Chemical Knowledge Research

Chemical Knowledge Research is a project developed in collaboration with the ChemicalYouth research group at the University of Amsterdam. The research focuses on how knowledge about psychoactive substances is produced, structured, and circulated on Wikipedia. While the platform is based on the principle of open knowledge, its content is largely shaped by a relatively small group of contributors and by editorial policies that privilege formal scientific sources.

The project investigates how these dynamics affect the representation of substances that sit at the margins of biomedical knowledge, such as LSD, Ayahuasca, and a wide range of designer drugs. These substances are often documented through grey literature and informal research practices, raising questions about how knowledge is established, validated, and made visible.