Category Archives: Psychedelics

Ayahuasca art Photo Credit: Pinterest

The criminalization of people who use psychedelics is rooted in myths that are the vestiges ofcolonialismand thedrug war and, one by one, those myths are crumbling down.

Weve learned in recent years that people who use psychedelics are significantly *less* likely to end up developingmental health problems,perpetrating domestic violence, or suffering frompsychological distress and suicidal thinking.

Meanwhile,recent researchhas shown that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy can be an effective treatment for people struggling with difficult-to-treat conditions such as substance use disorders. Not much has been known, though, about the connection between psychedelic use and substance misuse in the general population.

Now, anew studypublished in theJournal of Psychopharmacologyhas found that experiences with psychedelics likeLSDandpsilocybin mushroomsare associated with decreased risk of opioid abuse and dependence among respondents with a history of illegal opioid use. Psychedelic use is associated with 27% reduced risk of past-year opioid dependence and 40% reduced risk of past-year opioid abuse. Other thanmarijuanause, which was associated with 55% reduced risk of past-year opioid abuse, no other illegal drug was associated with reduced risk of past-year opioid dependence or abuse.

The study is based on six years of data from the federal governmentsNational Survey on Drug Use and Health(NSDUH), which surveys 70,000 people each year. While the findings are far from causal, the authors conclude that the associations between psychedelic use and opioid misuse are pervasive and significant and suggest that psychedelics are associated with positive psychological characteristics and are consistent with prior reports suggesting efficacy in treatment of substance use disorders.

Although more research is needed to determine exactly why theres such a strong correlation between psychedelic use and decreased risk of opioid misuse, this study does appear to validate the experiences of many people who have found substances likeibogaine,marijuanaorkratomto be life-changing tools that have helped them lead happier, more fulfilling lives. For many, these substances have helped them cut back or quit their use of opioids or other substances with which theyve had a problematic relationship. Safe access to these substances along with911 Good Samaritan laws,naloxone accessprograms,supervised injection facilities, various forms ofmaintenance therapy, and, of course,ending the criminalization of drug use should be part of the discussion when it comes to dealing with addiction andskyrocketing rates of overdose deaths.

And lets not forget our commander-in-chief isramping up the drug warand thinks he can deal with opioid addiction by building a giant wall anddeporting millions of people, both documented and undocumented. Lets remember, too, that thousands of people are getting handcuffed, arrested, branded as criminals, and serving time behind bars every year simply for using or possessing a psychedelic substance in the U.S. and these people are more likely to be young, non-white, and socioeconomically marginalized than most people who use psychedelics.

While psychedelic-assisted therapy could be approved by the FDA in the next decade, that would do nothing to change the criminal penalties faced by millions of people who use psychedelics outside of government-sanctioned, medically-supervised settings. Thats why its incumbent upon people who care about psychedelics to advocate for reducing the criminalization of people who use them outside of medical contexts, while also advocating for psychedelic-assisted therapy research.

Given the widespreadscientific consensusthat drug use and addiction are best treated as health issues,theres no good reason for people who use psychedelics to be treated as criminals especially considering how much we already know aboutprohibitions discriminatory impact on people of color and other marginalized groups.

This study also forces us to reflect on why abstinence-only policies can be so harmful and counterproductive. Contrary to conventional wisdom,federal government datahas consistently shown that the vast majority of people who use opioids, including heroin,dont end up developing an addiction. So our focus should be not just on preventing people from using opioids after all, they can be essential medical tools but also ensuring, above all else, that people who use them dont go on to struggle with addiction.

A truly health-centered approach to drug addiction assesses improvement by many measures, not simply by someones drug use level, but also by their overall health, their social relationships, and their general well-being. Determining success by boiling it down to the single measure of abstinence to an arbitrary group of certain drugs isnt realistic or effective.

Addiction is a complex phenomenon, but I think its safe to say that it can only be genuinely resolved when people find meaning in their lives. This study is yet another indication that the meaning people seem to find from psychedelics has considerable implications for our prevailing healthcare and addiction treatment paradigms.

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Psychedelics Help Reduce Opioid Addiction, According to New Study - AlterNet

On his latest album as Strand of Oaks, Timothy Showalter embraces the highest and lowest points of his life with equal joy. Maclay Heriot/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

On his latest album as Strand of Oaks, Timothy Showalter embraces the highest and lowest points of his life with equal joy.

Timothy Showalter is a tough-looking guy with a beard, tattoos and a flat Midwestern accent, who's pretty open about taking drugs. He thinks a lot about where life is taking him.

"I read somewhere that the idea of joy, and to live a joyful life, is different than living a happy life," he tells NPR's Steve Inskeep. "Happiness is fleeting. Happiness is something that you're always going to reach for but you're never gonna quite get or be satisfied with."

For Showalter, who performs music under the name Strand of Oaks, "joy" is being fully engaged in life, whether it goes well or badly. His new album, Hard Love, deals with some of the highest and lowest points of his own life.

In the case of the song "Taking Acid and Talking to My Brother," Showalter says, he was reflecting on the lows: Two years ago, his younger brother John was stricken with cardiomyopathy, a disease affecting the heart's muscle tissue.

"When he was having dinner with my parents in Indiana, his heart completely stopped," he says. "My dad revived him to a certain point until the ambulance came, and they induced a coma. So I flew home and proceeded to sit with my family by my brother's hospital bed."

Within two weeks, Showalter's brother had made a miraculous recovery. But the suspense he experienced in the intervening time was consuming and the strain it put on him inspired the song's title.

"It has nothing to do with taking acid. Strangely, it's the only song on the record that may not have to do with stereotypical psychedelic experience," he says. "The reason why I called it 'Taking Acid' is because it's more psychedelic than any drug could ever give when you're put in a position of not being in any control, and knowing that you have absolutely no way to help.

"I remember my little brother's cell phone was still on [while he recovered]," Showalter adds. "I didn't read them, but occasionally he would get text messages from my dad saying that he loved him. ... That's this record! That's the idea of what hard love is. You have as high as it gets and as low as it gets."

Excerpt from:

When Reality Is More Intense Than Psychedelics: Strand Of Oaks On 'Hard Love' - NPR

No longer is the psychedelic revolution represented by tie dye shirts and free loving spirits. Psychedelic activism has been on the minds of many people since its boom in the 1960s; however, now more than ever, people are stepping up and really studying the possibilities that these drugs may actually be used as medicines. This can most notably be seen with the growing acceptance of medical marijuana in our culture.That being said, it is going to be a lot more difficult for the public to understand psychedelics medicinal role.

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is a non-profit research and group that both advocate and do research on psychedelic substances and their potential to be used in psychotherapy. The work being done by MAPS has inspired groups all over the country to join in on the fight for psychedelics and they have worked very closely with some of the groups in the Denver and Boulder Area.Founded in 1986, the organization has come a substantially long way in its research and they are now working with several different human studies to look at the effective combination of psychedelic drugs and psychotherapy. NowMAPS has psychotherapy assisted studies with medical marijuana, LSD, Ibogaine, Ayuascha and MDMA.The major medical applications for these substances include helping treat illnesses like PTSD, cluster headaches, severe anxiety and depression.

PBS recently released a news piece entitled, Why psychedelic drugs are having a medical renaissance. The piece examines the recent work being done between psychedelics and psychotherapy to help treat extreme anxiety and PTSD. One study examined in the article found people with sever anxiety or depression were 60 to 80 percent felt better immediately after the experience and for as long as six months after.

So with all of this new research being done, who are the psychedelic activist in our community? Organizations like Medicinal Mindfulness and Psychedelic Club both take on similar missions as MAPS and work tirelessly for the avocation and possible regulation of psychedelic medicines. The goal isto break the stigma that has been placed around these substances and open engaging conversations about their safe use. Medicinal Mindfulness is very active within the Boulder community and holds many different workshops and events.

Dennis McKenna speaking at the Psychedelic Shine event in Boulder on Feb, 2017.

One of the most interesting of these workshops isa community breath work event called Conscious Cannabis Circles. Not only are they helping spread accurate information to the community, but they are also working within the community to facilitate actual psychedelic experiences. Using a combination of cannabis satvia, some skillful breath work, the correct set and setting, and the help of their cannabis facilitators, Medicinal Mindfulness cites that it can create a Dmt-like experience for participants who sign up for their Conscious Cannabis events. Everything is completely legal under Colorados state laws and this not only can be done at their community events, but also at your own personal home at request.

Not only do they facilitate these actual psychedelic experiences, but Medicinal Mindfulness also hosts a huge informational conference on psychedelics. Co-hosted by Psychedelic Club, the extremely informational event was called Psychedelic Shine, a live speaker event that took place on February 12, 2017. The all-day event included live music, art vendors, psychedelic book vendors, anda lecture by legendary psychedelic activist Dennis Mckenna. The night ended with a powerful live community breathwork session. The conference as a whole was an awesome display of great information being spread to an interested and engaged crowd of nearly 500 people.

Prior to the event, 303 had the opportunity to speak with Daniel McQueen, the Executive Director of Medicinal Mindfulness and a psychedelic cannabis facilitator in Boulder. Speaking on why he chose Boulder as a home base for his organization, McQueen said, I got my degree fromNaropa Universityso thats why I moved here. But Colorado in general is awesome, its legal with retail cannabis, so Colorado [is]a great place for us to do our work.

Speaking bit more on the subject of Cannabis, McQueen was quick to acknowledge the subtle gap between cannabis culture and psychedelic culture. Bridging that gap from the recreational cannabis user, to the person who uses cannabis for psychedelic purposes is a huge in shifting the community perception. McQueen believes people have deep healing experiences on cannabis and is working tirelessly to help introduce this idea to the Boulder community. He cites the recent legalization of cannabis has a catalyst for opening up peoples minds to other possibilities with cannabis and helping bridge the gap towards other psychedelic medicines. Since starting Psychedelics Shine and promoting local psychedelic culture, the community has grown immensely over the years and is continuing to spread.

Founder of Medicinal Mindfulness, Daniel McQueen, speaking at the Psychedelic Shine in Boulder.

The Psychedelic Club of Denverwas founded in July of 2016 but has been a national organization for much longer than that. The Denver chapter is a growing group of activists within the 303 area, but there is also an even larger branch in Boulder. Speaking with a few of the founders of the Psychedelic club of Denver, they all agreed events like Psychedelic Shinewill help aid in Psychedelic clubs ultimate mission. Founder Tyler Williams explained their mission, stating it is to to raise awareness about the truth of psychedelics as well as create a safe space for everyone to integrate their experiences. A couple specific goals would be to create criminal justice reform, creating a community around the discussion of psychedelics, and spreading more info on harm reduction.

This event was a fantastic example of the scholarly event that can characterize this new psychedelic revolution. Instead of raving hippies dancing about and screaming of revolution, these are scientists and intellectuals working on the due diligence required to help bring about lastingchange. With all of this new information being foundand more people than ever actually doing research with these medicines, the time may be closer than ever for a true psychedelic revolution.

The momentum is on the side of the activist, its now up to science to continue on helping prove that these substances are not only safe to use, but also can be a great aid in helping fight a number of emotional and psychological ailments.

Photography by Meg ONeill.

Dennis McKenna speaking at the Psychedelic Shine event in Boulder on Feb 12, 2017.

303 MagazineBoulderBoulder Theatercannabis healingconscious cannabis circlesDaniel MCQueenDennis MckennaIbogaineJosh CowdenlsdmapsMDMAMedcinal MindfulnessPsychedelic clubPsychedelic ShinepsychotherapyPTSD treatment

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A Revolution in the Science of Psychedelics and Treating PTSD - 303 Magazine

Posted on February 16, 2017 | 9:00 a.m.

Psychologist and psychedelic explorer James Fadiman will discuss New Paradigms and New Tools for the Mind at the Feb. 27 Mind & Supermind lecture presented by SBCC Center for Lifelong Learning (CLL).

Fadiman will talk about new ways in which the mind can be expanded through different interpretations of the human psyche and current studies using micro-dosing psychedelic substances.

Fadimans work has been referenced in national and international press including The New York Times, NPR, UK, Rolling Stone, Marie Claire, Associated Press, Inc., and The New Yorker. The CLL Mind & Supermind series has been one of our most popular community events for 35 years, said Andy Harper, CLL executive director.

We look forward to Dr. Fadimans lecture to expand our students awareness and knowledge of psychedelic research and transpersonal psychology, he said. Fadiman will explore two emerging understandings. The first displaces the old single-self assumption and suggests a healthy personality is actually composed of multiple selves. The second displaces the idea that effects of psychedelics can be disturbing and overwhelming.

The approach of using micro-doses allows researchers to discover unanticipated beneficial uses of psychedelics including healing depression, anxiety and menstrual pain, as well as enhancing learning and creativity. Fadiman did his undergraduate work at Harvard University and his graduate work at Stanford, doing research with the Harvard Group, the West Coast Research Group in Menlo Park, and Ken Kesey.

A former president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and a professor of psychology, he teaches at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (now Sofia University), which he helped found in 1975. He is the author of several books and textbooks.

Flannery Hill for the Center for Lifelong Learning.

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Mind, Supermind Series Features Psychedelic Explorer - Noozhawk

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

It may seem like a doomed attempt to mix business and pleasure. But a growing number of young professionals in Silicon Valley insist that taking small doses of psychedelic drugs simply makes them perform better at workbecoming more creative and focused. The practice, known as microdosing, involves taking minute quantities of drugs such as LSD, psilocybin (magic mushrooms) or mescaline (found in the Peyote cactus) every few days.

LSD is the most well-known psychedelic drug since its popularity in the heyday of 1960s counterculture. But perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Silicon Valley also has a long history of psychedelic drug use to boost creativity: technology stars Steve Jobs and Bill Gates both famously experimented with LSD.

At high doses, LSD powerfully alters perception, mood and a host of cognitive processes. LSD now appears to be one of the more commonly microdosed drugs. A microdose of LSD consists of about a tenth of a recreational dose (usually 10-20 micrograms), thatis usually not potent enough to cause hallucinations. Instead, it is reported to heighten alertness, energy and creativity.

Microdosing LSD also purportedly enhances overall wellbeing, helping to reduce stress and anxiety while improving sleep and leading to healthier habits. Although a widely reported phenomenon in the media, the lack of scientific studies on microdosing makes the prevalence near impossible to estimate. Reports suggest that what started off as an underground practice in Silicon Valley may be spreading rapidly to other workplaces.

It is currently unknown how such low doses of psychedelics act in the brain to produce these intriguing self-reported effects on creativity. Like all classic hallucinogens, LSD produces its potent mind-altering effects primarily by mimicking the effects of the brain chemical serotonin, thatregulates our mood. In particular, LSD activates 5-HT2A receptors in the pre-frontal cortex, thatincreases activity of the chemical glutamate in this region. Glutamate enables signals to be transmitted between nerve cells, and plays a role in learning and memory.

In humans, two distinct effects of recreational doses of LSD have been reported. Initially, people experience psychedelic and positive feelings of euphoria. This may be followed by a later phase characterized by paranoia or even a psychotic-like state. LSD at low doses may produce mood elevation and creativity, mediated by the serotonin-mimicking effects. Actions on both glutamate and serotonin may also act to improve learning and cognitive flexibility, necessary for creativity, in the workplace. These findings could partly help to explain the microdosing phenomenon.

Clinical research with psychedelics is currently undergoing a major revival after having been brought to a halt in the 1960s. One of the benefits of conducting research into psychedelics is their potential to help deepen our understanding of consciousness. In 2016, researchers from Imperial College London were the first to use brain scanning techniques to visualize how LSD alters the way the brain works. One key finding was that LSD had a disorganising influence on cortical activity, thatpermitted the brain to operate in a freer, less constrained manner than usual.

The results suggested that psychedelics increase communication between parts of the brain that are less likely to communicate with one another, and decrease communication between areas that frequently do. This likely underlies the profound altered state of consciousness that people often describe during an LSD experience. It is also related to what people sometimes call ego-dissolution,in which the normal sense of self is broken down. People instead often report a sense of reconnection with themselves, others and the natural world.

The discovery that LSD and other psychedelic drugs induce a flexible state of mind may explain their reported extraordinary therapeutic benefits. For example, psilocybin has shown benefits in the treatment of tobacco and alcohol addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder and treatment-resistant major depression.

In a small pilot study, LSD in combination with psychological therapy also led to a slight improvement in anxiety experienced by terminally ill cancer patients. Many of these psychiatric disorders are characterized by inflexible, habitual patterns of brain activity. By introducing a disordered state of mind, LSD and other psychedelics may help to break these inflexible patterns.

Similarly, the unconstrained brain state induced by psychedelics may also help explain the reported increases in creativity. From the late 1950s until the early 1970s, a whole host of studies sought to determine if classic psychedelics could be useful for enhancing creativity. In the most notable of these studies, researchers found that LSD and mescaline could aid in creative problem-solving when used in carefully controlled settings.

However, while these studies do provide some insight, they are mere anecdotal by modern research standards (they were not double blind or placebo-controlled). A more recent study found that use of classic psychedelics was robustly associated with greater creative problem-solving ability. Enhancing creativity has many potential applications in society. For example, it could be both used by commercial industry including advertising and in clinical settings, such as helping patients with autism.

Yet before rushing off to take hits of acid in the hopes of boosting our creativity at work, it should be remembered that microdosing with an illegal, unregulated drug is of course fraught with risks. Possession may get you put behind bars. Manufacture and supply of illegal drugs are not subject to rigorous regulatory controls. That means users can never be sure of what they are getting.

This makes determining the dose problematic. Those who microdose incorrectly risk having unwanted, full-blown trips or even experience unpleasant trips. There are even some reports of psychosis-like symptoms in certain vulnerable individuals who use LSD recreationally. However two recent U.S. population surveys found no link between using psychedelics and mental health conditions.

In an increasingly competitive world it is tempting to find a quick fix to help us achieve more, better and faster. Yet, is this right? As a society we should consider the reasons as to why healthy people choose to use drugs in the first place. A reliance on cognitive-enhancing technologies to cope with demanding working conditions may ultimately reduce the health and well-being of individuals. So we must take care to ensure that enhancement is not seen as a substitute for a healthy working environment.

It is therefore important that more research is done on the safety and efficacy of microdosing. In the meantime, physical exercise, education, social interaction, mindfulness and good quality sleep have all been shown to improve cognitive performance and overall well-being.

Barbara Sahakianisprofessor of clinical neuropsychology,Camilla d'Angeloisresearch assistant in psychiatry and George Savulich, is research associate in psychiatry at theUniversity of Cambridge.

See the article here:

Is Silicon Valley Onto Something With Its LSD Microdosing? - Newsweek

February 14, 2017 by Barbara Sahakian, Camilla D'angelo And George Savulich, The Conversation Monday, 6am. Time for a sliver of this? Credit: Psychonaught/wikipedia

It may seem like a doomed attempt to mix business and pleasure. But a growing number of young professionals in Silicon Valley insist that taking small doses of psychedelic drugs simply makes them perform better at work becoming more creative and focused. The practice, known as "microdosing", involves taking minute quantities of drugs such as LSD, psilocybin (magic mushrooms) or mescaline (found in the Peyote cactus) every few days.

LSD is the most well-known psychedelic drug since its popularity in the heyday of 1960s counterculture. But perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Silicon Valley also has a long history of psychedelic drug use to boost creativity: technology stars Steve Jobs and Bill Gates both famously experimented with LSD.

At high doses, LSD powerfully alters perception, mood and a host of cognitive processes. LSD now appears to be one of the more commonly microdosed drugs. A microdose of LSD consists of about a tenth of a recreational dose (usually 10-20 micrograms), which is usually not potent enough to cause hallucinations. Instead, it is reported to heighten alertness, energy and creativity.

Microdosing LSD also purportedly enhances overall well-being, helping to reduce stress and anxiety while improving sleep and leading to healthier habits. Although a widely reported phenomenon in the media, the lack of scientific studies on microdosing makes the prevalence near impossible to estimate. Reports suggest that what started off as an underground practice in Silicon Valley may be spreading rapidly to other workplaces.

It is currently unknown how such low doses of psychedelics act in the brain to produce these intriguing self-reported effects on creativity. Like all classic hallucinogens, LSD produces its potent mind-altering effects primarily by mimicking the effects of the brain chemical serotonin, which regulates our mood. In particular, LSD activates 5-HT2A receptors in the pre-frontal cortex, which increases activity of the chemical glutamate in this region. Glutamate enables signals to be transmitted between nerve cells, and plays a role in learning and memory.

In humans, two distinct effects of recreational doses of LSD have been reported. Initially, people experience psychedelic and positive feelings of euphoria. This may be followed by a later phase characterised by paranoia or even a psychotic-like state. LSD at low doses may produce mood elevation and creativity, mediated by the serotonin-mimicking effects. Actions on both glutamate and serotonin may also act to improve learning and cognitive flexibility , necessary for creativity, in the workplace. These findings could partly help to explain the microdosing phenomenon.

Clinical evidence

Clinical research with psychedelics is currently undergoing a major revival after having been brought to a halt in the 1960s. One of the benefits of conducting research into psychedelics is their potential to help deepen our understanding of consciousness. In 2016, researchers from Imperial College London were the first to use brain scanning techniques to visualise how LSD alters the way the brain works. One key finding was that LSD had a disorganising influence on cortical activity, which permitted the brain to operate in a freer, less constrained manner than usual.

The results suggested that psychedelics increase communication between parts of the brain that are less likely to communicate with one another, and decrease communication between areas that frequently do. This likely underlies the profound altered state of consciousness that people often describe during an LSD experience. It is also related to what people sometimes call "ego-dissolution", in which the normal sense of self is broken down. People instead often report a sense of reconnection with themselves, others and the natural world.

The discovery that LSD and other psychedelic drugs induce a flexible state of mind may explain their reported extraordinary therapeutic benefits. For example, psilocybin has shown benefits in the treatment of tobacco and alcohol addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder and treatment-resistant major depression.

In a small pilot study, LSD in combination with psychological therapy also led to a slight improvement in anxiety experienced by terminally ill cancer patients. Many of these psychiatric disorders are characterised by inflexible, habitual patterns of brain activity. By introducing a disordered state of mind, LSD and other psychedelics may help to break these inflexible patterns.

Similarly, the unconstrained brain state induced by psychedelics may also help explain the reported increases in creativity. From the late 1950s until the early 1970s, a whole host of studies sought to determine if classic psychedelics could be useful for enhancing creativity. In the most notable of these studies, researchers found that LSD and mescaline could aid in creative problem-solving when used in carefully controlled settings.

However, while these studies do provide some insight, they are mere anecdotal by modern research standards (they were not double blind or placebo-controlled). A more recent study found that use of classic psychedelics was robustly associated with greater creative problem-solving ability. Enhancing creativity has many potential applications in society. For example, it could be both used by commercial industry including advertising and in clinical settings, such as helping patients with autism.

The downsides

Yet before rushing off to take hits of acid in the hopes of boosting our creativity at work, it should be remembered that microdosing with an illegal, unregulated drug is of course fraught with risks. Possession may get you put behind bars. Manufacture and supply of illegal drugs are not subject to rigorous regulatory controls. That means users can never be sure of what they are getting.

This makes determining the dose problematic. Those who microdose incorrectly risk having unwanted, full-blown trips or even experience unpleasant trips. There are even some reports of psychosis-like symptoms in certain vulnerable individuals who use LSD recreationally. However two recent US population surveys found no link between using psychedelics and mental health conditions.

In an increasingly competitive world it is tempting to find a quick fix to help us achieve more, better and faster. Yet, is this right? As a society we should consider the reasons as to why healthy people choose to use drugs in the first place. A reliance on cognitive-enhancing technologies to cope with demanding working conditions may ultimately reduce the health and well-being of individuals. So we must take care to ensure that enhancement is not seen as a substitute for a healthy working environment.

It is therefore important that more research is done on the safety and efficacy of microdosing. In the meantime, physical exercise, education, social interaction, mindfulness and good quality sleep have all been shown to improve cognitive performance and overall well-being.

Explore further: Use of psychedelic drugs remains prevalent in the US

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

An article published in F1000Research, and approved for indexing in PubMed and other major bibliographical databases, estimates that there were approximately 32 million users of psychedelic drugs in the United States in 2010.

The use of LSD, magic mushrooms, or peyote does not increase a person's risk of developing mental health problems, according to an analysis of information from more than 130,000 randomly chosen people, including 22,000 people ...

Legal restrictions imposed on medical use of psychedelic drugs, such as LSD and psilocybin (the compound found in 'magic' mushrooms), are making trials almost impossible and authorities should 'downgrade their unnecessarily ...

The use of psychedelics, such as LSD and magic mushrooms, does not increase a person's risk of developing mental health problems, according to an analysis of information from more than 135,000 randomly chosen people, including ...

Psychedelic compounds have had a colorful past. Although initially investigated for medical uses, they were banned after cultural and political times changed in the 1960s and 1970s. Now, the compounds are getting another ...

When people take the psychedelic drug LSD, they sometimes feel as though the boundary that separates them from the rest of the world has dissolved. Now, the first functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI) of people's brains ...

Psychologists from the University of Bristol are launching a revolutionary new dating app this Valentine's Day.

We've all heard that it's better to give than to receive. Now there's empirical evidence to show that being compassionate to a spouse is rewarding in and of itself.

Love is a complex and powerful force, one that plays out in a number of emotional, cognitive and social ways.

We love to tell friends and family about experiences we've had and they haven'tfrom exotic vacations to celebrity sightingsbut new research suggests that these stories don't thrill them quite as much as we imagine. ...

Studies have suggested that married people are healthier than those who are single, divorced or widowed. A new Carnegie Mellon University study provides the first biological evidence to explain how marriage impacts health.

A recent study conducted by Emory University researchers finds that amygdala reactivity may help predict who will have PTSD in the year following a trauma. The amygdala is the area in the brain that processes emotion, aggression ...

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LSD 'microdosing' is trending in Silicon Valley but can it actually make you more creative? - Medical Xpress

Psychiatry Advisor

Psychedelics a Viable Therapeutic Option for Depression Psychiatry Advisor Rucker's team reviewed the existing research in psychedelics for mood disorders, which, though dated, hints at the possibility of therapeutic use. A systematic search of PsychINFO and MEDLINE databases for studies from 1940 through 2000 yielded 21 ... LSD 'microdosing' is trending in Silicon Valley but can it actually make you more creative?The Conversation UK Legalize LSD Drug policy should draw from science instead of cultureArgonaut all 4 news articles »

See the article here:

Psychedelics a Viable Therapeutic Option for Depression - Psychiatry Advisor

Scientists are increasingly hopeful that certain types of psychedelic drugs will one day be approved for medical purposes like treating depression and anxiety.

But what makes a psychedelic a psychedelic? How is it different from other drugs like cocaineor alcohol? And what makes a "trip" on one psychedelic like acid, for example distinct from a trip on another?

Here's a quick chart to put that into perspective:

Psychedelic drugs chart_2017 BI_Graphics BI Graphics

(Business Insider/Mike Nudelman)

Exactly howpsychedelics impact the brain is still somewhat of a mystery to scientists, but we're finding out more and more in recent years.

What we do know, however, is that psychedelics have a fundamentally different effect on the brain thanaddictive drugs like alcohol andcocainedo. Cocaine, for example, elicits a deep, euphoric sensationby temporarily flooding the brain's reward and motivationcenters. Insome people, this cantrigger a cycle of reinforcement that traps them in addiction, even when the same amount of the drug no longer results in a characteristic "high." The psychedelic drug psilocybin, on the other hand (the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms), appears to fundamentally alter the infrastructure of the brain's prefrontal cortex and change how information in this area of the brain is exchanged.

This is one of the reasons thatmanyscientists believe it's unreasonable to label psychedelics as"recreational" drugs in the patients I've interviewed who've participated in clinical trials onpsilocybin, the psychedelic trip itself soundsanything but recreational. In most cases, in fact, users describe feeling panicky, anxious, and afraid during the trip. It's whatthe drug appears to do to them afterthe trip itselfthat gives researchers hope. In many cases, patients describe lasting behavioral changes including improved relationships and increased optimism about life,for example.

Psilocybin isn't the only psychedelic drug that researchers are studyingfor its potentially therapeutic effects, however. They're also looking at LSD ("acid"), DMT (ayahuasca), and more.Each drug has a different trip length and varies in terms of its legality across the globe.

Methods for producing, brewing, and taking the drugs differ as well.

While magic mushrooms are typically either grown and eaten, brewed into tea, or ground up and taken in pill form, LSD is made synthetically and usually processed into strips that can be absorbed by placing them on the tongue.

Ayahuasca, on the other hand, is usually consumed as a beverage. It's brewed from the macerated and boiled vines of the Banisteriopsis caapi (yage) plant and the Psychotria viridis (chacruna) leaf, and it has been used for centuries as a traditional spiritual medicine in ceremonies among the indigenous peoples of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.Ayahuasca's effects come from mixing the drug dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, from the chacruna plant, and the MAO inhibitor from the yage plant, which allows the DMT to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

NOW WATCH: What magic mushrooms do to your brain and state of mind

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Psychedelic drugs like magic mushrooms and LSD have key differences here's what you should know - Yahoo Finance

A psychedelic is a substance with the primary action of altering an individuals perception and cognition. Many chemicals of this classact by being serotonin receptor agonists. Theyare considered to be part of a larger class of psychoactive drugs called hallucinogens, which also includes unrelated substances such as medications that induce delirium and dissociative drugs. Unlike drugs such as opioids and stimulants which produce familiar states of consciousness, psychedelics cause the individual to experience things out of the realm of consciousness.

Psychedelic experiences are often also called trance states, yoga, meditation, dreaming, near-death experiences, and religious ecstasy. Most psychedelic drugs cause these states and fall into three main categories: Phenethylamines, tryptamines, and lysergamides. Most psychedelic drugs are illegal throughout the world unless they are being used in a religious or medical context, such as the use of medical cannabis. Despite the fact that these drugs are regulated, they are often used illicitly under recreational circumstances.

Psychological Effects

Generally, people on psychedelic drugs experience the world in bright and intense colors. Things in the environment that werent otherwise noticed are seen for the first time and develop a sense of importance. Colors become increasingly intense, contours are sharpened, music seems more profound, and textures seem richer.

The person may feel an increased perception of their body and changes in experiences. There is an increase in depth perception and objects that are normally inanimate become more expressive. Time may slow down or may stop altogether. There are vivid images, even when the eyes are closed.

There are strong emotional effects when the person is on this kind of drugs. The user becomes increasingly sensitive to the gestures of others, to their faces, and to minor changes in the environment. As all things in the users world become more conscious and important, the user feels and increased sense of love, joy, gratitude, despair, terror, lust, and pain. Feelings become overwhelming and difficult to tolerate. The individual may feel intense feelings of paranoia, panic, and a sense of losing control.

There is usually an impairment in the short term memory. Long forgotten occurrences from the distant past may come to the forefront and be relived in vivid detail. The individual may develop new insight into themselves and ponder the nature of the universe and humanity. Boundaries between the environment and the self may disappear.

Childhood memories may be relived and the person may regress into childlike behavior. They may go into a dream world in which other individuals, images, and actions take on a new significance. The person may experience a loss of self and may feel as though they have died and have been reborn. It may feel as all the questions of the world have been answered all at once.

Traditional Uses

This kind ofdrugs have long been used traditionally in religion and in the medical field, where they are used for their ability to improve mental and physical healing. Native American doctors have used peyote and other psychedelic agents to help cure a person from alcoholism. Mazatec doctors use mushrooms containing psilocybin for healing and religious purposes. DMT is an agent used in Peru and in other areas of South America for physical and spiritual healing and in certain religious festivals.

Examples

There are numerous types of agents. Some of them include the following:

Empathogen-Entactogens

These include MDMA, MDEA, and MDA. The use of these drugs cause feelings of euphoria, love, openness, increased self-awareness, and distortions of hearing and seeing. They are commonly used at raves for their ability to enhance the musical experience and to increase sociability. MDA is used to cause hallucinations and has other effects.

Cannabinoids

THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and similar compounds can have psychedelic effects. These include alterations in consciousness, some distortions of vision, and unusual hallucinations. In high doses, they bring on brightly flashing images, especially in dim lighting. There is a sensation of well-being, euphoria, reduction of stress, and feelings of relaxation. Users have enhanced memory, feelings of hunger, and an increase in feelings of sensuality. Some users can become paranoid, suffering from anxiety and agitation. There is an enhanced awareness of patterns, sounds, and colors.

Dissociative Drugs

Some dissociative drugs act by antagonizing NDMA and therefore induce psychedelic effects. Dissociative and serotonergic hallucinogens are somewhat different from one another in that the dissociative drugs result I a more intense experience of derealization and depersonalization. Ketamine, for example, causes feelings of being disconnected from the body with the environment feeling unreal. There are perceptual changes as is often seen with other agents.

Legal Implications

In spite of the fact that most psychedelic drugs are not addictive and have no long term detrimental effects on mental health, many psychedelic drugs are illegal, according to the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, developed in 1971. Some countries also ban synthetic compounds that have this kind ofproperties, even if they are not considered dangerous. In general, this kind ofdrugs are classified by the US government as being Schedule I drugs that have no medically-accepted use.

Because of governmental policies, there are severe limitations of the research of this drugs. Those wishing to do research on this agentsmust go through a great deal of red tape until they can be allowed to study the drugs. Even so, scientists have studied thisdrugs and have found that they have the potential to treat certain addictions, psychological traumas, and even cancer.

Facts

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If you were a teenager in 1967, Berkeley was the place to be. The Summer of Love was beaming with a newfound madness, and for Dennis McKenna, it was too tempting to resist. A trip to Berkeley meant mischief and, if lucky, a psychedelic experience.

When McKenna arrived in Berkeley, he managed to get both. After acquiring a few tabs of acid from a stranger in Tilden Park, he and his friend headed to the woods in hopes of peeking through the doors of perception. Here, their civil behavior would self-destruct to give way for a more primal, archaic wildness.

We didnt have what I would call a mystical experience, he says. It was more like an evolutionary regression. We literally became like apes in the woods.

Although the experience wasnt quite what he expected, it was revelatory for McKenna. Bouncing around like a little child in the open expanse of the woods and swinging from the branches of trees was, oddly enough, a clue that the ultimate answers to life could be hiding in the strange portals of the psychedelic experience.

When people hear McKennas name, they usually associate it with his older brother, Terrence. Renown for being the intellectuals Timothy Leary, Terrence was a spokesman and advocate for psychedelics for many years, known as somewhat of an articulate rebel. His hypnotizing talks and poetic revelations swayed audiences of all kinds. However, though not in the spotlight like Terrence, McKenna has co-authored many books with him. He is the more scientific of the two, using facts more than stories in his work. Some of the most profound ideas talked about in True Hallucinations and The Invisible Landscape are a result of McKennas analysis, experiences and research.

As an ethnopharmacologist and research pharmacognosist, he has dedicated his life to the research of hallucinogens and psychedelics. He is also one of the founding directors of the Heffter Research Institute, a nonprofit organization investigating the therapeutic uses of psychedelic substances.

In his book, The Brothers Of The Screaming Abyss, Mckenna describes himself as a big picture kind of guy. Born in Paonia, Colorado, in 1950, at a young age, Dennis was not interested in the sort of questions that didnt lead to an ultimate understanding of reality. While his peers were playing outside, he was reading Scientific American and taking notes on the Encyclopedia Brittanica in the local library. This sort of intellectual passion, along with his experiences on acid in Berkeley, eventually led Mckenna into the Amazonian jungle, where hed test the limits of his own consciousness by experimenting with heavy doses of magic mushrooms and the Amazonian plant mixture, ayahuasca. After making this dive into the unknown, he has come back to share some of his wisdom.

Although psychedelic drugs are still categorized in Schedule 1 of the Drug Enforcement Agencys illegal substances, McKenna says that they are still being widely used in secret.

In our society at the moment, these drugs are finding their way back into society primarily along two channels: One is religious practice and the other is medical practice, he says.

Some religious groups are actually permitted to use these substances legally.

According to McKenna, society is in the midst of a psychedelic renaissance. According to a recent study out of Johns Hopkins University and New York University, psilocybin the active ingredient found in magic mushrooms has been shown to radically improve the positivity of people who are terminally ill with cancer. New research from Johns Hopkins and the University of Alabama also suggests that people who have a history of taking psychedelic drugs are less prone to have suicidal thoughts and are more psychologically healthy.

But psychedelics still hold the stigma of the 60s drug culture. Although a lot of great research with psychedelics was done in that time, it threatened the social order, McKenna says. As a result, the substances were unfairly banned.

All of these things in the 60s were pretty much prohibited in a very ill-considered way, he says. It was like lumping everything together and saying theyre all bad; they all cause altered states we dont like. But of course prohibition doesnt solve anything. They just went underground.

After nearly 50 years, Mckenna thinks that we are only now discovering the benefits and uses of these substances.

Here we are, almost coming to, say, 2020. Thatll be 50 years. We have only now figured out how to use them, he says.

One of the hallucinogenic plants to praise for the psychedelic comeback is McKennas self-proclaimed plant teacher, ayahuasca. This indigenous Amazonian plant, known for its hallucinogenic and healing properties, is seeing increased popularity around the world. According to Mckenna, the widespread use of substances like these is a good thing because it will evolve consciousness at a more rapid rate.

There are all kinds of communities now that are spontaneously appearing in the most unlikely places, he says. I think as people discover these plants, the plants themselves become a catalyst for this evolution of consciousness.

As we approach another turning point in American history, Mckenna continues to advocate psychedelics, as they provide a constant reminder that we arent the ones in control.

The big message from me is, with ayahuasca particularly: Remember you monkeys are not running this show, he says. We are not running this show. The plants, in fact, are running the show. And this is a good thing for us, because they are what is keeping life sustainable through photosynthesis.

For McKenna, psychedelics are no longer simply a catalysts for the counter-culture consciousness. The substances are beginning to be accepted as medicines to heal the afflictions of the mind, and tools to discover the ineffable worlds that the mystics and ancient shamans have long been exploiting.

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The psychedelic renaissance - Boulder Weekly