Welcome to our guide to the best documentaries about psychedelics. Here are some of the most interesting, informative and thought-provoking films about these powerful and controversial substances.
From their roots in indigenous cultures to their use in modern therapy, psychedelics have long fascinated people. They have been hailed as tools for personal and spiritual growth, and as sources of inspiration for art and culture, but their history is complex and often controversial.
Whether you're a seasoned psychonaut or simply curious, each documentary below comes with a short summary and a link to watch the trailer or the film on YouTube. Looking for more? Our guide to music festival documentaries covers the parties, the music and the culture around them.
Documentaries about psychedelics
Dosed (2019)
Psilocybin and ibogaA Vancouver filmmaker's friend, Adria, turns to psychedelics to beat her depression, anxiety and opioid addiction after years of failed treatments. Using underground therapists, she tries psilocybin mushrooms and iboga.
The film follows her healing journey and includes interviews with researchers and clinicians about the potential of psychedelic therapy.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
Journeys to the Edge of Consciousness (2019)
ConsciousnessRob Harper's part-animated documentary explores how psychedelics are used for spiritual and personal growth, from indigenous healing to modern therapy.
It features people from around the world and asks what these experiences can tell us about consciousness and the mind.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
DMT: The Spirit Molecule (2010)
DMTBased on psychiatrist Dr Rick Strassman's book, this film looks at the powerful psychedelic DMT and his clinical research on its effects on human consciousness in the 1990s.
It combines science, spirituality and accounts of people who have taken DMT, including encounters with otherworldly beings.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
AYA: Awakenings (2014)
AyahuascaA Western journalist travels to Peru to drink ayahuasca, the brew used in traditional healing in the Amazon. The film is based on co-director Rak Razam's memoir.
It features indigenous shamans, modern practitioners and people who describe how their experiences changed their lives.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
The Sunshine Makers (2015)
LSDThe story of Nicholas Sand and Tim Scully, two men who produced and distributed millions of doses of LSD in the 1960s. They were part of the “hippie mafia” and believed LSD could change the world.
Interviews and archival footage give a glimpse of the underground world of LSD production and the consequences that followed.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
Dirty Pictures (2010)
Psychedelic chemistryA portrait of Dr Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, the chemist known for his groundbreaking work on psychoactive compounds. It follows his career from Dow Chemical to the synthesis and study of new substances.
Interviews with Shulgin and his wife Ann also cover the DEA's attempts to regulate the compounds he created.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
Hamilton's Pharmacopeia (2016)
Drugs and chemistryIn this docuseries, Hamilton Morris, son of Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris, explores the history, chemistry and social impact of some of the world's most unusual drugs.
He travels to where the drugs are used, including South Africa, where he looks at quaaludes, to find out what happens to the people who use them.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
From Shock to Awe (2018)
PTSD and psychedelicsDirected by Luc Côté, this raw film follows two combat veterans with severe trauma, Matt Kahl and Mike Cooley, as they turn from pharmaceuticals to psychedelics for relief.
It also raises bigger questions about war, the pharmaceutical industry and the US legal system.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
Hallucinogen Honey Hunters (2011)
Hallucinogenic honeyIn Nepal, the Gurung people hunt a special honey from high cliffs. The honey is known for its hallucinogenic potency and is used both recreationally and as medicine.
This short French documentary by Raphael Treza watches the dangerous hunt and the culture around it.
Watch: Watch the film on YouTube
The Substance: Albert Hofmann's LSD (2011)
LSDThis Swiss documentary follows Albert Hofmann, the chemist who discovered LSD in 1943 while working on a medicine for migraines.
Archival footage and interviews trace LSD's journey from a therapeutic tool in the 1950s and 60s to its role in the counterculture and its later ban.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
Fantastic Fungi (2019)
MushroomsDirected by Louie Schwartzberg and narrated by Brie Larson, this visually stunning film explores the world of fungi and how they shape life on Earth.
Scientists, environmentalists and spiritual leaders explain their role in ecosystems, and how psilocybin mushrooms have been used for spiritual and therapeutic purposes.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
Neurons to Nirvana (2013)
Therapy and scienceCanadian filmmaker Oliver Hockenhull examines the evidence for the therapeutic benefits of five powerful substances: LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, ayahuasca and cannabis.
The film's marketing and distribution were crowdfunded through a Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $35,000.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
A New Understanding: The Science of Psilocybin (2015)
PsilocybinThis film follows the research of Dr Stephen Ross at New York University, who studies psilocybin, the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms”, for treatment-resistant depression and end-of-life anxiety.
It features Dr Ross, other researchers and people who took part in the studies.
The Last Shaman (2016)
AyahuascaDirected by Raz Degan and executive-produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, the film follows James Freeman, a young American who travels to Peru to treat his depression after other treatments failed.
In Iquitos, he meets indigenous healers who use ayahuasca, and the film also asks hard questions about Western seekers travelling for traditional cures.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
Icaros: A Vision (2016)
AyahuascaStrictly a narrative film rather than a documentary, Icaros follows Angelina, an American woman seeking healing in the Peruvian Amazon. Actors were filmed taking part in real ayahuasca ceremonies alongside local people.
It's a visually striking meditation on nature, indigenous wisdom and healing.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
Ayahuasca: Vine of the Soul (2010)
AyahuascaThis film explores the shamanic use of ayahuasca in the Amazon rainforest. It follows several people, including a shaman and a medical doctor, as they try the plant medicine for themselves.
It covers the history and cultural significance of ayahuasca, its growing popularity among Westerners, and the risks and the importance of preparation and integration.
Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within (2017)
EntheogensThis film looks at psychedelic substances such as ayahuasca, psilocybin mushrooms and peyote as tools for spiritual and personal growth.
Experts and people who have used entheogens discuss their history, from indigenous cultures to modern interest in their therapeutic potential.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
Shamans of the Amazon (2001)
AyahuascaAustralian filmmaker Dean Jefferys travels to Ecuador with his partner and young daughter to meet two shamans and take part in ayahuasca ceremonies. It was one of the first films made about ayahuasca.
Terence McKenna narrates, and Dr Rick Strassman also appears.
Watch: Watch the film on YouTube
Psychonautics: A Comic's Exploration of Psychedelics (2018)
Psychedelics and comedyStand-up comedian Shane Mauss, who loves science, takes a funny and informative look at the mystery, stigma and medical potential of psychedelics.
The film makes the case for more scientific research, and for moderation.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
Terence McKenna's True Hallucinations (2016)
Terence McKennaAn experimental documentary about Terence McKenna's adventure into the Amazon basin and the ideas that came from it.
Those ideas led to his theory of time and a lifetime spent thinking about the power and meaning of psychedelics.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
The Reality of Truth (2016)
SpiritualityLed by “Zappy” Zapolin, this controversial film looks at the relationship between spirituality, religion and psychedelics.
It includes interviews with spiritual teachers, celebrities and people of many faiths about their experiences of transcendence.
Watch: Watch the trailer on YouTube
Ibogaine: Rite of Passage (2004)
Addiction treatmentThis documentary looks at the controversial use of ibogaine to treat drug addiction, following several people who are seeking a new approach to recovery.
Researchers, doctors and former addicts explain its promise and its risks.
Peyote to LSD: A Psychedelic Odyssey (2008)
Psychedelic historyPlant explorer Richard Evans Schultes was a real-life Indiana Jones whose discoveries of hallucinogenic plants laid the foundation for the psychedelic sixties.
In this two-hour History Channel special, his former student Wade Davis follows in his footsteps, from Canada to the Amazon, witnessing rarely seen native ceremonies.
