Magic Mushrooms : A Psychedelic Drug

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide or LSD is a hallucinogenic drug that can be taken orally, injected or even absorbed through the skin. Once LSD has entered the body, it starts to take effects on the levels of serotonin in the brain which can cause; hallucinations, mood change, and even sensory distortion. After taking LSD, the effects on the brain usually last from 6 to 9 hours depending on multiple factors; the dosage of LSD taken, the subject taking LSD, and even the user 's mood can affect the duration of LSD use. LSD is a non-lethal, non-addictive, and a non-habit forming drug that has little to no effect on the long-term health of an individual. However, LSD has been illegal since the 1960 's. Not only did availability of LSD become scarce with the criminalization of the substance, but the legislation also put a halt on the research of the chemical as well. Much of the way LSD interacts with the brain has been left unknown. This derivative from the rye fungus Ergot has been the source of controversy that has left many people wondering why LSD has been classified as a drug that is just as dangerous to use as heroin. It becomes difficult for an individual to understand how legislation could criminalize a chemical without completely understanding how it functions and affects people. LSD should be legalized for scientific, medical and recreational usage.

Thesis: There are many misconceptions about magic mushrooms, but I believe that they could be incredibly important for the future treatment of mental health.

However, the addiction to illegal and legal drugs is only one of the myriads of other sorts of addictions. Thousands of cases are reported each year stemming from thousands of platforms for obsession, including sex, gambling, stealing, and over-eating. Although some of these platforms may seem harmless and, in some cases, mundane, (i.e. videogames, caffeine), each case of addiction is just as serious as the next.

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.

Addiction is a disease, and should be recognized as such. The use of taboo substances has been proven by countless studies and basic observation that the “happy hormones” released during use are similar, if not often identical, to the hormones released when we eat, drink, or relieve primal urges. This makes it easy for our brains to develop a “craving trigger” for these drugs, similar to a rumbling stomach when you are hungry. A mental

Although prescribed use of psilocybin is rare nowadays for medicinal purposes; many tests have been done on its medicinal uses in patients with personality disorders. Some tests have shown a noticeable reduction in obsessive compulsive disorder as a result of psilocybin use. Psilocybin has also been tested and is sometimes administered to cancer patients and has been proven to ease mental stress and the emotional baggage caused by cancer by changing the patient’s perspective on his/her situation and life in general. This compound has also been proven to reduce the pain resulting from cluster headaches in 85 % of patients tested and distanced the frequency of the attacks in 96% of patients.

Kemsley, Jyllian. "Psychedelic Compounds like Ecstasy May Be Good for More than Just a High." CEN RSS. Chemical & Engineering, 28 Mar. 2016. Web. 10 May 2016.

Anxiety and depression give into the power of the potent psilocybin. Emerging studies show the incredible therapeutic experience of psilocybin with sustained treatment. In a study at the New York University, in a study of psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression, one patient described the experience saying, “Magic mushrooms trump Xanax resoundingly. Rather than getting rid of one’s anxiety, Xanax just numbs it until the medication’s effects wear off. At that point another pill is required. In his words “you’re not taking it and it solves your problem. You take it and you solve your problem yourself.” Prescription drugs often exacerbate one’s condition or manifest an addiction to the drug prescribed. These drugs are costly and toxic to the body; psilocybin is free and is proving to be unhazardous to health in recent studies. (Westlund

Hallucinogens cannot be taken in moderation, and since a tolerance is developed during extended use, it is hard to judge how much LSD, mushroom, pescaline, or N-Bomb is necessary to get high. Effects of an overdose

Do the mentally ill commonly take psychiatric drugs because the drugs actually work, or do they take them because they believe that these drugs work? Robert Whitaker, the author of Anatomy of an Epidemic, suggests that psychiatric drugs may catalyze or possibly create mental and physical illnesses rather than improve mental health. However, psychedelic drugs, which are also psychoactive agents like psychiatric drugs, may be better alternatives. Aldous Huxley, the author of The Doors of Perception, proposes that psychedelic drugs can help people understand mental illness from a more personal perspective, and that they can also expand the mind. The recreational use of these drugs can uncover a hidden external reality, and in turn, enrich the spirit. But perhaps aside from recreational use, psychedelic drugs should be more widely used instead of psychiatric drugs to treat both the longtime and the newly mentally ill. Under moderated use, psychedelics not only profoundly enhance one’s creative vision but also provide therapeutic mental health benefits.

Throughout history a multitude of human populations have been using and abusing a number of psychoactive drugs. These drugs can include very common substances such as caffeine to the more deadly but arguably just as addictive heroine. Further on the list of psychoactive drugs include those of the psychedelic variety. These would include the chemicals such as d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), peyote and psilocybin among others. All of which have hallucinogenic properties that tend to blur the line between fantasy and reality. How dangerous are these chemicals, and what are the consequences of sustained long term use? Due to the controversial nature of the use of psychedelic drugs in a medical setting, the study of short and long term effects

It considerate to bring peace to the mind and the body by increasing sensation to music and visual. It shows that a person consuming a small dose of psilocybin which is between 4 and 8 mg. This person can feel a sensation of peace in his mind which will detach him from his surroundings. This small dose can also bring mental and physical relaxation, tiredness and moods change. Also this hallucinogen can be very dangerous to the organism if abused. In fact, study shows that someone who takes around 13 mg or more of this psilocybin can present the same symptoms as a LSD user. Thus, this person will start to feel dizzy with facial flushing and sweating. Numbness on the face, lips, tongue, and mouth. He will also have nausea and anxiety. And for the one who consumed the mushrooms directly, the effects are more serious because there are several different species of mushrooms, and some of them are very poisonous. Thus, by swallowing the wrong mushrooms can be dangerous for the organism. Poisonous mushrooms can cause severe stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea and even death. Also, this drug can cause hallucination which will later be a cause of severe accidents such car crash, heavy fall or the person will hurt himself. People take this drug illegal because it is considerate dangerous for the organism so the federal government classed it as illegal drug, and there are severe fines and heavy jail sentences

Psychedelic drugs affect more then creativity, they are also known to have the ability to increase the users sense of spirituality and religion. In the academic journal, “Voice of The Psychonauts,” author Levente Moro explores the correlation between spirituality, and psychedelic drug use. He claims that when psychedelic drugs are taken in a “supportive” environment they have the ability to induce “deeply meaningful religious revelations and spiritual awakenings” (Moro et al. 190). Psychedelic drug use in hopes of spiritual revelations is not new, and has actually been going on for hundreds of years. The Native American Church has been known to traditionally use psychedelic drugs for spiritual experiences (Moro et al. 190). Some

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