David has penned with fellow Columbia law school academic Jeremy Kessler
Epistemic Discovery, Psychedelic Drugs, and the First Amendment
Date Written: March 22, 2026
Abstract
In recent years, the concept of cognitive liberty has drawn support from scholars and activists worldwide. Proponents of cognitive liberty depict it as extending the right of free thought to encompass a right to “change our brains,” including through the use of psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin, mescaline, and LSD. Psychedelics, according to countless testimonials, can be doors of perception leading onto new mental landscapes. Prohibitions on psychedelics are said to infringe the cognitive liberty to open those doors.
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