Psychedelic Drug Use Essay

LSD, Psilocybin, DMT, MDMA, Ketamine and Adrenochrome… what do they all have in common? They are all psychedelic drugs. Psychedelic drugs are drugs that cause hallucinations and apparent expansion of consciousness. There are many unanswered questions about the drug, what exactly is a psychedelic and what defines it also, what is the purpose of a psychedelic drug? Psychedelics are usually thought of as one of the most profound times in your life or one of the worst decisions you have ever made, but either way it is a life changing experience. Another aspect of psychedelic drugs is the myths and misconceptions about the different types, some are exponentially more dangerous than the others and in the end each drug has a different effect on whomever

Pollan mentions the idea that it is difficult to try a drug like psilocybin unless it has been proven to work and is not legal. I do not like the idea of opting for treatments that have yet to be proven successful. However, many of the patients in Pollan’s article do not mind that it has not been proven to work. Unlike the majority of the patients in Pollan’s article, I am not suffering from a terminal illness and therefore I do not feel pushed enough or like I have exhausted all my options. Pollan proposes the possibility of psychedelics to treat people with severe anxiety or addictions (38). If I were to ever reach a point of my life where I had a terminal illness, unmanageable anxiety, or an addiction, I would not be opposed to trying psychedelics if they have been

The growing debate over drugs and their use is a constant issue in today’s society. Animals and Psychedelics: The Natural World and the Instinct to alter Consciousness offers a unique look into how and why some people and animals have a natural instinct to seek out things to inebriate themselves. With the unique information this book brings to light, it creates new points for policy makers to take into consideration when drug policies are being created.

LSD has potential medical and therapeutic uses. Even though LSD 's illegalization caused a drastic

A new wave study on hallucinogens, and other mind-altering substances, was organized to address whether these

     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.

These substances are in turn broken down in the body into a great many more

Intro: Psilocybin mushrooms are a Schedule 1 drug which means they have high potential for abuse and are not recognized for medicinal use, yet they are not addictive and overdosing directly from the drug is very rare.

     Ecstasy, or 3, 4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, was first synthesized and patented in 1914, by the German drug company Merck. The original purpose of the drug was to be an appetite suppressant, however in 1970 it was given to clinical depressed patients to open them up and talk about their feelings. Then in 1986, Ecstasy was determined to cause brain damage (http://faculity.washington.edu/chudler/mdma.html).

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.

For thousands of years people have spoke of all types of visions. Whether the visions were from religious groups, Indian tribes, or self proclaimed prophets; all types of people have seen things. This was more than likely occurring with the help of different types of hallucinogens. Hallucinogens have been around since the beginning of time. Some mushrooms, cactus flowers, and even different types of mold are all able to produce hallucinogenic effects. However, it was only within the last century that man actually started to produce his own. LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide-25, is a relatively new substance in society. All known effects show LSD, or acid, as the harmful drug most people know it as. There are people who believe

A Swiss chemist named Dr. Albert Hoffman first produced lysergic acid Diethylmide –or best known as LSD in 1938 (Dye, 1992, p. 2). Hoffman discovered the drug while trying to synthesize a new drug for the treatment of headaches. He obtained the lysergic acid from the parasitic fungus that grows on rye plants known as ergot. From the lysergic acid, he synthesized the compound LSD. He used the compound to test for its pain killing properties on laboratory animals. Being that appeared totally ineffective, the bottle of LSD was placed on a shelf and remained untouched for five years.

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