A good article, although I will respectfully disagree with the overarching theme. First, however, a quick comment re: ketamine. I have only used it recreationally. The first time, I snorted two short lines out of curiosity and I experienced nothing. So later, ignoring everything that I know about recreational drug use, I finished off the small bag that I been given with a couple of very long, fat lines … and rather quickly felt totally disoriented and utterly miserable. I relate that only to caution readers that “good” psychoactive drugs may offer many benefits but still need to be handled sensibly.

And now back to your overarching (underlying? I am not really good with literary directions) theme which is, as I understand it, ‘when the drug wears off, the world remains a shitty place.’

That is, of course, a matter of perspective — rather than a matter of fact. Yes, global warming remains an enormous threat. Yes, our political systems are defective in many ways, and yes, far too many people are intellectually lazy, morally stunted and ripe for exploitation by would-be neo-fascist dictators. And of course, way too many at the top of the pyramid are willing to destroy the earth and impoverish the rest of us in order to feed their insatiable greed.

Despite all of that, however, this planet is home to places of stunning beauty, an incredible array of diverse organisms — in land, air and sea — that cannot fail to amaze us if we only take the time to stop and learn about them, and millions upon millions of people who struggle every day to make the world — and human society — a little better. The arc of our moral history does bend upward, even though the journey is so long, and our lives so short, that we often fail to appreciate it.

I don’t want to sound like Pollyanna, but we are not powerless when we work together for positive change. Just as ketamine can be healing, or can completely fuck you up, we can leave this world a shitty place, or we can make it a better one. The choice, as always, is ours.