Psychedelic substances like magic mushrooms, ayahuasca, or LSD are becoming increasingly popular. But if you think that “only hippies” or “oddballs” on the fringes of society use these mind-expanding substances, you’re completely wrong. Did you know, for example, that there are quite a few celebrities who attribute some of the successful aspects of their lives to the use of these psychedelics? Because of the stigma surrounding psychedelics, only a small percentage of these celebrities have spoken publicly about their experiences, but fortunately, there are plenty who have. In this article, we’ll highlight some of the most famous ones, and believe me: you really wouldn’t expect it from some of them!
Steve Jobs
Let’s start right off with one of the most famous psychedelic users: Steve Jobs. The late tech giant regularly took LSD with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak early in their careers. Here’s what he had to say about it: “Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life. LSD shows you that there’s another side to the coin. You can’t remember when it stops working, but you know it. It greatly strengthened my sense of what was important—creating great things rather than making money, putting things back into the flow of history and human consciousness as much as possible.” The hallucinogenic drug LSD, according to Jobs, gave him a massive burst of creativity and also provided him with the mindset to create the world’s largest tech company.
Susan Sarandon
You know American actress Susan Sarandon from many films and series, including Thelma & Louise, Dead Man Walking, Ray Donovan, and Cloud Atlas. During an interview with The Daily Beast, the actress spoke about her experience with ayahuasca and magic mushrooms. She is, after all, a well-known advocate of psychedelics. “I’ve done ayahuasca and I’ve done mushrooms and things like that, but I like to do those drugs outdoors—I’m not a city person... I like to do it in the Grand Canyon, or in the woods. You want to be prepared and have no responsibilities; it reminds you of your place in the universe and redefines things for you. I think you can have some very profound experiences with psychedelics.”
Frances McDormand
You know her from Fargo, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and 65 other Hollywood films. The 62-year-old actress revealed in an interview that she’s had quite a bit of experience with various psychedelic substances. “I really, really enjoyed LSD, and I enjoyed mushrooms a great deal. It’s a shame, I think, that drugs weren’t treated well. Politically, they were used to divide the economic classes. Fortunately, things are changing with marijuana laws, but with LSD—because it was countercultural and because it was used as an experimental medicine—it wasn’t marketed properly. If it had been marketed properly, we could still get it... We needed a PR person for LSD! It was very profound, very profound.”
Jack Nicholson
This Hollywood giant, of course, needs no introduction. The LSD Nicholson used gave him a number of life-changing experiences. While writing the screenplay for the film 'The Trip,' he frequently mentioned LSD use. "I’m not advocating anything for anyone. But I always choose candor, because I don’t like the secrecy surrounding drugs... In other words, it’s no big deal. You can destroy yourself with it, but Christ, you can hurt yourself with anything.” Nicholson began using psychedelic drugs in the early ’60s. "Jack’s experiences with the drug were life-changing. After taking it for the first time, he believed he had seen the face of God," a source says about Jack’s drug use.
George Carlin
The late George Carlin was world-famous as a stand-up comedian—particularly for his routine “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.” The hilarious Carlin was extremely cynical and often had blunt opinions on topics like religion, materialism, and society as a whole. “I did LSD and peyote in the late ’60s, before I got into cocaine. And those drugs served their purpose. They helped me open up. You know, if drugs do anything at all, they should be self-limiting. They should tell you when you’ve had enough. LSD and peyote were that for me.”
