“Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics”, The Key to a Bad Trip

Should filmmakers be turning the dangerous world of drugs and psychedelics into entertainment documentaries without addressing the harms of drug use? If you agree, then “Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics” is the documentary for you.

Released onto Netflix in 2020, this film explores the ups and downs of celebrities’ experiences with hallucinogenic drugs. 

While interesting, the documentary strays away from addressing the negative effects of drugs and almost promotes hallucinogens.

Celebrities from the documentary raved about how hallucinogenic drugs gave them life-changing experiences. Actor Nick Kroll said tripping is “super fun”. While musician Sting portrayed his experiences with hallucinogens as rewarding, humbling and enlightening. They also gave tips to potential drug users on how to prevent “bad trips”.

“Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics” fails to mention serious health consequences of taking these drugs. The film only slightly touches on how hallucinogens can make one feel paranoid or anxious. As the celebrities briefly talked about feeling paranoid or feeling like their bad drug trip would never end, but nothing else was mentioned about the harsh effects of drugs.

For instance, according to The National Institute on Drug Abuse, hallucinogenic users may acquire continuous mental health issues such as long-term paranoia, anxiety, speech problems and depression along with suicidal thoughts. In addition, according to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), in the U.S. alone were 5,000 emergency department visits related to LSD reactions in 2011. Most of this was never brought up in the documentary, creating the illusion that these drugs are not that harmful.

When addressing sensitive topics such as drugs to the public, people must be cautious about the message they are sending. The documentary should have included more accurate information about psychedelics and the harmful effects associated with it, rather than undermining the seriousness of the drug in a dangerous comedy.  

While this documentary advertises psychedelics as a surreal experience worth exploring, it neglects health problems caused by hallucinogenic drugs. Although it is okay to talk about people's positive experiences with drugs. However, there must be risks in disregarding the serious health issues associated with psychedelics and promoting drug use.