Psychedelics Helped the President’s Son, Hunter Biden, Get Sober
Is there hope for federal drug policy reform?
Hunter Biden has been the black sheep of the presidential family for ages.
In his recently published memoir, Beautiful Things, he shares the story of his decades-long struggle to overcome alcohol and drug addiction.
Biden gets intimate about his quest to try different treatments and speaks openly about his explorations of psychedelic medicine. He experimented with several substances ranging from Ketamine to Ibogaine and 5-meO-DMT, which helped him stay sober for over a year at one point in his recovery.
For some of these treatments, Biden had to leave the US since they were illegal in his home country.
Local grassroots movements to “decriminalize nature” have since sprung up across the US in an effort to transform drug policy — with great success. Over the last three years, several cities and states like Oregon have successfully passed legislation to decriminalize, and in some cases even legalize psychedelic substances.
With new leadership in the White House and Joe Biden’s personal connection to the world of psychedelics, the question begs to be asked: Is there hope for federal drug policy reform?
Read on to learn about the origins of psychedelic activism, the current state of legislation on the state and federal level, as well as some speculations around Biden‘s position toward psychedelic medicine.
For the Past Few Years, Psychedelic Activists Have Focused Efforts on Local Policy Reform
After reading Michael Pollan’s How To Change Your Mind in 2018, Carlos Plazola decided to go on a “heroic” mushroom journey, ingesting more than 5 grams of psilocybin-containing fungi.
During his trip, the biologist with a background in real state and social justice got answers to some of his deepest questions. The mushrooms also allowed Plazola to experience the interconnectedness of everything.
Shortly after, he teamed up with Ph.D. Larry Norris to found “Decriminalize Nature”, an education initiative with the goal to decriminalize natural psychedelics such as magic mushrooms.
Only three short years later, Oregon legalized psilocybin therapy and decriminalized all drugs, and Washington, D.C. decriminalized all plant-and fungi-based psychedelics.
These state-level initiatives followed local efforts, which decriminalized psychedelics first in Denver, Colorado in 2019, and later in Oakland and Santa Cruz in California. Several other cities such as Ann Arbor in Michigan and Somerville in Massachusetts have followed suit since.
All eyes are currently on California, where two efforts are pushed in parallel: SB-519, a bill that would decriminalize medical and leisurely use of a wide range of psychedelic drugs, as well as the California Psilocybin Legalization Initiative, a Decriminalize Nature-sponsored initiative focused on magic mushrooms.
Things are moving quickly.
As a result, speculation around federal reforms has increased.
Federal Re-Scheduling of Psychedelic Drugs Is Coming but Will Likely Take Time
Looking at the cannabis model, we can see that local and regional legalization efforts have been much more fruitful than federal ones.
There’s some cause for hope, though.
With states like Oregon now publicly claiming the medical benefits of psychedelics like magic mushrooms, the DEA is obligated to schedule hearings to reconsider the Scheduling.
Psilocybin-containing mushrooms have been a Schedule 1-controlled substance since Nixon declared the War on Drugs and instated the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. They are lumped in with the other psychedelics like LSD and DMT, as well as opioids such as heroin and narcotics like cocaine. Since Schedule 1 contains only substances with no proven medical benefit, new information would require corrective action.
Luckily, there’s plenty of new information, which is what’s made states like Oregon pull the trigger.
Several studies have proven the medical benefits of psilocybin in the treatment of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and nicotine addiction — with many more studies currently underway.
Just last year, Johns Hopkins University, one of the institutions at the forefront of psychedelic research, received the first federal grant in 50 years to study psilocybin for smoking cessation.
While the medical case is arguably stronger for psychedelics, the Cannabis legalization which is federally still underway shows us that patience will be required.
At this point, there’s no reason not to believe that the Re-Scheduling on a federal level won’t happen, but it will take time. That’s why local and regional efforts may be more promising in the short run.
Psychedelic Reform Is Not One of Biden’s Priority, but It May Be a Matter Close to His Heart
Currently, the only federal law that allows for psychedelic use is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It protects several religious communities such as the Native American Church or the Brazilian Santo Daime Church from the criminalization of sacraments core to their religious practices, such as Peyote and Ayahuasca, respectively.
Looking at Biden’s political career, it’s unclear how his position towards drugs may have evolved.
In 2003, the then-Vice President sponsored the controversial RAVE Act, which made venues liable for offering harm reduction services such as on-site drug testing at festivals that drug policy advocates deem crucial.
A lot has changed in the past 20 years, though.
Not lastly, the president’s son's speaking openly about his entanglement with psychedelic medicine.
Hunter Biden’s Addiction Recovery Greatly Benefited from Psychedelic Medicine
In his memoir, Hunter Biden talks about seeking out addiction treatments that weren’t legal in the US.
In 2014, Biden traveled to Mexico to undergo Ibogaine therapy which is showing promising results for substance abuse, specifically opioid addiction.
After his ibogaine treatment, which left Biden in a dark and depressed state, he underwent 5-MeO-DMT therapy using toad secretions that are made into a paste and then smoked.
While the 5-meO-DMT experience only lasts about 30 minutes at most, supporters claim the experience can help heal depression and trauma and cure addiction.
Here’s how Biden described his experience:
“It was a profound experience. It connected me in a vividly renewed way to everyone in my life, living or dead. (…) Any division between me my Dad, my mommy, Caspy [late sister Naomi], or Beau vanished, or at least became irrelevant. I felt as though I was seeing all of existence at once — as one.”
Biden argues this experience helped him stay sober for the entire year afterward. He’s not the only one. Boxing legend Mike Tyson has also been vocal about the transforming power of the toad venom.
Unfortunately, Biden’s recovery didn’t last. His brother’s cancer death and his divorce triggered him to slide back into addiction.
While psychedelic medicine helped Biden dabble in sobriety, he credits his dad, President Joe Biden, with saving his life in the long run.
Closing Thoughts
It would be hard to imagine that such a personal, tragic story in your own family wouldn’t prompt you to reconsider your beliefs.
The research is strong, psychedelics help people heal.
The elusive “bad trip” psychedelics are said to produce is, in reality, extremely rare and unlikely.
Science will speak for itself, as researchers across the globe are pouring themselves into the work with hope and dedication.
It’s clear that the US is in urgent need of an overhaul of its mental health care system, especially given the pandemic-induced surge in mental illness and the ongoing struggle with opioid overdoses.
Whether it will be Biden or the following president who will pull the trigger and change federal legislation for good, one thing is clear.
As the New York Times announced earlier last year, the psychedelic revolution is coming, and psychiatry may never be the same.
Curious to learn more about psychedelic healing?
Join my community on Substack, where I publish The Journey, a free weekly newsletter for psychonauts traveling inward with intention.
