I think about this stuff a lot. The Spell of the Sensuous, a book by David Abram, popped into my head when I was reading this. He explores the role of shamans in society, he sees them as being able to bring the messages of "the other worlds" back to everyone, so they are messengers. Abrams

delves into the philosophy of phenomenologists Edmund Husserl and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who replaced the conventional view of a single, wholly determinable reality with a fluid picture of the mind/body as a participatory organism that reciprocally interacts with its surroundings.

Also, the term "controlled substance" comes to mind here.. which I am sure you know... but the pharma shit is controlled, and it controls.... because these addictive pills conveniently sell themselves. plus they keep us disconnected ... I've been saved by pharmaceuticals before too though so I am not knocking it either. I just feel passionate about this topic. I think of artists, creatives, weirdos of all sorts, anyone who is able to exist or commune outside the "mainstream" has this kind of role to play, communicating whats "invisible", sharing the broader scope, meaning, and fluidity of experience.