Tristan O’Hare
A. Elco
ENG 102
7 March 2016
Psychedelic Pharmaceuticals When someone owns a car, unless they have a freshly filled tank, they constantly think about how much gas they have left. Glancing down every couple of minutes just to make sure that they’re still good to go. The worst thing to have happen would be to run out of gas in the middle of nowhere, late at night, without a gas station in sight. Now, imagine not being able to call for help. The only thing to do would be to either sit and wait hoping someone will eventually drive by, or begin a trek in search for a gas station. After choosing to take the long walk for miles and miles you finally see a gas station. Your legs are about to give out and you’re beyond exhausted, but
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Johnson at the John Hopkins School for Medicine took ten men and five women who had been smoking cigarettes for many years and have failed to quit and gave them psilocybin, the psychoactive substance found in a certain type of mushroom. 6 months after taking the mushrooms, 80% of the subjects had quit smoking while 30% of the people reported it as being one of the most important and beneficial experiences they ever had (JHU). In addition to psilocybins ability to help with curing addiction, a study published by the Journal of the Royal Society Interface showed its beneficial effects on people who suffer from depression. M.R.I scans were done on people with depression while under the influence of psilocybin. Parts of the brain that are believed to be responsible for overactivity in those who are depressed were shown to have slown down while other parts of the brain responsible for the release of endorphins were more active. Thus, allowing for the personal evaluation of one's own subconscious mind to work out their issues and look at their disorder while in a positive mindset, helping to improve overall happiness and …show more content…
Mdmaptsd.org, a site designed to share information on treating PTSD with MADA-assisted psychotherapy, shared a study done by the Journal of Psychopharmacology where they took people who qualified for PTSD treatment and gave MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to one group and solely psychotherapy to another. After the study was over, 83 percent of the people who took psychotherapy alone still showed signs of PTSD, while only 25 percent of those involved in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy still showed signs of PTSD (TPM). Unlike all of the other psychedelics mentioned, if used in excess, MDMA can cause overdose and ultimately brain damage, affecting the release of serotonin in your brain which can lead to an even more sever case of depression. This, however, does not occur immediately and requires abuse of the drug over a long period of time. This why it should only be administered while the patient is under close examination and used for medical purposes only and not as a “party drug” like MDMA is most common
There may also be some indecisiveness in deciding what to do or get (All of this info from Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World: An Identification Guide, Gale Encyclopedia of Science, and Wikipedia.org).
While American Indians are well known for their use of psychedelic agents other cultures have also been known to use psychedelics, especially psilocybin. So-called “magic'; mushrooms also grow naturally in many parts of Europe and Asia. Norse tribesmen, for example, were believed to use Amanita muscaria or fly agaric mushrooms to bring on feelings of rage before going into battle. The same mushroom may have also been the inspiration to the founders of Hinduism. Preparations of datura, the agent found in jimson weed, are used in magic and witchcraft in many areas of the world, (Aaronson, 1970). More recently many artist, writers, and musicians have been known to use mescaline and psilocybin and other naturally occurring hallucinogens such as those found in morning glory seeds, and nutmeg, as well as synthesized hallucinogens like LSD. Because of their mind-expanding qualities, the high insight into reality that they seem to produce, as well as highly complex sensory experiences, some report receiving inspiration from such drugs.
If you were to guess a disease one in five American citizens suffer from, what would be the first condition that comes to mind? Heart disease? Diabetes? The truth is, according to the National Institute on Mental Health, 43.4 million people live with mental illness in the United States, a staggering number that is almost equal to those diagnosed with heart disease or diabetes combined.1 Untreated, people with mental illness run the risk of losing their jobs, developing other chronic diseases in the future, or increasing the chance of suicide. Given this surmounting need, scientists are continuously researching new ways to offer hope and relief to the millions of people coping with this illness every day. Although their recreational use was
The initial reaction of PTSD is fear, nausea, dizziness, depression and sleep disturbances. Marijuana has been proved effective even for treatment resistant patients. While the side effects of smoking medical marijuana to help with PTSD can be a win/lose challenge depending on the way the patient’s body and how it reacts with different strains of marijuana it can either greatly lighten the symptoms while it may increase the symptoms including paranoia. The pills that a doctor would give a PTSD patient would have the same effect either it would work or make the symptoms worse. A patient who has PTSD can not control when they would have a episode, with the use of medical marijuana you can lower the chance of a episode happening when you smoke marijuana. Picking the right strain and find the right amount to smoke could be big variables in controlling episodes, mixing up up or changing the set usage it could cause the episodes to get worse and be more unexpected. Many veterans come back from serving time over seas fighting for our country that we love so much with depression problems, traumatic experiences, and bad sleeping habits. The men and women who come back to the US with PTSD find themselves at the bottom of a bottle or smoking marijuana I would rather see my loved one smoking marijuana than drinking themselves to death. People with PTSD have a hard time controlling their episodes and often even with over the counter medication their depression and flashbacks happen uncontrollably. With patients using medical marijuana to cope with PTSD have a stronger confidence in going out and not worrying about having to deal with depression or flashbacks. People with PTSD find it hard to enjoy everyday things in fear it could spark a flashback or send them straight into depression. The calming agents in marijuana helps the PTSD patient fight depression and the
A new wave study on hallucinogens, and other mind-altering substances, was organized to address whether these
Thesis: There are many misconceptions about magic mushrooms, but I believe that they could be incredibly important for the future treatment of mental health.
From time to time we all have periods of sadness, unhappy thoughts. Among the United States population, around eight to ten percent suffer from a form of depression as unipolar depression. Depressive and bipolar disorders show to be a principal cause of disability, without cure a person can have a tough experience with relationships, work, and social activities. Substance abuse disorders are becoming an rampant. The need for instant indulgence has become more and more widespread in the world. The DSM-5 shows the symptoms checklist for diagnosis of substance abuse disorder (see table 1.3 in appendix a), and according to Comer, (2014) “the substances people misuse fall into several categories: depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and cannabis”
In fact the precise neural pathway that LSD effects is not fully known but LSD has such a similar chemical structure to that of the neurotransmitter called serotonin in the brain which contributes to feelings of happiness and well being and it may affect sleep and appetite as well. It is believed that LSD modifies the way the brain’s serotonin receptors work preventing neurotransmission or stimulation. For a person with a serious mental illness, LSD can be dangerous as it may worsen or speed up the effects of their illness. For example, a person who suffers from schizophrenia and takes LSD may worsen their current mental
That is usually never the case, unless you are the 1% that it does happen to and that is an idea you should have considered before you blindly took the drug. But most importantly psychedelics usually do not trigger mental disorders. Just because you took mescaline once in high school does not mean that you randomly developed schizophrenia. Another extremely popular misconception is that you will “re-trip” or have flashbacks that make you feel like you are tripping years after you took the drug. That is completely false, people believe that psychedelics, mainly LSD is stored in your spinal fluid and can leak over time, but that is also untrue. Even though a few ideas about psychedelics are not real does not mean that the drug is safe and a walk in the park. If you want to experiment you should research the subject for yourself and see if it is right for you, don’t just take it because your friends think it cool, educate
i. Has been proven to induce your brains levels of serotonin, dopamine and melatonin (feel good chemicals)
Drugs have been around for a very long time. They are used for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include relaxation, socialization, curiosity, stress relief, or a form of escapism. However, most people don’t know the threats and danger that it can cause to the body. In this paper, we are going to examine the changes that happen inside the brain due to the effects of different drugs. We will look closely at how drugs such as hallucinogens, ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, and cannabis affect an individual psychologically. I will explain the origin of the drugs, how a person feels while on the drug, how the drugs
Depression is a widespread issue in today’s world. It can be caused by abuse, conflict, a sudden change in one’s life, and much more. The number one cause of depression is stress. Cannabis, or marijuana, has been used to treat depression dating back to the year 1621 with doctors in India using it to treat depression in their patients. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, was shown to change negative images or emotions in the minds of the patients who smoked marijuana. Many patients stated that it took them to another world, a place where they felt comfortable and the feeling of depression was obsolete. The sad part is that since marijuana is still classified as a
Available scientific evidence indicate that marijuana contain a useful chemical that treats several mental disorder illnesses. The useful purpose of this drug has prompted a long standing debate as
According to the American Psychiatric Association chronic drug abuse may occur together with any mental illness that may include some of the following disorders. “Some common serious mental disorders associated with chronic drug abuse include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, manic depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and antisocial personality disorder” (Center, 2004). Some of these disorders carry with them an increased risk of drug abuse. Another example of a drug that can cause a mental disorder, is MDMA (3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) which is commonly known as ecstasy. It produces long term deficits in serotonin function in the brain, leading to mental disorders such as depression and anxiety.
An individual’s behavior and emotion becomes chemically altered often resulting in dependency, aggression, onset of diseases and poor judgement. This poses a dangerous threat to the neurotransmitters since they have multiple jobs in different parts of the brain. Drugs of abuse are able to exert influence over the brain reward pathway either by directly influencing the action of dopamine within the system, or by altering the activity of other neurotransmitters that exert a modulatory influence over this pathway. These drugs are often powerful and have been known to trigger schizophrenic behavior and can also cause a person to cease breathing, for example hallucinogens such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin are able to artificially stimulate the serotonin receptor (Sapolsky, 2005).