I have faced criminal charges as a result of engaging in psychedelic research. I am a serious scientist and an archaeologist from Cambridge in England. This article will tell you why I am engaged in psychedelic research and about the legal obstacles I have faced along the way. I hope what you are about to read, will help other people who are engaged in psychedelic research and also, be helpful in defeating any legal opposition from governments and regulatory bodies. I hope my recent research in psychedelic studies, archaeology and anthropology will add to our body of scientific knowledge. The law is just standing in the way.

A few years ago I found myself deep in the Amazon rainforest and became interested in the ritual use of psychedelic drugs. I was invited to take part in an Ayahuasca ceremony. Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic brew containing the psychedelic compound DMT. After this experience I decided to direct my research towards primitive religion and the origins of human consciousness.
Some of the best research on the subject is by the anthropologist Dr. Nearby. His most highly recognised book is The Cosmic Serpent. Although most (74 percent) of our pharmaceuticals are derived from indigenous medicines, and less than 2 percent of plants in the Amazon rainforest are tested clinically, western scientists have been unable to agree on a theory which tells us how these Amazonian tribes gained such a knowledge of medicine. Indigenous shamans have always stressed that their extensive knowledge of plant medicine is imparted to them through the plants themselves. Their world view is that there is a physical world and a spiritual world, which can both, have an effect on each other. When a shaman uses ayahusasca, he or she can enter in to the spirit world and find the root causes of problems in the physical world. Shamans actually communicate with the plants and gain medical knowledge. Since there are over 80,000 species of plants at their disposal, it would be almost impossible to gain this knowledge simply by trial and error. For example, for one potion used in the Amazon, it is necessary to boil one specific plant for 72 hours while not inhaling toxic vapours. Another plant, which de-activates stomach enzymes is added and boiled for a further 12 hours. How could these tribes with no knowledge of chemistry just stumble across this method of activating an alkaloid by a monoamine oxidise inhibitor? There must be another explanation. According to the philosophy of western science, hallucinations are a form of psychosis. They are considered by orthodox scientists to be illusions. However, only humans are capable of using symbols and abstract images. They are formed within the mind and cannot therefore correspond to actual happenings in the physical world.
The real value of indigenous hallucinatory knowledge is confirmed by the use of indigenous plants in western medicine. However, this goes against the underlying principles of science. According to the indigenous tradition people can identify an antidote to snake bites by looking at a plant, which has snake-like fangs coming out of its leaves. This does not fit in with orthodox western science and this is a paradox which needs to be resolved. ‘We see what we believe, and not just the contrary: and to change what we see, it is sometimes necessary to change what we believe’ Dr. Nearby, argues from a scientific perspective that under the effect of ayahuasca, the Shaman will communicate with the plants at a molecular level.
The planet earth is approximately four and a half billion years old. Life did not appear in the most simple form of single celled organisms until 600 million years ago. Then around 543 million years ago…..just ten million years later…..the multitude of life with all its claws, eyes, teeth, fur and wings suddenly appeared in this very short space of time. Fossil evidence from China, Siberia and Namibia shows us that this explosion of life happened at the same time all over the world. A theory becoming more widely accepted and taught at Edinburgh university as both possible and probable; is that DNA came to this planet from outer space or another extra terrestrial source. This theory known as the ‘panspermia hypothesis’ can account for the Cambrian explosion of life on earth. An emerging theory states that under the influence of psychedelic compounds, our DNA is able to communicate with the DNA in other forms of life such as plants. So when a Shaman goes in to the spirit world and communicates with a plant in order to find its molecular make-up to use in medicine; The Shaman, as demonstrated by scientific method, is actually communicating with the plant at a molecular level. This is why when we examine prehistoric cave art and petro glyphs, as well as many paintings which have been done under the influence of hallucinogenic, we can see the double helix appearing. Again and again in ancient art. This is true of traditions all over the world. Known in some mythologies as the cosmic serpent: The giver of life to the world. It is no coincidence that the giver of life on earth, the intertwined serpent, shares its form with that of DNA. Francis Crick who actually discovered the structure of DNA was in no doubt in his mind that this compound did not form accidentally on earth, but certainly came from another planet or section of outer space. Incidentally, Dr. Crick was on LSD when he discovered the structure of DNA. He often used small doses of LSD as a tool to increase his powers of thought. After recently discovering ice melt of meteorites, scientists now believe that these were the likely source of DNA and therefore life on earth. Is it a coincidence that Dr. Crick was using psychedelics when he discovered the secret of life, or had he aligned his own consciousness at the molecular level to underlying molecular pattern of all life on earth?
To go back to the study of mythology in anthropology, we can see the cosmic serpent, or symbolic representation of DNA’s structure in more familiar mythologies. We know from experience that new religions simply incorporate the beliefs of a previous religion. For example, the Christian celebration of Christmas has its roots in the pagan festival marking the winter solstice. The flying reindeers teach us about the traditional use of the amanita muscaria or fly agaric mushroom. Traditionally, the reindeer would eat the mushrooms, the shaman would then drink the reindeer urine after the reindeers had taken out the toxins. As you can see, the ideas of an earlier tradition have been incorporated into the modern tradition we know as Christmas and we have learned about beliefs in past societies. To go back to the serpent and the structure of DNA: we all know the story of the serpent in the Garden of Eden who gave the apple of knowledge to Eve. The apple here can be a symbol of divine knowledge and the evolution of consciousness which separates us from the animal kingdom. I see the serpent in the Christian myth as the cosmic serpent which we see appearing amongst traditions all over the Amazon rainforest. The serpent is the key to life on earth. Here the Christian myth holds that this knowledge is evil. This shows how the early Christian writers have incorporated an older myth and changed it round to serve their own ideas. They make the serpent to represent evil instead of good. This destroys peoples’ beliefs in the myths of older religions and thus gives power to the Christian ideology. If we look further back at the mythology of the Egyptians, we can see this divine knowledge as imparted by the serpent as Isis receiving divine knowledge from an angel. In the myths of the Sumerian and Egyptian civilisation, humans have interbred with divine angels. This suggests that this mythology stems from a belief in the panspermia hypothesis, that life on earth was started by an extra terrestrial source.
After studying these paradoxes explored by scientists such as Dr. Crick and Dr. Nearby, I decided to change the direction of my archaeological research from prehistoric farming techniques to cognitive archaeology. Archaeology is the study of material culture. Our reasons for doing this is to discover how past societies lived in groups, what they ate or what they looked like. Cognitive archaeology looks at the question: what did people think? This school of thought tries to find the answer by also looking at material remains. This may be examining the weights and measures used in ancient societies. For example, it is possible to approach the pyramids in Egypt and find a standard unit of measure to which the structure conforms. Cognitive archaeologists may look at the layout and planning of the living space, revealing an aspect of planning. We are then able to find out how far back humans have had this level of thought. The study of symbolism is a very important aspect in cognitive archaeology. From this we can understand how ancient people perceived the supernatural. There are links to anthropology here as we can get an impression of the life and thought of our hunter-gatherer ancestors by looking at modern hunter-gatherer societies and drawing conclusions from this. It is generally agreed by archaeologists that being able to use symbols is what distinguishes humans from the animal kingdom. All intelligent thought is based on the use of symbols; even writing is the use of symbols. The archaeological remains which we discover, are the product of human thought. My line of research in to the ritual use of psychedelics attempts to understand finds and material remains in their true context. In order to understand past societies, we must first understand their world view, or mind set.
Dr. Lewis-Williams, is one of the great modern cognitive archaeologists. He is famous for his book The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art. He demonstrates the origin of human kinds symbolic life. Dr. Lewis-Williams neuropsychological theory of cave art explicitly expresses that the people who created it were under the influence of psychedelic drugs. The question we must now answer is: Why was there a sudden explosion of symbolic meaning in human life around 40,000 years ago? Modern humans, physically looked like us undisputedly up to 150,000 years ago. They did not however start to use the symbols associated with a religious belief until around 40,000 years
ago. It is now accepted amongst archaeologists that the birth of the supernatural revolution, as it is known, was started by the ritual use of psychedelic drugs. Could this be the basis of all modern self awareness and philosophy and religion?

Another very interesting branch of archaeology is experimental archaeology. This branch has been researched by such people as Thor Heyadahl who successfully sailed across the pacific in a boat made out of reeds, like the ancient Egyptians used. This helped us to understand the movement of people in prehistory.
I have began to synthesise these two schools within archaeology and anthropology. My approach to studying the past is known as experimental cognitive archaeology. Dr. Lewis-Williams has never taken psychedelic drugs himself and has come to his conclusions from scholarly research only. I believe that neuropsychological theories in the evolution of consciousness should be tested empirically. That means that they need to be tested by, and in terms of, the researcher’s own experience of psychedelic drugs. This is how I came to found the school in archaeology known as the experimental cognitive approach. This combines the cognitive and experimental approaches to archaeology. I believe that this research is important in finding the origins of consciousness, religion and even life on earth.

I ran in to trouble early on in my research when the police found me to be in possession of research chemicals. There are scientists all over the world engaged in serious psychedelic research and the authorities only act to hinder scientific progress.

It was only due to my knowledge of constitutional law that I was able to escape these charges and badly embarrass the police in court. It is important that people know their legal rights and know how to exercise them. Firstly we must learn legalese. This is the language of the law society. It may appear to be English, but what means something in English means something entirely different in law. Take the word ‘person’ for example. Who thinks they are not a ‘person’?.... OK; so in legalese which is the language of the law society, the word ‘person’ refers to a man or woman’s legal status. It does not mean ‘human being’. I shall shortly explain how, when dealing with the police, you should never admit to being a person. Webb’s law dictionary gives the definition of a person as a ‘legal fiction’. Basically it refers to your birth certificate, which you have not signed. So when the police ask you a question, they are in fact just asking it to this piece of paper.
English law which is the basis of American law falls in to two categories. There is common law and statute law. Common law states that you shall not ‘cause harm or loss’. This applies to all men and women regardless of their legal status. Statute law on the other hand can only be applied to a person. All crimes such as traffic offences or the mis-use of drugs are only offences under statute law. According to the law books, ‘ a statute can only be given the force of law with consent of the governed’. So what happens when we don’t consent? I have regretted to inform arresting officers that it just isn’t law. The reason we have a different definition in law to ‘man’ and ‘person’ goes back to the Magna Carta 1215. This is the charter which set the basic principles still used today in modern law. This if because back in the day, medieval society was made up of Freemen, or nobles and Serfs, in other words: Slaves. Serfs were not ‘persons’, they were ‘things’ which could be bought and sold. The Magna carta also states that ‘no freeman shall be detained when he has not consented to represent the person…..’
When dealing with the police, all one has to do is to declare him or herself a freeman on the land and not consent to represent the person in question. How do you do this? This is a little complicated because once you have contracted with the police you innanvertedly admit to being a person. When you are arrested, you will have your rights read to you. After this, they will ask you if you understand, right? Why do they ask you if you understand? This is because they are trying to make you contract with them, which means they can enforce any number of petty statutes upon you regardless of whether or not you have committed an offence under common law. When they ask you if you understand, your answer should be………”In legalese which is the language of the law society, understand is synonymous with ‘stand under’. I hereby declare myself a freeman on the land, return to common law jurisdiction and do not stand under your statement”. If they ask you to confirm your name, this would also be contracted with them. What you should say is I am YOUR FIRST NAME, of the family, YOUR SIRNAME, a freeman on the land, and I do not consent to represent the person in question. Your answer to any further question should then be, “please refer to my previous answer’. Legally speaking there is no way they can proceed from there. Lets be honest, if they’re going to slap the cuffs on you and drag you down the station, they’re going to do it anyway. But always know your legal rights and let them know that you are being held under duress. Enter into a non-violent protest known legally as a ‘lawful rebellion’. If you would like to know more about lawful rebellion and the freeman position, look at ‘the people’s united community’, who are a group of legal scholars working to protect the public from having statutes enforced on them by people such as the police, or corporate enforcement officers (there is a difference). People all over the country are using the freeman position to stand up to the authorities and badly embarrass police in court. One freeman even has a video (available of the TPUC website) of himself in court. He calls for common law jurisdiction. The judges fail to maintain jurisdiction in the court. The police are called and have to leave. The judges abandon the court and the freeman then declares himself the highest authority in the court. Case dismissed!
I do recommend doing your own research on the freeman position before you use it in a criminal case. Once you commit to it, you have to see it all the way through. Otherwise they might treat you more severely than they would do had you entered a normal defence. These insights from The People’s United Community have helped me greatly in being able to continue my psychedelic research.