The Spirit Molecule

DMT is an unusual hallucinogen found naturally in the bodies of every living thing… but why?  What is its purpose?  Starting in the 1960s, scientists began trying to answer that very question, but ethic concerns and demonization of hallucinogens resulted in a halting of new research until the 1990s.  Psychiatrist Rick Strassman decided to take up the slack and renew research on DMT and its effects.  His qualitative results are presented in The Spirit Molecule—a PBS-esque documentary that seeks to reconcile the spiritual world with modern science through the stimulating effects of DMT.

What starts off as a scientifically relevant discussion quickly degrades into an all-out endorsement of recreational drug use.  There’s no denying that Strassman’s research was unusual; his basic methodology was to shoot people up with large doses of DMT based on their previous drug use.  The results are apparently a pure state of psychedelic bliss, and the talking heads in this documentary have nothing but great things to say about their tripped-out experiences.  Of course, having Joe Rogan as a host does little to add validity to the scientific nature of this work… but that doesn’t stop him from randomly popping in every ten or fifteen minutes.

Ultimately, The Spirit Molecule fails to come to any solid conclusions or insights.  Strassman wants us to consider that perhaps our brains are a tuner for parallel forms of spiritual existence… but of course there’s no possible way to ever prove such a notion.  Indeed, Strassman never even produces solid evidence to support his basic hypothesis: that as we approach death, the pineal gland produces its own DMT.  Solid, scientific facts are abandoned for wild speculation and over-the-top experiential storytelling.  Other than some pretty CG imagery, The Spirit Molecule seems devoid of interesting content.  I can’t help but think that Strassman’s ideas were too grand to fit into an 80-minute film—he does a poor job of articulating his ideas in this format.