By Haley Weiss — 2019
A study on rats offers the first biological evidence that small doses of hallucinogenic drugs could have therapeutic benefits.
Read on www.theatlantic.com
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In the last two decades, researchers have started to reexamine psychedelics for their therapeutic potential. Though initial results seem promising, the research has a significant shortcoming: the lack of racial and ethnic diversity among research teams and study participants.
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A new study finds widespread exclusion of minorities in psychedelic research.
We’re seeing an explosion of medical research into psychedelics. Psilocybin, or shrooms, to treat major depressive disorder. Ayahuasca, a psychotropic plant medicine from the Amazon, and ibogaine, a potent hallucinogen from Africa, to treat addiction. LSD for anxiety.
Through this treatment plan, the patient was able to “reconceptualize her trauma” and “was able to move through difficult memories and emotions rather than letting them consume her,” explained U of O associate professor, Monnica Williams.
These substances are being touted as a game-changing intervention for mental health. But it’s not clear if their promise will be accessible to all.
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The exuberant “renaissance” of studies researching psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in the past twenty years has not sufficiently included the enrollment of racially diverse participants, a problem that psychedelic science and clinical research shares with mainstream psychiatry
Research over the last decade has shown MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to be effective in treating PTSD from military combat, sexual assault and childhood abuse. Now researchers are trialing MDMA with couples and finding promising results.
The party line of the microdosing community is that it helps with feelings of depression and anxiety (depending on the drug and the severity of the illness), and can make general improvements to your day-to-day life — from focus and productivity (it’s a Silicon Valley hack) to sleep and sex drive.
Last month, Ian McCall told HBO’s Real Sports that his 17 years in mixed martial arts led him to a painkiller addiction. “I was medicated and so numbed out from such a young age, I turned into a monster,” he told correspondent David Scott.
Williams is the co-lead author of a recent retrospective study that found those who tried doses of psilocybin (more commonly known as magic mushrooms), LSD, or MDMA (the pure substance found in Ecstasy or Molly) reported a decrease in trauma symptoms, depression and anxiety after 30 days.