I want to point you in the direction of two articles that talk about the current state of psychedelics in the world. Why does this matter? And why does it matter to me? Well, I find the topic to be fascinating and in spite of the amount of disinformation governments (especially our’s in the U.S.) has spread about these substances, after fourty years or so clinical research is getting back on track with psychedelics. Without going into much detail, as I will let the articles speak for themselves, most of the research right now is focused on helping people cope with anxiety in end of life scenarios (terminal cancer patients) and to overcome post traumatic stress disorder (facing abuse).
As I am studying to become a counselor, the psychological aspects of drugs have always interested me and I find the current research into psychedelics as possible medicines fascinating since I do have training in psychology. Anyway, the world of psychedelics has grown beyond its stereotypical image of the 60’s and hippies (i.e. Leary) into a more relaxed and mature community that doesn’t see these substances as the savior of all mankind (though some do), but as tools for personal growth that humans have been using for millenium. It is worth noting that intention in all things is important. Yes, people take drugs to get high and have fun (I see nothing wrong there, in moderation, we are all allowed to have a good time), but they also use them responsibly to help work through issues and gain insight.
The first article I want to point you to is the shorter of the two and can serve as more of an introduction. It’s a report on a psychedelic conference that was recently held in New York. You can find that article here. The second article is more indepth about the research going on, but is still friendly to lay people. The article is entitled “Emerging from the Dark Age: The Revival of Psychedelic Medicine” and can be found here. I must warn you that while I find this second article to be well written and highly informative, there a couple passages in that article I don’t entirely agree with, such as the statement that pscyhedelics “serve[] to connect [us] (or reconnect, as the case may be) to the universal compassion and love for life that is inherent in our species.” There aren’t many of these statements in the article, but I felt it was necessary to point them out.
I want to leave you with a quote from the first article that I think draws an interesting analogy and sums up rather well my basic view on psychedelics and other mind altering substances, along with my view on practices like meditation and yoga.
“Ultimately, however, all that just reinforces that psychedelics are a powerful tool, not a panacea. Though the Fender Stratocaster guitar and the Marshall amplifier are masterpieces of sonic technology, buying them isn’t going to enable you to play like Jimi Hendrix unless you also have a lot of talent, experience and soul.”
And I want to leave you with one further quote, this time from the second article that gives you a similar outlook, one of hesitancy and pragmatic application.
“All of these researchers stress that psychological professionals must guide psychedelic sessions, and that full recovery is only possible through continued therapy.
‘After 40 years of review,’ Rick Doblin [founder of MAPS] takes great care to mention, ‘we can accurately say it’s not a miracle cure. Psychedelic-assisted therapy does not work for people who don’t really want to look at their inner conflicts.’ “
Note: I’ve added a new tag “Psychedelics” as I am interested enough in this topic to warrant continual reports on things like the results of the studies.
