Michael Pollan
Author of How to Change Your Mind
Michael Pollan is an American journalist and author who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley. His books include The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food and How to Change Your Mind, a 2018 book on the science of psychedelics for which he tried LSD, psilocybin and ayahuasca with guides. He co-founded the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics.
Updated November 1, 2026 · 2 experiments
What Michael Pollan has tried
2 experiments we can source: 2 stopped. Trying something is not recommending it; each entry says which.
Stopped
AyahuascaDrugs
stopped 2018 · Does not recommend it to others
Drank ayahuasca, along with LSD and psilocybin, while researching How to Change Your Mind, and has not used psychedelics since finishing the book because they are illegal.
“I wish they were available legally to me and others”
UC Berkeley Library News, A trip of his own: Michael Pollan on writing and the power of psychedelics (February 2019) · Status checked February 26, 2019 · Suggest a correction
PsilocybinDrugs
stopped 2018 · Does not recommend it to others
Took psilocybin mushrooms, along with LSD and ayahuasca, with guides while researching How to Change Your Mind, and has not used psychedelics since finishing the book because they are illegal.
“It was very profound and memorable. And it’s indelible.”
UC Berkeley Library News, A trip of his own: Michael Pollan on writing and the power of psychedelics (February 2019) · Status checked February 26, 2019 · Suggest a correction