The reaction to the rescheduling of psilocybin and MDMA has been mixed, with wary optimism predominating. On the one hand, it feels like another small but significant retreat from the moral panic-fuelled ‘war on drugs’, and may even lead to a new paradigm for the treatment of mental health disorders. But the rescheduling leaves many questions unanswered.

The answer to the demonisation of drugs, which has caused incalculable harm and so far deprived us of a more complete understanding of their risks and benefits, is not evangelism. Rather, the revival of interest in the kinds of compounds extolled in How to Change Your Mind presents us with a unique opportunity to reevaluate our relationship with them wholesale, good and bad.

Neither the photograph of Tame nor the tabloid media’s response to it truly belong to the present. We might say that, just as Derrida felt the post-Cold War order remained haunted by the death of communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union, so too do the ghosts of another, dying war—that, at least nominally, on drugs—go on stalking the present moment.

For those who are affected, substance use disorders can be shattering. But increasing shame and stigma, as the AFP’s outmoded and irresponsible campaign does, will only discourage people from seeking help when they need it, and harden the hearts of others towards them.

Musicians face greater risks of problems associated with legal and illegal drugs than people working in more stable industries. For example, workplaces that find ways to support their employees often have employee assistance programs and other confidential sources of support that are easy to access, and will have more support available than the bars, clubs and venues where musicians perform or the spaces where they rehearse.