By Thomas Anderson and Rotem Petranker — 2018
There is a growing research literature suggesting psychedelics hold incredible promise for treating mental health ailments ranging from depression and anxiety to PTSD. But how do we know for sure?
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These results support a recent model proposing that psychedelics reduce the ‘precision-weighting of priors’, thus altering the balance of top-down versus bottom-up information passing.
Research into psychedelics, shut down for decades, is now yielding exciting results.
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Embraced then vilified, the drug lysergic acid diethylamide is on a path toward redemption. While LSD remains a legally restricted psychoactive substance, scientists are pursuing its therapeutic potential — continuing a conversation that began in the 1950s.
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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.
Now, as a handful of patients and more recently doctors and therapists have been granted exemptions to use psilocybin, the nation’s federal health agency is considering making changes to existing policies that could open the door to much more than magic mushrooms.
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.
For hundreds or thousands of dollars, you can get certified to administer mind-altering—and some say, mind-healing—drugs.
Regulators will soon grapple with how to safely administer powerful psychedelics for treating depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the design of two Phase 3 clinical trials of MDMA for treating PTSD, according to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which is funding and leading the clinical trials.
The world’s leading advocate for the medicinal use of psychedelics on the ghost of Timothy Leary, why Ecstasy could cure PTSD, and the best place to trip in Boston.