Seeing Opportunity in Psychedelic Drugs

[progressoid]

New research into LSD and psilocybin makes a powerful argument against prohibition.

In a massive study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, scientists at the Norwegian University for Science and Technology at Trondheim concluded that there is no link between use of LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) and mental health problems. The study selected 135,000 participants at random—including 19,000 who had used psychedelic drugs—and found no evidence linking such drugs to the onset of mental disorders.

"Over 30 million U.S. adults have tried psychedelics and there just is not much evidence of health problems," author and clinical psychologist Pål-Ørjan Johansen said.

Johanesen was careful to acknowledge that users of psychedelic drugs are not immune to bad trips, and are as susceptible as anyone else to mental health issues. But his findings negate a common perception that drugs like LSD put users directly in danger—a justification used in criminalization.
"This study assures us that there were not widespread 'acid casualties' in the 1960s.”

The study's publication arrives at a time when interest in psychedelic drugs—or at least their scientific usefulness—is surging. In The New Yorker, the journalist Michael Pollan profiled scientists at New York University whose experiments with administering psilocybin has had largely positive results—particularly among participants stricken with terminal cancer. And in the U.K., 12 patients suffering from clinical depression will take magic mushrooms in a study next year at London's Imperial College.

... http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/03/a-psychedelic-revival/387193/

[Lochloosa]

1. Anyone that tells me they had a bad trip. My first question.

How much did you drink?

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

2. I didn't drink anything.

I dropped acid once in college. I was fine when I was outside in the fields and woods. The clouds were especially fine. It was when I headed back into my dorm that things got hairy.

[Alittleliberal]

3. Set and setting

It really is everything.

[Lochloosa]

4. And good Bee Keepers

[hobbit709]

5. I learned more about myself on one bad trip than I did on 100 good ones.

[F4lconF16]

6. Something to be said for that. nt

[RussBLib]

7. I think everyone should try psychedelics

I have heard so many people claim that dropping acid was the best thing they ever did, that it really opened up their minds: Jimi Hendrix, Aldous Huxley, just to name a couple. And it really is important what the setting is. Don't drop acid and then go out to an unfamiliar environment. That's asinine.

I wonder if the faithful might be a little too scared by it. I am an atheist, and those experiences were the closest I have come to something approaching "spiritual."

[F4lconF16]

8. I agree. If you can, you should, at least once.

And as to what you said you've heard from others: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026295336

Also, set and setting are key, yes, but I think it's mostly mental readiness. The first time I tried mushrooms was on my own, with a higher dose than usual, and I was wandering around in the middle of the night. It was tough at times, but also the most meaningful thing I've ever experienced. I was able to get through it by accepting that whatever happened, in a few hours I would be alright and taking the time to mentally relax myself each time I got nervous.

On the other hand, I've seen friends in a perfect set and setting freak out because they weren't prepared mentally. They drove themselves to panic, despite others around them helping them. Know your doses, know your friends, be honest to yourself while taking them, go with the flow, and remember that you can always get up and move to a new setting. That's the best advice I have.

I wonder if the faithful might be a little too scared by it. I am an atheist, and those experiences were the closest I have come to something approaching "spiritual."

That's a good question. I've known people who took them and had their faith shaken, but I've also known people who became even more spiritual (note: not religious) afterwards. They open you up to the possibility of being wrong. I think that they challenge any source of authority (which is why they've been illegal for so long), and since the Church is the central authority or a very high-ranking authority in some people's lives, that can be intimidating. Asking someone to experience something that may or may not shake the very core of their ideas about the world can be a tough sell.

I agree about the spirituality part. I am a staunch anti-theist, but there is a spiritual aspect to psychedelics. I liked how a friend put it: "Spirituality is everything I feel that language cannot express."

[Alittleliberal]

9. The first time I did LSD

It blew my mind over and over and over again. It was absolutely the most important day of my life.