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Psychedelic Mushrooms Are Closer To Medicinal Use (nytimes.com)
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have recommended that psilocybin, the active compound in hallucinogenic mushrooms, be reclassified for medical use, potentially paving the way for the psychedelic drug to one day treat depression and anxiety and help people stop smoking. The New York Times: The suggestion to reclassify psilocybin from a Schedule I drug, with no known medical benefit, to a Schedule IV drug, which is akin to prescription sleeping pills, was part of a review to assess the safety and abuse of medically administered psilocybin [Editor's note: the story may be paywalled; alternative source]. Before the Food and Drug Administration can be petitioned to reclassify the drug, though, it has to clear extensive study and trials, which can take more than five years, the researchers wrote. The analysis was published in the October print issue of Neuropharmacology, a medical journal focused on neuroscience.
The study comes as many Americans shift their attitudes toward the use of some illegal drugs. The widespread legalization of marijuana has helped demystify drug use, with many people now recognizing the medicinal benefits for those with anxiety, arthritis and other physical ailments. Psychedelics, like LSD and psilocybin, are illegal and not approved for medical or recreational use. But in recent years scientists and consumers have begun rethinking their use to combat depression and anxiety.
The study comes as many Americans shift their attitudes toward the use of some illegal drugs. The widespread legalization of marijuana has helped demystify drug use, with many people now recognizing the medicinal benefits for those with anxiety, arthritis and other physical ailments. Psychedelics, like LSD and psilocybin, are illegal and not approved for medical or recreational use. But in recent years scientists and consumers have begun rethinking their use to combat depression and anxiety.
You *do* know "Reefer Madness" is not scientifically accurate.
As for psilocybin, both it and LSD have very low toxicity AND very low addiction potential. If you compare them to caffeine on both those scales (toxicity and dependence), they stand in relation to caffeine roughly as caffeine stands to alcohol. And while individual cases of post-usage psychiatric problems have been reported in the literature, when the use is examined statistically the prevalence of self-harm and psychological distress is actually lower in psychedelic drug users.
This doesn't mean that users of such drugs can't come to harm; schizophrenics should especially avoid them. But I personally see very little medical or public health justification in preventing most interested individuals in experimenting with pharmacy grade psychedelics.
I could easily imagine licensed facilities for people interested in LSD. These facilities would be responsible for dosage and purity and could handle routine bad trips that would result in emergency room visits.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Actually the treatment associated with MDMA isn't exposure therapy. It's radically more effective than exposure therapy and shares nothing in common.
There are clinical guides available regarding the application of MDMA in the treatment of patients with PTSD that you can access for free.
The short version is that the hypothesis for PTSD is it is a condition of excessive self doubt and detachment, in other words the patient loses the ability to trust or accept their own feelings and come to terms with reality and as a result develops intense delusions in response to their cogitative dissonance. MDMA reduces or limits our natural distrust of others which is why it is known as having the effect of making people seem more friendly or accepting of one-another. What has been newly discovered is the fact that this effect also applies to the self. It isn't commonly recognized that self is comprised of many disparate elements that operate both cooperatively and combatively. MDMA seems to effect a shift toward trust and cooperation which can lead to a solution for dissonance.
Please do put in the time and read the published papers.