The definitive guide to the science of psychedelics--the perfect intro for anyone curious about psychedelics and MDMA (Ethan Nadelmann, founder and former executive director, Drug Policy Alliance)--and how they can impact our health by world-renowned, leading authority Professor David Nutt.
Spanning a hundred years and three continents, these stories examine ways in which our existence is defined by search and rescue.
A man searches for significance in the birth of his child while a woman learns the true consequence of a loss of face. A demon discovers the emptiness of evil, a homeless man clings on to his love of literature, and a mother and her children escape abuse.
The tales scatter in every direction while maintaining a sense of inevitability. We may not realise that we are searching or appreciate that we have been rescued but no matter, our story continues to unfurl, consistent, escapable and entirely necessary.
David Nutt regularly hit the headlines as the UK's forthright Drugs Czar (Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs), not least when fired by the Home Secretary in 2009 for his 'inconvenient' views. In Nutt Uncut he explains how he survived ill-judged political and media vilification to establish the respected charity Drug Science, with the aim of telling the truth about drugs.
The book describes his life, distinguished career and scientific achievements, including his research into the human brain and the effects that both lawful and criminally illegal substances (including psychedelics) have on the brain and behaviour. It also catalogues with expert precision the risks of harm to drug users and others of a range of well-known drugs.
Surveying the state of medical knowledge around various currently prohibited substances - from hard drugs to LSD, cannabis, ecstasy, magic mushrooms and poppers - Professor Nutt ranks their potential harms and benefits (e.g. in treating anxiety, depression or pain) leading him to challenge the distorted logic of a blanket ban on anything psychoactive except alcohol, tobacco and caffeine.
Nutt Uncut contains far, far more about the usually hidden world of drugs, their use, abuse and role as a political bargaining counter - making it of interest not just to the many experts and others who already support the author's campaign for a frank, evidence-based approach to drugs but also anyone who wishes to learn about what he describes in Chapter 11 as 'policy madness.'
Most people know David Nutt as the UK's sacked Drug Czar - 'kicked out' for speaking truth to power i.e. that UK policy on drugs and alcohol was not fit for purpose, driven by politics not science. But in a life outside politics Nutt is an academic, psychiatrist and researcher who studies the brain to help understand how it goes awry in mental and neurological illnesses. A few years ago, before Covid, he started giving public lectures explaining how the brain works and how alterations of the mind can occur as a result of changes in brain function. They were extremely popular - usually over 150 people at each - with lots of questions. So, he decided to write up the lectures in this book for the general public, and anyone else with an interest in the field, especially university students of psychology, medicine and neuroscience. As well as educating these groups, all royalties from Brain and Mind Made Simple will help support the charity Drug Science that David Nutt set-up after his sacking to continue to promote the cause of bringing scientific evidence to improve drug policy.