Ben Preiss
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Baby boomers that experimented with LSD and magic mushrooms in the 60’s and 70’s are now senior scientists nearing retirement in the FDA and other institutions, and are no longer afraid to assert their belief that psychedelics have a place in modern medical therapy. After a break of 20 years research quietly began again in the early 90’s and has been gaining credibility, current studies involve the treatment of cluster headaches, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), severe anxiety in terminal cancer patients, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcoholism and opiate addiction and the FDA has approved clinical trials in the U.S., Switzerland, Israel and Spain.  Mind-altering psychedelics are back—but this time they are being explored in labs for their therapeutic applications rather than being used illegally. The past 15 years have seen a quiet resurgence of psychedelic drug research as scientists have come to recognize the long-underappreciated potential of these drugs. In the past few years, a growing number of studies using human volunteers have begun to explore the possible therapeutic benefits of drugs such as LSD, psilocybin, DMT, MDMA, ibogaine and ketamine.
Much remains unclear about the precise neural mechanisms governing how these drugs produce their mind-bending results, but they often produce somewhat similar psychoactive effects that make them potential therapeutic tools. Though still in their preliminary stages, studies in humans suggest that the day when people can schedule a psychedelic session with their therapist to overcome a serious psychiatric problem may not be that far off.
(sciam)References: newscientist, sciam Filed In: |
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