--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The psychedelic viewpoint is becoming…" description: "\"The psychedelic viewpoint is becoming more and more legitimate, but psychedelic drugs are not. That's the odd paradox of it.\" — Terence McKenna" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/terence-mckenna-287_becoming_the-psychedelic-viewpoint-is-becoming-mo_3197440.png" --- # The psychedelic viewpoint is becoming more and more… ![“The psychedelic viewpoint is becoming more and more legitimate, but psychedelic drugs are not. That's the odd paradox of it.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/terence-mckenna-287_becoming_the-psychedelic-viewpoint-is-becoming-mo_3197440.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/terence-mckenna-287_becoming_the-psychedelic-viewpoint-is-becoming-mo_3197440.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/terence-mckenna-287_becoming_the-psychedelic-viewpoint-is-becoming-mo_3197440.png) > “The psychedelic viewpoint is becoming more and more legitimate, but psychedelic drugs are not. That's the odd paradox of it.” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The cultural acceptance of psychedelic perspectives outpaces the legal status of the substances themselves. **In simple terms:** Ideas are accepted faster than the drugs. Key Takeaway Advocate for policy reform. Themes culture legality perception Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - artistic expression - medical research - policy debates - education Key Concepts psychedelia social change Questions to Reflect On - How can society align perception with law? - What benefits are missed due to prohibition? A Different Perspective Legal restrictions limit practical exploration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Becoming more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming-more/) [Drug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug/) [Drugs Odd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drugs-odd-5922643/) [Legitimate Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legitimate-psychedelic-5922642/) [Odd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odd/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) [Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic/) [Psychedelic drugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic-drugs/) [Psychedelic Viewpoint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic-viewpoint-5922641/) [Viewpoint Legitimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viewpoint-legitimate-5922644/) [Viewpoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viewpoints/) ## Related quotes > [ The danger is \[in using psychedelic drugs\], just to put it out there, is madness. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-danger-is-in-using-psychedelic-drugs-just-to-put-it-out-there-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is in fact what shamanism is all about, what the end of history is all about, what psychedelic drugs are all about, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-in-fact-what-shamanism-is-all-about-what-the-end-of-history/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Transformation of language through psychedelic drugs is a central factor of the evolution of the social matrix of the rest of the century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/transformation-of-language-through-psychedelic-drugs-is-a-central/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Psychedelic drugs, especially psilocybin, allow a searchlight to be thrown on these deeper levels of the psyche, as Jung correctly stated. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/psychedelic-drugs-especially-psilocybin-allow-a-searchlight-to-be/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I started out in psychedelic drugs, and people said it was a flight from reality. It still is a flight from reality, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-started-out-in-psychedelic-drugs-and-people-said-it-was-a-flight/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The potential of the psychedelic drugs to provide access to the interior universe, is, I believe, their most valuable property.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-shulgin/the-potential-of-the-psychedelic-drugs-to-provide-access-to-the/) [Alexander Shulgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-shulgin/) > [Psychedelic drugs don't change you - they don't change your character - unless you want to be changed. They enable change; they can't impose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-shulgin/psychedelic-drugs-don-t-change-you-they-don-t-change-your-character/) [Alexander Shulgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-shulgin/) > [I ask of cinema what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-jodorowsky/i-ask-of-cinema-what-most-north-americans-ask-of-psychedelic-drugs/) [Alejandro Jodorowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-jodorowsky/) > [The danger of psychedelic drugs, the danger of mind-opening, the danger of consciousness expansion, the danger of inner discovery is a danger to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/the-danger-of-psychedelic-drugs-the-danger-of-mind-opening-the-danger/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [“A large dose of niacin is one of the most rapid and reliable ways to pull a person out of a bad trip on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-p-reid/a-large-dose-of-niacin-is-one-of-the-most-rapid-and-reliable-ways-to/) [Daniel P. Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-p-reid/) > [How he could be a good user of LSD," I asked, "And know about the spiritual dimension - all that sort of thing -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-shulgin/how-he-could-be-a-good-user-of-lsd-i-asked-and-know-about-the/) [Alexander Shulgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-shulgin/) > [No one can accuse Stuart Young of avoiding the big issues - with insight and verve, he tackles head on the existence of God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-chadbourn/no-one-can-accuse-stuart-young-of-avoiding-the-big-issues-with/) [Mark Chadbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-chadbourn/) > [Whether drugs lead to illumination or degradation depends on the spirit in which one takes them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-andrews/whether-drugs-lead-to-illumination-or-degradation-depends-on-the/) [George Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-andrews/) > [You simply cannot understand psychedelic drugs, which activate the brain, unless you understand something about computers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/you-simply-cannot-understand-psychedelic-drugs-which-activate-the/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Psychedelic drugs cause paranoia, confusion, and total loss of reality in politicians that have never taken them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/psychedelic-drugs-cause-paranoia-confusion-and-total-loss-of-reality/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) ## More by Terence McKenna > [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. Just as the history of yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-history-of-man-that-you-don-t-know-is-what-your-unconscious-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are consciousness. We may not always be monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-consciousness-we-may-not-always-be-monkeys/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What is happening here is we are living past the age, by the millions, living past the age where cultural values make any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-happening-here-is-we-are-living-past-the-age-by-the-millions/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What history is, essentially, is a careening, out-of-control effort to find our way back to this state of primordial balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-history-is-essentially-is-a-careening-out-of-control-effort-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And what is the primary datum? It's the felt presence of immediate experience. In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. Or the god who put us on this planet to toil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/man-was-not-put-on-this-planet-to-toil-in-the-mud-or-the-god-who-put/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you take psychedelics and the Internet and music and put all of that together you have the basis for a new community that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-take-psychedelics-and-the-internet-and-music-and-put-all-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Explore all 745 Terence McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More Becoming quotes > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) [Christopher Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wood/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. 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