Psychedelics being tested on mental disorders again

Psychedelics being tested on mental disorders again

www.sciam.com

Psychedelics such as '___' and the compound in magic mushrooms could ease a variety of difficult-to-treat mental illnesses, such as chronic depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and drug or alcohol dependency.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Before 1972, close to 700 studies with psychedelic drugs took place. The research suggested that psychedelics offered significant benefits: they helped recovering alcoholics abstain, soothed the anxieties of terminal cancer patients, and eased the symptoms of many difficult-to-treat psychiatric illnesses, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Between 1972 and 1990 there were no human studies with psychedelic drugs. Their disappearance was the result of a political backlash that followed the promotion of these drugs by the 1960s counterculture. This reaction not only made these substances illegal for personal use but also made it extremely difficult for researchers to get government approval to study them.

It is a shame that politics prevent people from getting help that they need. On one hand I am encouraged seeing that the scientific community is opening up to studying psychedelics again, but on the other hand I am frustrated because I think that politics will continue to keep this from ever being legal.

It is just frustrating to see how in the correct circumstances, these chemicals can be very beneficial and to have the government dictate that people can't use them.



www.sciam.com
(visit the link for the full news article)