernando asked for 25 tripis, and his interlocutor replied he would sell him 50. Upon Fernando’s hesitation, the seller said that he would only charge for 25 and that the other 25 should be given away in Spain to his friends.

What a beautiful way to view the world of hallucinogenic substances and entheogens, right? It seems like a century has passed... “A portion of the LSD manufactured was sold to sponsor events like the one on the Isle of Wight and other artistic and cultural activities, while another portion was given away for some initiates to introduce others, allowing psychedelic culture to perpetuate. According to Fernando, since that first time he took tripis and returned to Barcelona, this city has never lacked lysergic acid, something that many of us living here can attest to,” affirms Bouso in his article.

It is true that Spain would benefit greatly from having several psychedelic societies spread across its territory, at least in the larger population centers. Free spaces for debate and information where we can learn a bit more about ourselves. These are hard times, where inequality and injustice are increasing, where people feel misunderstood and frustrated... and as many of you know, certain substances help us not only to improve our quality of life (like in the case of ayahuasca with certain psychological conditions or in the case of microdoses of psilocybin for cluster headaches), but also bring us closer to a more integral understanding of our existence and our life purposes.

In these times, it is essential for people to know themselves better and understand the substance environment they are surrounded by. Psychedelic societies can be an excellent remedy for human insensitivity.

Article by Germán Carrera