This is the second act of his strange new investigation into whether psilocybin use could improve nearly 250 well-being biomarkers, including various measures of brain connectivity, cortisol levels and testosterone.
“Psychedelics have the potential to play a more important role in all of our lives, and wouldn’t it be amazing if it was also a longevity therapy,” Johnson announced on the stream. Before consuming the shrooms on Sunday — which is legal at licensed facilities in Oregon through 2023 — Johnson measured his brain activity with a $50,000 helmet manufactured by Kernel, a neuroimaging company founded by the 48-year-old. They also took saliva samples and temperature readings. (After his November visit, he shared a lot of details about the status of his erection, but more on that later.)
He then drank more than five grams of ground mushroom powder mixed with lemon juice for extra potency. Johnson turned away, and a bizarre new era of live celebrity psychedelic exhibitionism was born – an era perhaps at odds with the introspective nature of the drug. The five-and-a-half-hour livestream, which has been viewed more than 1.1 million times, also included Johnson’s 20-year-old son Talmadge, whose blood he has used in his efforts to stay young, journalist Ashley Vance, a DJ set by Grimes, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. YouTuber MisterBeast, who was featured on the cartoonish poster advertising the event, did not appear, which most higher-ups would probably count as a blessing.
Observers noted that livestreaming an intense psychedelic trip may not be beneficial, as it could lead to fragmented attention and performance strain. Johnson seemed to acknowledge this himself before taking the mushrooms, saying, “I guess the biggest question is, can I go off track?”
“Having the whole world be able to watch you may not yield the best results,” says Ryan Zafar, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Psychedelic Research and Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London. “Brian’s setup talks more about ego enhancement than ego dissolution and this is characteristic of many of his pseudoscientific activities. These types of experiences are often best accompanied by introspection and an internal focus.” (Ego death, where the individual’s sense of self dissolves, is an experience some people seek when taking various psychedelics.) Jamie Wheel, author Recapture the Rapture: Rethinking God, Sex, and Death in a World That Lost Its Mindwas more brutal in his assessment, telling WIRED that the project was a “circus of self-indulgence” and an exercise in “digital narcissism.” He asked: “Is this the psychedelic renaissance that all so-called freedom fighters and prisoners of conscience are striving for?” (Asked if he would like to respond to criticisms of his methods, Johnson told WIRED: “Whoever said this, I wish them the best.”)
But while someone bouncing a ball on camera may seem performative and not particularly interesting — at one point Johnson plays with a Slinky after declaring “everything is alive” — his broadcast could also help reduce the stigma around drug use. “I think it’s okay and good to show people what the experience is like [of taking psychedelics] “It seems to demystify it somewhat, to show that it can be beneficial,” journalist and psychedelics industry consultant Hamilton Morris said on the livestream; Morris hosted the VICE show hamilton’s pharmacopoeiaIn which he is shown taking drugs on camera.
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