Will Psychedelic Therapy Transform Mental Health Care?

In the mid-1950s, LSD and other psychedelic medicines swept the medical world - obviously. In the study at the time, it was shown that hallucinogens are effective against various mental health problems which are hard to treat, including alcohol abuse.

However, research stopped in the early 1970's because the LSD became a dangerous recreational drug and was reclassified as 'drug substance abuse' without medical value by the federal government.

New tests include not only LSD but also psilocybin (active compound of magic mushroom), MDMA (street name "ecstasy"), ayahuasca (South American beer including LSD, called DMT). . If we prove that these medicines are as safe and effective as recent research shows, we may be on the verge of what one calls the mental health revolution.

"Ken Yate, Director of Implementation and Partnership at the British Columbia State Materials Center, says: "Under carefully controlled conditions, psychedelic creates a miraculous and wonderful experience and connects with the" sacred area. " Tupper said. Please use. "Psychedelic drugs are not panacea drugs, but this research shows a lot of hope."

What can these medicines do? A single treatment with psilocicin has been shown to reduce severe anxiety in patients with advanced cancer. This drug has also been proven to be an effective treatment for substance use disorders. MDMA can provide valuable assistance to people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

And there are more. Preliminary evidence suggests psychedelic drugs are effective in eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, and major depression - including cases not responding to conventional antidepressants

These medicines may also help smokers quit smoking, but this is a process that is often difficult with traditional methods.

So where do we practice today? What do we know, what can we prove with the use of hallucinogens as a therapy for mental health? According to the current LSD and clinical trials of human mental health checkups, people can only say two things. As can be seen from the table below, each human study shows great advantages, and various problems such as obsessive compulsive disorder and alcohol dependence have been studied. (With the exception of ipogain) has very few serious adverse effects and very important reactions in the most difficult field of mental health such as treatment of resistant depression and chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) There is.

We knew the possibility of mental health of psychedelic drug for a while ago. Previous studies have shown that people with psychosis using hallucinogens or other psychedelic drugs can reduce suicidal ideation and psychological distress. Another study, published in 2013, concludes that LSD has a "sustained" health benefit to mental health. However, in order to advance these potential treatments, we must overcome the psychedelic culture and its shame in the relationship between stone hippies and anti-traditional culture. Currently, as with cannabis studies, research on all kinds of illegal psychedelic drugs is often strongly resisted, rejected or tightly regulated, making scientists difficult to progress effectively.