APS visits Europe’s biggest psychedelic conference: Breaking Convention 2017

By Jack Allocca, PhD

In a startlingly British sunny day, at the start of July, a vibrant crowd from many walks of life gathered to witness the unfolding of a very important paradigm shift. Colourful hats dotted the space, mystical capes, fractal patterned t-shirts and business casual attire interwove with remarkable ease, same as sandals, boots and bare feet.

This was not a pride march, nor Glastonbury festival, but instead the biggest conference in Europe focusing on psychedelics and altered states, Breaking Convention 2017 (BC2017). This pivotal event took the baton from its American counterpart which took place in April in Oakland, CA, Psychedelic Science 2017 (PS2017), organised by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).

Both events aimed to gather a diverse array of experts, to bring evidence to the medical management of mental illness through the use of psychedelic substances, as well as dabbling in discussions around meditation, shamanism and spirituality. These topics have been hard opposed by political establishments, especially by those forces that have catalysed the advent of the Trump phenomenon in the US and Brexit in the UK. However, a ripple of equal strength is spreading in a diametrically opposite direction, and with radical repercussions. Indeed, both events brought to the table epic celebrations of what is becoming increasingly more evident to be a psychedelic renaissance. PS2017 was delivered through majestic operations, saturating most spaces of the already generously sized Marriot Convention Centre in Oakland. Its European counterpart, however, struck a deal of much more symbolic impact.

Since its third edition in 2013 Breaking Convention has been taking place in a location that has not otherwise been offered to this cause for at least 50 years, right at the very core of the establishment. LSD, magic mushrooms, ayahuasca and several more substances heavily classified by the UK Misuse of Drugs Act have been heard discussed freely across the courtyards, corridors and all the way into the lecture halls of Greenwich University. The psychedelic discourse is no longer a whisper between apprehensive academics and deranged hippies, it has now become a scream, once again atop the ivory tower, in the heart of the Old World.

 

A stunning sunny weekend for London, @Greenwich University main campus.

 

And now that psychedelic substances have regained a legitimate position of prominence in the medical and experimental landscape old and new voices can be heard out loud. “We are not the counterculture,” said Rick Doblin, the executive director of MAPS, “we are the culture.”

The conference featured several more heavy lifters, from Dennis McKennna, David Nichols, Robin Carhart-Harris, James Fadiman, Friederike Meckel-Fischer and many others. Discussions were diverse and in depth, and interestingly, also occasionally conflicting.

 

Friederike Meckel-Fischer discussing the importance of combining psychedelics with psychotherapy sessions.

 

This was particularly the case between the radically different outlooks Dennis McKenna and David Nichols aimed to bring to the table, and not without the sporadic academic sabre-rattling. Dennis McKenna delivered a grandiose speech on the importance of chemical signaling in the Gaia complex, and how compounds such as the naturally occurring psychedelic tryptamines play a large role in the connectiveness between species across all taxonomic groups, from Plantae to Animalia. David Nichols, on the other hand, presented likely the most elaborate and compelling argument supporting the case that DMT may be highly unlikely to be actively produced in the forebrain pineal gland. His analysis covered most enzymatic pathways known to be involved, going as far as suggesting that this highly revered compound may in fact be just a byproduct with very minimal endogenous effects in the human forebrain, if not totally negligible.

Alongside the more conventional topics in psychedelia, BC2017 was a rich kaleidoscope of insights on all things related to altered states, from dreaming, dark retreats, meditation, breathwork as well as discussions around psychedelic philosophy, history and policy. Jules Marshall, of the Psychedelic Society of the Netherlands was a peculiar standout. His work has heavily focused on developing the practice of entheogenic gastronomy, or cooking with a wide range of psychotropic plants, including marijuana, magic mushrooms, syrian rue and kanna.

Special praise is owed to BC2017 for the efforts spent on its supplementary material. Indeed, every attendee was provided with an extremely generous welcome pack, including an extensive event manual showcasing background information for all lectures as well as an impressive 300 page manuscript laying a comprehensive update around psychedelia, including proceedings from the conference, essays and exclusive material.

BC2017 delivered an impressive feat of operations, both at the logistical, content and media level. Remarkably, more than few were also stunned by the outstanding sunny weather in London during this magical week. The more spiritual attendees, however, were those least surprised, as many planets are rapidly aligning to celebrate this revolution.

 

A parabolic cup of tea to celebrate the end of BC2017.