LSD, Isolation Tanks, and Talking Dolphins, OH MY

Welcome back to The Drop In, DoubleBlind’s newsletter serving up news, culture, and independent journalism about psychedelics straight to your inbox.

Today’s freshly reported stories — that you’ll only find in The Drop In — are about a new film diving into John C. Lilly’s experiments with LSD, dolphins, and sensory deprivation tanks, plus a deeper look at Iceland’s psychedelics movement. If you keep scrolling, you’ll also find stories about sacred geometry, the best way to grind your mushrooms, and what to expect when working with Kambo.

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Mary Carreón
Senior Editor

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New Film About John C. Lilly’s Work with LSD, Dolphins, and Isolation Tanks

We talk to the directors about bringing a neuroscientist’s controversial experiments to the big screen.

A new film premiering at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) showcases the life and work of John C. Lilly, the neuroscientist, inventor, and psychonaut who pushed the boundaries of human consciousness. John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office, directed by Michael Almereyda and Courtney Stephens and narrated by Chloë Sevigny, explores his unorthodox experiments with dolphins, LSD, and isolation tanks (which he also invented; more on that in a moment) in his quest to communicate with other species, including extraterrestrials.

“I became aware of John Lilly in college, his books on psychedelics circulated in Bay Area book shops,” director Courtney Stephens tells DoubleBlind. “Lilly circulated through so many realms [in society]— leaving a mark on each, for better or worse, that it seemed that to undertake a portrait of his life was to undertake a portrait of late 20th-century American cultural tides. Weaving a thread through it all, from Cold War science to the birth of the new age, seemed like an interesting challenge.”

In 1954, Lilly developed the first sensory deprivation tank and discovered that floating for long periods of time could induce a multiplicity of altered states of consciousness, ranging from “waking dreams to out-of-body experiences to encounters with alternate dimensions.” After spending extended time floating, he wondered about the kinds of creatures that floated 24 hours a day, which propelled him into his infamous dolphin research.

His research center in the Virgin Islands, known as the Dolphin House, attempted to teach dolphins English. But as his experiments grew increasingly unconventional —incorporating LSD and, eventually, his belief in the existence of a hierarchical group of cosmic entities, which he referred to as the “Earth Coincidence Control Office (E.C.C.O.)” — controversy overshadowed his work.

“Scientists we spoke to [for the film] talked about how Lilly was both a gift and a curse to marine mammal science,” Stephens tells us. “For decades afterward, researchers had to distance themselves from his methodologies, or his more naive ambitions (like teaching dolphins English). On the other hand, it was Lilly’s early books like Man and Dolphin and The Mind of the Dolphin that got many of these scientists interested in the first place and got the public to begin thinking and dreaming about the inner lives of these animals.”

Stephens tells us that the film traces a direct line between Lilly’s lab and the release of the critical 1970 record Sounds of the Humpback Whale, which helped to kickstart the “Save the Whales” movement. “The most beautiful dimension of Lilly’s legacy is [his] way of thinking about dolphins as fellow travelers on this planet.”

While Lilly’s work became increasingly fringe, Lilly’s influence has endured. His studies inspired films like Altered States and the game Ecco the Dolphin, and his advocacy contributed to the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.

Stephens tells us that the journey of making the film was marked by many uncanny synchronicities — something Lilly, who saw coincidences as cosmic signals, would have appreciated. “There was a feeling of being onto something, that one thing led to another, and all roads led back to Lilly.”

The film makes its U.S. premiere on February 25, 2025, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, with screenings at the True/False Film Festival in Missouri to follow. “Michael [Almereyda] and I will be there on the night of the 25th for a Q&A,” Stephens says. “Beyond that, stay tuned!”

Psychedelics As Medicine Conference Is Bringing the Revolution to Iceland

We caught up with the event founders to discuss the gathering in Reykjavík aiming to bridge ancient wisdom with cutting-edge science.

The Psychedelics As Medicine conference returns to Reykjavík, Iceland, on February 27 and 28, 2025, bringing together researchers, Indigenous leaders, and mental health professionals to explore psychedelics' role in mental health, science, and medicine. As these substances move from underground movements to mainstream medicine, Iceland is positioning itself to become a key player in the global conversation.

“Since its inaugural event in 2023, the Psychedelics As Medicine conference has grown exponentially,” Silja Björk, co-founder of the event, tells DoubleBlind. “At its core, the conference focuses on research, science, and fostering a healthy discussion around psychedelics as medicine. More broadly, we aim to make Iceland a key gathering place for the psychedelic community, bridging Europe and the Americas.”

The counterculture movement of the ‘60s didn’t impact the psyches of Iclendic folks the way it did Westerners. Silja says that, as a result, the country doesn’t have a long-standing psychedelic culture. While the opioid crisis and other substance-related challenges persist, psychedelics have remained relatively underground and have only recently gained traction in Iceland.

“There isn’t really a long-lasting culture of raves or recreational psychedelics,” she says. “This renewed interest started making its way into the mainstream after the pandemic.”

But, psilocybin mushrooms, like liberty caps, grow naturally throughout Iceland. It’s also believed Vikings used Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) before battles.

“There has been speculation that Vikings used Amanita muscaria, or berserk mushrooms, to transform into a state of frenzy before battle,” Silja says. “In the Old Norse written corpus, berserkers were said to have fought in a trance-like fury. The belief is that the Vikings had this knowledge…[and it] inspires many Icelandic psychonauts today.”

This year’s conference features Indigenous wisdom keepers from the Amazon, including leaders from the Huni Kuin, to discuss sacred plant knowledge. By amplifying Indigenous voices and integrating their perspectives into scientific discussions, the event aims to foster a deeper understanding of both perspectives. 

Beyond lectures and panels, the 2025 conference will feature musical performances from Indigenous artists, representatives from Nordic psychedelic associations, and an expanded Academic and Association Day, where PhD students can present research and network with leading experts.

“[The event is] magical, scientific, transformative, and new,” Silja says. “It’s an opportunity to visit Iceland in winter and meet some of the most influential speakers in the psychedelic space. This event is about community. In today's political climate, we must stand together and work as a unified front for humanity's healing.”

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