Depression and anxiety are debilitating diseases that stop the sufferer from experiencing life to the fullest.

Some argue that recreational drugs can alleviate the symptoms of depression and anxiety, whilst others claim it brings on worse feelings. However, new research published on Motherboard [1] has found that a small dose (one-tenth of a “normal” dose) of a hallucinogenic drug can actually alleviate symptoms and is actually quite safe to do so.*

If this treatment of 10-20 micrograms (rather than the recreational amount of around 100-200micrograms) every four days is carried out correctly, the user should not experience the hallucinogenic properties usually brought on by the drug, but their lives are improved drastically.

“People do it and they’re eating better, sleeping better, they’re often returning to exercise or yoga or meditation. It’s as if messages are passing through their body more easily,James Fadiman, a psychologist who studies psychedelic drugs, explained.

In 1966, Fadiman published a study [2] investigating the effects that hallucinogenic drugs can have on our creative problem-solving, and whilst his results were interesting, it’s hard to create a pathway into the field as the main method for each study involves illegal drugs. However, his field studies continue with the goal of gaining approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to carry out further scientific trials.

Matthew Johnson [1], a hallucinogenic drugs researcher at John Hopkins University, explained,

the scientific basis is pretty shaky right now. Its benefits are plausible and very interesting, but the claims of ‘everything fits together and goes right and you’re in a good mood and in the flow’, well, we all have those types of days regardless of any pharmacological intervention”.

It is undoubtedly a new field that still has a great deal of doubt surrounding it – will we use small doses of recreational drugs one day to treat mental health conditions like depression and anxiety? Watch this space.

*Please be aware that hallucinogenic drugs are very powerful and this study was carried out by a professional who had a great deal of experience with administering very small doses to willing individuals along with a great deal of knowledge and education on psychedelic drugs.

References:

  1. https://www.semanticscholar.org
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This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Rafael Espericueta

    I suffered from chronic depression as a child. When 16, I had 12 sessions with mescaline, and my depression was PERMANENTLY cured.

    I had mistakenly believed that my habitual depressing patterns of thought about reality were in fact Reality. And that reality wasn’t worth living in (suicidal thoughts arise). Mescaline showed me that there were other ways to perceive reality, and that I needn’t stay in the cognitive rut I was in.

    Mescaline was an eye and heart opener for me, that radically changed my life for the better. Mescaline was actually prescribed in the ’50s to treat heroin addiction, and I expect it worked amazingly well. Clearly entheogens like mescaline and LSD have great promise for treating depressive disorders, compulsive disorders, and perhaps other conditions.

    We need to remove the stigma and begin the research!!

  2. Chakra

    Rafael I knew there was a reason you were the best professor I ever had.

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