From: cleoabram
Psychedelics are a broad category of drugs, encompassing substances like ecstasy, acid, molly, and magic mushrooms [00:02:27]. The word “psychedelic” originates from Greek words meaning “mind manifesting” [00:03:11]. Users often report experiencing vivid colors and shapes, intense emotions, and a profound change in their perception of the world and themselves [00:03:15], [00:03:31].
A Shifting Legal and Research Landscape
In 1955, psychedelics were legal in both the UK and the US and were considered an exciting area of medical research [00:00:40], [00:04:40]. By the 1980s, the landscape had drastically changed due to the declaration of the War on Drugs in the United States, leading to their ban and a halt in research [00:00:48], [00:05:20]. These drugs became associated with counter-culture, making them “forbidden” even for researchers [00:05:43], [00:05:47]. Some research from this period, which suggested extreme danger, was later found to be flawed, such as a 2002 Johns Hopkins study on ecstasy causing permanent brain damage in monkeys, which was retracted a year later because the monkeys were accidentally injected with meth instead [00:06:03], [00:06:49], [00:06:53].
However, in the last decade, there’s been a significant resurgence in research, creating considerable hype around psychedelics [00:07:28]. There is a growing movement to make psychedelics legal again in the US, as they are once more seen as a promising area of study for potential health benefits [00:01:17], [00:01:20].
Promising Therapeutic Applications
Recent research suggests psychedelics could offer major health benefits, particularly in treating disorders that affect millions of people [00:01:24], [00:01:28].
Specific Conditions and Findings:
- Anxiety and Depression:
- A study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that a single high dose of psilocybin relieved anxiety and depression in cancer patients for six months [00:07:46], [00:07:49].
- Psilocybin is also being investigated for major depressive disorder [00:08:31].
- PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder):
- A study published in Nature reported that two-thirds of patients treated with MDMA no longer experienced PTSD [00:07:54], [00:07:56].
- MDMA in the treatment of PTSD is one of the areas researchers are most confident about [00:08:19], [00:08:24].
- Addiction:
- Psilocybin shows promise in the treatment of alcoholism and for smoking cessation [00:08:25].
Dr. Matthew Johnson, a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins, is a leading researcher in this field [00:03:47]. He has been studying the mechanisms and potential therapeutic applications of psychedelics since 2004 [00:04:00], [00:04:01].
Mechanism of Action: Brain Rewiring
The ability of psychedelics to assist with a range of disorders may stem from their capacity to alter communication between individual brain cells [00:08:43], [00:08:46]. Researchers hypothesize that these drugs enable individual brain cells to establish new connections, potentially “rewiring” how the brain processes certain emotions or desires, even after the drug’s effects have worn off [00:09:06], [00:09:11], [00:09:15]. They seem to “powerfully blast people out of those ruts” characteristic of disorders with a narrowed mental and behavioral repertoire [00:08:51], [00:08:59].
Important Considerations and Future Outlook
While promising, current research indicates that psychedelics are not suitable for everyone. For individuals with a family history of schizophrenia, psychedelics could trigger manic or psychotic episodes [00:09:21], [00:09:26]. It is crucial not to overhype science that is still in progress [00:09:31], [00:09:36].
The scientific question of whether psychedelics can help at a population level is slowly being separated from political influences [00:10:07], [00:10:12]. The early findings are promising enough that some of these drugs are on the path to FDA approval [00:10:19]. MDMA is anticipated to be approved by the FDA for PTSD in the US within a year or two, with psilocybin likely following a couple of years later [00:10:24].
The vision for legalization largely centers around supervised settings, not recreational use like cannabis [00:10:35], [00:10:40], [00:10:45]. FDA-approved MDMA and psilocybin would likely involve doctors prescribing the medication and licensed therapists supervising the “trip” in certified clinics [00:11:15], [00:11:21], [00:11:26]. States like Oregon and Colorado have legalized psilocybin for use in supervised “healing centers” with facilitators, though these centers are not yet open [00:12:03], [00:12:08], [00:12:13], [00:12:18].
The ongoing conversation about psychedelics is evolving rapidly [00:12:28]. The ultimate goal is to base regulation on robust science, free from unwarranted fear or hype, to potentially help millions of people struggling with health conditions [00:12:42], [00:13:22]. The story of psychedelics serves as a classic example of attempting to control what is not fully understood, leading to decades of stifled innovation [00:12:52], [00:12:58]. The current measured approach in research offers real promise and highlights how much more can be learned about the human brain [00:13:09], [00:13:25].