A certain amount of training beforehand doesn't hurt either. I'd been meditating for quite a while, and I'm no expert but I had a level of trust about what I could handle in terms of experience.
After the first couple of hours of my trip I introduced a lot of metal music and horror films to see exactly where it would go. There was nothing pleasant about that experience but I felt together enough to still observe it without being lost in it. However I couldn't consider deeply enough how horrifying it would be if you didn't have some sort of anchor inside of the experience.
Apologies for the throwaway, but I'd like to support your point. I'm generally quite reluctant with drugs and alcohol, however I recently experienced Truffles (the successor to mushrooms after the ban) in Amsterdam.
In combination with meditation I found the experience quite manageable, and unique in terms of the concepts I could explore and the insights into existing situations in my life.
I can see how recreational use can be quite damaging, but with the right intent and goals, deliberate application of psychedelics for troubleshooting and problem solving is something I'd happily explore again if it were more acceptable where I live.
After the first couple of hours of my trip I introduced a lot of metal music and horror films to see exactly where it would go. There was nothing pleasant about that experience but I felt together enough to still observe it without being lost in it. However I couldn't consider deeply enough how horrifying it would be if you didn't have some sort of anchor inside of the experience.