More people have been turning to psychedelics to treat post traumatic stress disorder, depression and addiction. Mattha Busby reports for The Guardian on the value of psychedelics, including magic mushrooms and MDMA.
Under the supervision of a psychiatrist, psychedelics have been found to help people cope with nightmarish memories. Psychedelics sometimes can lead to behavioral adaptations. One trial showed that people who took MDMA under the care of a psychiatrist were more than twice as likely to treat their PTSD as people who took a placebo.
Today, there is no medicinal treatment for PTSD that works, so the value of MDMA could be huge. The FDA might approve it to treat PTSD in 2023 or sooner. It might also approve psilocybin, which is in magic mushrooms. One tiny study found psilocybin to work four times better than standard antidepressants.
There was a time when lawmakers dismissed psychedelic drugs as having no medical benefits, even though there was no evidence behind their thinking. In their view, psychedelics were dangerous, so they kept research on these drugs to a minimum.
Even former Texas governor Rick Perry now believes that psychedelics can help veterans who suffer from PTSD. Recently, Texas passed a state law to research the value of psychedelics. Oregon lawmakers have already approved legalization of the possession of drugs for personal use. Oregon has also licensed psilocybin therapy. Now, the state is licensing magic-mushroom companies. In Colorado, emergency first responders are being trained in psychedelic harm reduction.
People at risk of psychological issues seem to see great benefits from psychedelics in clinical trials. One study published in Lancet showed that people who received a high dose of psilocybin saw their depression abate and their anxiety improve for a substantial amount of time. Psilocybin apparently lets the brain be rewired, helping people let go of old beliefs and memories and allowing them to better handle their emotions.
One other benefit of psychedelics is that it ties people to nature, changing people’s attitudes and behaviors in ways that show greater concern for nature. They might eat differently. They might garden more. They might engage in environmental activism.
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