Hallucinogenic Drug Addiction

7 of my patients who experienced depression made more improvement with E, than with years of therapy and other anti-depressive drugs." (British Medical Journal by Dr. Green Hancock). Drugs are harmful to the human mind, and body in many ways, it is also capable of preventing the body, and mind in fully developing. There are many types of drugs, there are drugs that slow you down, drugs that speed you up, and hallucinogens. Hallucinogenic drugs are substances that distort the perception of objective reality. The most well-known hallucinogens include phencyclidine, otherwise know as PCP, lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD or acid, and psilocybin, or "magic" mushrooms. Under the influence of hallucinogens, the senses of direction, distance, and time become disoriented. You see sound and hear light. These drugs can produce unpredictable, erratic, and violent behavior in users that sometimes leads to serious injuries or death. Drowning's, burns, falls, and automobile crashes have also been reported. Some physical risks include mangled, and unclear speech, decreased awareness of touch and pain, convulsion, coma, heart, and lung failure. Psychological risks associated with using hallucinogens is depression, anxiety, paranoia, confusion, loss of control, and flashbacks. Marijuana is chemotherapeutic drug. This means that it can be used to treat certain types of cancer. The point of these past sentences is to make

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.

Since the 20th century, many medical professionals and researchers have been attempting to utilize psychedelic drugs in psychological illnesses treatments. In many testing cases, these psychedelic drugs were having hallucination effects on the patients. For examples, psychedelic drugs such as LSD and methoxamine are capable of changing a person’s moods, feelings, or even behaviors in either positive or negative ways. However, after decades of restriction on psychedelic drugs in 1960s, hallucinogens have been researched constantly in order to find a proper ways to utilize them in medicine. In other words, medical experts have been testing these drugs occasionally on patients, raising questions about medical ethics as a result. For instance, various patients reported to experience drug addiction, violent or suicidal thoughts, and physical syndromes such as coma, seizures, or loss of muscular coordination. Therefore, not only the testing of psychedelic drugs causes ethical debates, but the use of these drugs in general also questions whether they should be used in medicine at all.

The systematic scheduling of drugs in the United States is arbitrary which leads to a discriminative social injustice. Some psychedelic substances such as Psilocybin are schedule 1 drugs, while alcohol and nicotine are legal. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) both alcohol and nicotine are proven to be harmful and addictive (2017). Conversely, Psychedelic substances have not been proven to be addictive. This equates to a social injustice that discriminates over someone who may prefer the effects of psilocybin to nicotine, even under the science that has shown nicotine and alcohol have a higher potential for abuse. Unfortunately, many political factors come into play regarding the legal status of drugs and industries such as the pharmaceutical, tobacco and alcohol industries, who harbor the most money and have an influence in the legality of drugs whether they are safe or not. While legalizing psychedelic substances would most likely cut into profits for these large industries they would bring about economic benefits as well.

I chose psilocybin or hallucinogenic drugs because their strange effects are interesting. Plus I would like to know what I might be doing to my body, if I try it one day. Hallucinogenic drugs have been around since the beginning of time. It’s used in an attempt seek spiritual enlightenment. During modern time hallucinogenic drugs are a scheduled one drug. However, they may improve mental health in several different ways, from people with mental illness to helping people overcome addiction. Also the drug can improve lives of people who suffer from depression. The use of psilocybin can be beneficial to society in a sense. Psilocybin has spiritual, mental, and medical benefits.

“Between the second World War, when Dr. Albert Hofmann accidentally got high with his invention of LSD, and in the late ’60s there were thousands of studies conducted by medical and psychiatric researchers looking into the therapeutic benefits of psychedelic drugs” (Antonia). Hofmann’s experiments had opened the minds of many scientists, making them curious as to what LSD could potentially have in store for the future of medicine. “The extraordinary mental effects of LSD described in 1943 by Hofmann prompted hope in the following two decades that a powerful therapeutic tool was at

Blyer’s article was published in Psychology Today. Psychology Today is a magazine that is published every two months, and focuses on psychology, neuroscience, alternative medicine, sexuality, and relationships. The fact that Blyer’s article was published in Psychology Today establishes that Blyer is a reputable source. Within the article Blyer also supplies the reader with a brief summary and the history of certain psychedelics that are mentioned within the article. Blyer states, “hallucinogenic substances have been used by indigenous people for millennia in the contexts of ritual and healing, though not until Hofmann’s revelation were they subject to widespread scientific inquiry” (Blyer 62).

The psychedelic drug LSD, short for Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, was a drug used for the treatment of mental disorders and alcoholism in the 1950s. After a twenty-year reign, its use stopped why psychiatrist were prescribing the drug like Pez Dispensers. Unknowingly these doctors were overdosing their patients. The question is, if prescribed correctly, could LSD still be a useful medicine, or do the risks outweigh the benefits. Doctors and loved ones of alcoholics might greatly benefit. If the taboo were removed this drug could still be useful.

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

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

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).

Throughout the history of the human species, we have been always wanted to know three basic questions: why we are here, where did we come from, and where do we go after this life? Whether we were created from an omnipotent being as in many religions, we happened by chance and made it to where we are through evolution, or maybe even something else. Whatever the case may be, humans have always been curious and wondered about our existence and consciousness. Along with these age old questions, also came the use of psychoactive drugs and other mind altering substances. In order to try to understand these questions, humans have experimented with drugs that alter their state of consciousness.

It is no secret that drug use has the ability to completely alter a person’s state of consciousness, whether it be through extreme euphoria, increased hyperactivity, pain relief or psychedelic hallucinations. Although many drugs are used for medical purposes, the global issue of recreational drug use is now being fronted as an extremely serious matter that is steadily on the uprise. Recreational drug use is often associated with negativity, addiction and as having serious physical and mental repercussions. One of the few class of drugs that is often associated with both positive and negative connotations are hallucinogens, otherwise known as “psychedelics”, which have powerful altering effects on ones sense of perception, brain function

There were several issues hallucinogens pose for which I have no sure answer right now. Primarily, there is the role of hallucinogens in pain relief and psychotherapy. Peter’s words “Be alert and of sober mind… (The Holy Bible)” ring in my ears, but research shows hallucinogens effectiveness in relieving pain and improving anxiety in those suffering late stage cancer and other severe illnesses. I do not believe this is something I endorse, but the conversation challenged my thinking throughout the