'Love is all' says the song. From the Christian tenet 'God is love' to the narrative thread of countless novels and films, love is seen as central to our lives. Yet from scientific studies along with anecdotal accounts we know that psychoactive substances and MDMA in particular can enhance and in some cases induce intense feelings of love. If love can be hacked by a change in brain chemistry, might our romanticised idea of love itself be the distortion?
Should we use drugs to encourage, initiate and repair relationships as some therapists advocate? Or are such experiences false, damaging, and potentially socially dangerous? Is love a product of brain chemistry, or, is it something deeper that a drug could never replicate?