Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics

Wow! I so enjoyed this "trip" down memory lane with some really great storytellers! Told objectively and from first person accounts, it just flew by. So nice to see Sting, eloquent as always but loosened up as much as I've ever seen him, talk about some fun times on his farm. Rosie Perez was another surprise; she looks great and has some cute recollections to tell. A little science thrown in from a doctor studying using the drugs to treat depression and anxiety as well as from Timothy Leary's son who has continued in his father's pioneering footsteps. I had to give it a rare 10/10 because as documentaries go, this should be a template.

Netflix has had some real dross offered lately, but they hit it out of the park with this one! Highly recommended.

While this doc isn't a sober and scientific look at psychedelics, it fulfills some of that in a good way. It uses comedy and satire to make its points. If you are looking for serious information about them, then look elsewhere. While there are some facts here, this doc uses mostly tripping anecdotes from famous people, but also includes a psychotherapist and Deepak Chopra (not an expert on anything, IMO, and the one low point of this doc). It satirizes ridiculous 60s & 70s anti-drug movies and propaganda by winding an LSD After School Special throughout the film, which is as original as these things can be, and very humorous.

The filmmakers are careful not to proselytize psychedelics, although they come close, but the "it's not for everyone" warnings are here, as well as the usual "set and setting" importance. There is emphasis on psychedelics not being the "usual" drug you use to escape, but an internal "trip" in every sense of the word, with planning and intent necessary.

Even though the release date of this is shown as 2020 and "new" by Netflix, Carrie Fisher and Anthony Bourdain are both in it. She died in 2016 and Bourdain in 2018. Fisher is really funny, as always, and one of the high points of the interviews. Bourdain just looks depressed, which begs the question of why he was left in this doc. Kind of bad taste, due to the manner of his passing, and affected my rating a little.

I think the audience for this is probably people who have experience with psychedelics. Otherwise it will have little meaning. I've had most of the experiences chronicled here, including the cliche "McDonald's trip" (I didn't know it was a 'thing'!). Odd to see Sting in a somewhat reflective, very personal state, although psychedelics no doubt have a huge job making a dent in *his* ego. So kind of ironic interviewing him for this doc. The other people are entertaining and usually funny.

The animation is very well done and the pacing very good. I have done a lot of psychedelics and was mostly a "seeker" with the intent to learn from psychedelics, as are most of the people in this doc. If you are so serious as to be offended by a comedic look at psychedelics...yeow. You have GOT to have a sense of humor while tripping!

Worth watching for the LSD After School Special segments with Adam Scott. For a more educational experience watch the Netflix series How to Change Your Mind instead.

I have studied halluciogens - mainly pshycedelics - about 17 years. I have read the relevant forums, manuals, guides viewed documents. I have deliberately taken more or less for 30 trips, grown mushrooms, guided people. Against this background, this documentary is truthful, instructive, and well executed. This can be recommended for people who still believe in the demonization of these substances, as well as for those who are more experienced. This was an interesting experience.

As a traveler of sorts myself, I can say that I found this to be is a surprisingly well balanced documentary. The veteran psychonaught is unlikely to find anything here but a pleasant familiarity.

These kinds of drugs have enormous potential to help humanity. In fact, it's something we probably desperately need in these crazy times to help us connect to ourselves, our divinity and to each other.

However, the cautionary tales are essential, and responsible use is always encouraged. Personally I agree with String's advice on having an intention, and also Sting's decision to travel with the American Indian Shamans, as some these are substances are sacred medicines, or chemical variants of them. But not everyone has that opportunity.

I think the documentary would have been better if at least a little attention had been given to potentially tragic cases like Syd Barret, to give a completely fair analysis. But we don't really know what went on in his head. Maybe he was flying through space for eternity, maybe he was in heaven. We will never know. But on Earth he died a vegetable.

A positive spin is given at the end to the possibility of open study of these medicines by the Western methodology. This is good, but still miles behind the wisdom of traditional elders, who throughout the continents, have honed thousands of years of accumulated wisdom and safe guards. Western scientists may just grow a little if they pursue the study, as they will be forced to realise the yin and yang of that which can be measured and that which cannot.

The best recommendation I could give for safe travel is, if available, find a good Shaman and allow them to guide the journey. Unfortunately there are many charlatans out there. As such, personal recommendations are a sensible idea.

Be respectful, trust the heart, and love yourself and each another. Peace.