Jaden Smith appears to be very close with his family. He made his film debut starring with his dad, Will Smith, in The Pursuit of Happyness (which can be watched with a Netflix subscription) and was on a mission to save his father in After Earth. While working on film projects together was one method of collaboration, the Smith family apparently does psychedelics together with the 24-year-old rapper/actor claiming it was his mother, Jada Pinkett Smith, who introduced the family to them.
Psychedelic drugs are substances that can change a person’s perceptions, mood, and cognitive functions. They can also cause you to see or hear things that aren’t there and make your world appear very distorted. As reported by USA Today, Jaden Smith spoke at the Psychedelic Science Conference in Denver about how he and his family were introduced to these psychedelic drugs, saying:
I think it was my mom, actually, that was really the first one to make that step for the family. It was just her for a really, really long time and then eventually it just trickled and evolved and everybody found it in their own ways.
According to E! Online, Jada Pinkett Smith shared that she started using psychedelics (particularly plant medicine) a decade ago to treat her depression. She felt like the substances helped her feel better, and she gained a new perspective on why she sensed the need to take them in the first place.
In the past, Pinkett Smith has been open about using drugs. On an episode of Red Table Talk, the Girls Trip actress spoke of how she passed out on ecstasy on the set of The Nutty Professor, and went on to explain that that was the last time she went to work like that.
Just like Will Smith released his memoir Will over a year ago, his wife will be following suit soon. While being interviewed by People, the Hawthorne actress announced her upcoming memoir Worthy (expected to be released on October 17). During that interview, she was asked about her son’s statement about her introducing psychedelics to her family. While Pinkett Smith didn’t confirm or deny this piece of information, she had a response of her own that followed:
It all gets answered in the book.
While we'll hear Jada's story later this year. The Life in a Year actor spoke more in detail at the conference about how psychedelics have helped him in terms of getting along with his siblings, 30-year-old half-brother Trey and 22-year-old sister Willow. He said that he and his siblings have argued a lot over the years, but taking these substances has promoted “the level of love and empathy that I can feel for them [...] that's profound and beautiful.”
According to, many psychedelics like psilocybin, ayahuasca, LSD, and mescaline have been said to increase emotional empathy since they’ve been proven to boost open-minded thinking, per USA Today. Smith continued saying he felt these substances have helped him make room for how to work out arguments until the problem is gone. Celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Chelsea Handler, and Megan Fox have pushed for these substances to have a mainstream audience.
However, researchers would like to point out that more studies need to be done about the long-term effects psychedelics can have on a person, and that they’re not quick fixes to all problems. It’s also important to point out that these groups of substances are mostly illegal with a handful of states having legalized or decriminalized them. Potential harms of psychedelics can include psychosis, memory impairments, sleep problems, and short-term depression.
Jada Pinkett Smith reportedly introduced her son, Jaden, and the rest of the family to psychedelic drugs who have found real benefits in using them. But, it’s vital to note that professionals like Dr. Alex Dimitriu believe that while psychedelics can be beneficial to some, it doesn’t mean they’re good for everyone or should have recreational use.
