Discuss the medical benefits of psychedelic drugs
| Transcending the Medical Frontiers: Exploring the Future of Psychedelic Drug Research by David Jay B
Main Book Content: 29 Transcending the Medical Frontiers: Exploring the Future of Psychedelic Drug Research by David Jay Brown Prepared by: Mary H. Maguire, California State University, Sacramento Article Kim Schnurbush, California State University,Sacramento Transcending the Medical Frontiers Exploring the Future of Psychedelic Drug Research David Jay Brown Learning Outcomes After reading this article, you will be able to: • Discuss the history of psychedelic drug use. • Discuss the medical benefits of psychedelic drugs. • Analyzetheargumentsforandagainstthemedicaluseof psychedelic drugs. When I was in graduate school studying behavioral neuroscience I wanted nothing more than to be able to conduct psychedelic drug research. However, in the mid-1980s, this was impossible to do at any academic insti- tution on Earth. There wasn’t a single government on the entire planet that legally allowed clinical research with psychedelic drugs. However, this worldwide research ban started to recede in the early 1990s, and we’re currently witnessing a renaissance of medical research into psychedelic drugs. Working with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psyche- delic Studies (MAPS) for the past four years as their guest edi- tor has been an extremely exciting and tremendously fruitful endeavor for me. It’s a great joy to see how MDMA can help people suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), how LSD can help advanced-stage cancer patients come to peace with the dying process, and how ibogaine can help opi- ate addicts overcome their addiction. There appears to be enor- mous potential for the development of psychedelic drugs into effective treatments for a whole range of difficult-to-treat psy- chiatric disorders. However, as thrilled as I am by all the new clinical studies exploring the medical potential of psychedelic drugs, I still long for the day when our best minds and resources can be applied to the study of these extraordinary substances with an eye that looks beyond their medical applications, toward their ability to enhance human potential and explore new realities. This article explores these possibilities. But first, let’s take a look at how we got to be where we are. A Brief History of Time-Dilation Studies Contemporary Western psychedelic drug research began in 1897, when the German chemist Arthur Heffter first isolated mescaline, the primary psychoactive compound in the peyote cactus. In 1943 Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann discovered the hallucinogenic effects of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals in Basel while studying ergot, a fun- gus that grows on rye. Then, 15 years later, in 1958, he was the first to isolate psilocybin and psilocin—the psychoactive components of the Mexican “magic mushroom,” Psilocybe mexicana. Before 1972, nearly 700 studies with LSD and other psyche- delic drugs were conducted. This research suggested that LSD has remarkable medical potential. LSD-assisted psychotherapy was shown to safely reduce the anxiety of terminal cancer patients, alcoholism, and the symptoms of many difficult-to- treat psychiatric illnesses. Between 1972 and 1990 there were no human studies with psychedelic drugs. Their disappearance was the result of a political backlash that followed the promotion of these drugs by the 1960s counterculture. This reaction not only made these substances illegal for personal use, but also made it extremely difficult for researchers to get government approval to study them. |
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Psychology of Drugs and Abuse
Psychology of Drugs and Abuse The New Wave of Psychedelic Drug Research The political climate began to change in 1990, with the approval of Rick Strassman’s DMT study at the University of New Mexico. According to public policy expert and MAPS president Rick Doblin this change occurred because, “open- minded regulators at the FDA decided to put science before politics when it came to psychedelic and medical marijuana research. FDA openness to research is really the key factor. Also, senior researchers who were influenced by psychedelics in the sixties now are speaking up before they retire and have earned credibility.” The past 18 years have seen a bold resurgence of psyche- delic drug research, as scientists all over the world have come to recognize the long-underappreciated potential of these drugs. In the past few years, a growing number of studies using human volunteers have begun to explore the possible therapeu- tic benefits of drugs such as LSD, psilocybin, DMT, MDMA, ibogaine, and ketamine. Current studies are focusing on psychedelic treatments for cluster headaches, PTSD, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), severe anxiety in terminal cancer patients, alcoholism, and opiate addiction. The results so far look quite promising, and more studies are being planned by MAPS and other private psychedelic research organizations, with the even- tual goal of turning MDMA, LSD, psilocybin, and other psy- chedelics into legally available prescription drugs. As excited as I am that psychedelic drugs are finally being studied for their medical and healing potential, I’m eagerly anticipating the day when psychedelic drug research can really take off, and move beyond its therapeutic applications in medi- cine. I look forward to the day when researchers can explore the potential of psychedelics as advanced learning tools, rela- tionship builders, creativity enhancers, pleasure magnifiers, vehicles for self-improvement, reliable catalysts for spiritual or mystical experiences, a stimulus for telepathy and other psy- chic abilities, windows into other dimensions, and for their ability to possibly shed light on the reality of parallel universes and nonhuman entity contact. Let’s take a look at some of these exciting possibilities. The Science of Pleasure Almost all medical research to date has been focused on cur- ing diseases and treating illnesses, while little attention has been paid to increasing human potential, let alone to the enhancement of pleasure. However, one can envision a time in the not-too-distant future when we will have cured all of our most challenging physical ailments and have more time and resources on our hands to explore post-survival activities. It’s likely that we’ll then focus our research efforts on discovering new ways to improve our physical and mental performance. A science devoted purely to enhancing pleasure might come next, and psychedelics could play a major role in this new field. Maverick physicist Nick Herbert’s “Pleasure Dome” project seeks to explore this possibility, and although this is little more than an idea at this point, it may be the first step toward turning the enhancement of pleasure into a true science. According to surveys done by the U.S. National Institute of Drug Abuse, the number one reason why people do LSD is because “it’s fun.” Tim Leary helped to popularize the use of LSD with the help of the word “ecstasy,” and sex expert Annie Sprinkle has been outspoken about the ecstatic possibilities available from combining sex and psychedelics. Countless psychedelic trip reports have described long periods of appre- ciating extraordinary beauty and savoring ecstatic bliss, experi- ences that were many orders of magnitude more intense than the subjects previously thought possible. With all the current research emphasis on the medical appli- cations and therapeutic potential of psychedelics, the unspoken and obvious truth about these extraordinary substances is that, when done properly, they’re generally safe and healthy ways to have an enormous amount of fun. There’s good reason why, they’re so popular recreationally, despite their illegality. When psychedelic research begins to integrate with applied neuroscience and advanced nanotechnology in the future, we can begin to establish a serious science of pleasure and fun. Most likely this would begin with a study of sensory enhance- ment and time dilation, which are two of the primary effects that psychedelics reliably produce. Perhaps one day our brightest researchers and best resources will be devoted to finding new ways to enhance sexual, audi- tory, visual, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile sensations, and cre- ate undreamed of new pleasures and truly unearthly delights. Scientific studies could explore ways to improve sexual per- formance and enhance sensory sensitivity, elongate and inten- sify our orgasms, enlarge the spectrum of our perceptions, and deepen every dimension of our experience. Massage therapy, Tantra, music, culinary crafting, and other pleasure-producing techniques could be systematically explored with psychedelics, and universities could have applied research centers devoted to the study of ecstasy, tickling, and laughter. The neurochemistry of aesthetic appreciation, happiness, humor, euphoria, and bliss could be carefully explored with an eye toward improvement. Serious research and development could be used to create new drugs, and integrate neurochemi- cally heightened states with enhanced environments, such as technologically advanced amusement parks and extraor- dinary virtual realities. In this area of research, it seems that 30 |
