From personal experience in my youth, I can definitely say that psychedelics (mushrooms in particular) can help you think in different ways that make your problems seem trivial and imminently solvable. Those changed patterns of thought seem like a revelation at the time -- like the clouds opened and an answer came down from the sky. So I'm not at all surprised with this.
That said, this study had only 12 participants with no control group -- so it's hard to draw any meaningful conclusions. But as a canary study, it says that there might be something here, so further, more rigorous studies are warranted.
This seems to be the important quote on the findings: “We can give psilocybin to depressed patients, they can tolerate it, and it is safe. This gives us an initial impression of the effectiveness of the treatment.”
All the legal hurdles they had to pass to make this happen are quite impressive. Hopefully they've eeked open that door a bit for further study.
Roland Griffiths at John's Hopkins is trying to do proper research on psilocybin, i.e. with control groups. Although it's kind of hard since the effects of psilocybin are rather noticeable.
Here's a thing I don't understand - no control group.
Surely we've been trying to treat people with severe, long term depression by other means and not had success. This surely wasn't the first treatment that these people tried in trying to treat their long-term misery. How are both of those things taken together not as good as a control group that allows you to draw meaningful conclusions. It really sounds to me (although it would be better to see the quantification in the source docs) that this is a strong enough result to rule out noise.
If your results are strong enough, you don't need a control. If all 12 participants died while undertaking the trial would we say that it needs to be re-run with a control to be meaningful?
The results look strong. Go for pre-registered replication right away. Sod the control group. Everyone with severe long term depression outside the study is already suffering enough to be the control.
When I am finishing a mushroom experience I usually have overwhelming feelings of love and am excited to start the next day. My brain is racing with all the possibilities of life and ways I can make things better for myself.
People should be coached in how to have a good mushroom experience and what to expect. Nature + fresh fruit + good music + comfy place to sleep has always been a winning combination for me.
I'd definitely recommend doing this only with someone who has experience and is reasonable. On one of my last camping trips I saw two girls doing mushrooms which ended with one of them running around naked for hours screaming for help and attacking people she thought were demons. This only ended when a park ranger arrested her after a chase through the bushes. Her friend was just watching and smiling.
I am not opposed to drugs but you should know what you are getting into.
That's interesting. I've had the opposite experience when ending my psychedelic experiences. I find that I get overly critical in my introspection and pick apart every perceived flaw, leaving me in a raw and negative mental state.
Instead of leaving me feeling refreshed I am drained and dread the idea of going back to being "normal" where I become blind to those obvious flaws and complacent with living a sub-par life.
I recommend a shaman to guide you through the journey. Someone who has been there before. Otherwise, you'll spend way too much time looping around one topic or idea. let them give you the hints to jump loops and go beyond.
For those seeking to break down the barriers of the mind, psilocybin and mescaline are the most intelligent options. SWIM (Someone Who Isn't Me) grew mushrooms and peyote cactus to enable revelations in the minds of consenting adults, and every single person who ingested these naturally-occurring organic substances thanked SWIM for a life-changing experience.
That said, there are obvious risks to glorifying psychedelic use, especially when available psychedelics are usually in the form of LSD. While these synthetic compounds can yield the same results as their organic counterparts, there is no way to verify the amount of LSD in a dose. Overdosing on LSD can trigger schizophrenia and several other mental problems in those who are prone to it. This is why SWIM recommends organic psychedelic compounds that can be clearly measured into an appropriate dosage for the individual's size and past psychedelic experience.
There is also an overwhelming trend amongst unscrupulous suppliers to market doses of DOC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,5-Dimethoxy-4-chloroamphetam...) as LSD. While the observed effect of the two are similar, DOC can be extremely dangerous to those with hypertension and high blood pressure. DOC is also an amphetamine with greater risk of physical addiction.
SWIM also wants to point out that SWIM engaged in countless adventures with varying levels of psilocybin and mescaline dosages, and arrived at the conclusion that psychedelic substances are not necessary for seeing the beauty in life or the purpose that one may have in this world. SWIM's most transformative revelations came about while completely sober at a Taoist monastery of the Wudang mountains in China. It is SWIM's opinion that all can know beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness (Tao Te Ching, chapter 2), and now urges people to pursue safe and well-known techniques (meditation, yoga, tai chi, qi gong) for improving one's state of mind.
> A logical next step would be to carry out a placebo controlled
randomised trial in which the level of therapist contact is consistent between conditions.
No study or scientific curiosity is "next to useless". You are being intentionally antagonistic and there's no need for that. All research has to start somewhere, and this study is a significant start to this field. In no way is it or its conclusions "next to useless".
Heh, a placebo effect would make sense ...to someone that hasn't tripped. The explosion of neurotransmitters can not just be simulated or induced through coercion.
There's a chasmic divide between the effects of psilocybin and any mental state you can will consciously or subconsciously.
EDIT: unless your hypothesis is that the dissolution of the ego, lack of regard for the conventional, and overwhelming sense of identity with the cosmos are unrelated to depression. Sure a control could tell you that.
Firstly, while this is nothing like proper clinical trials, there are plenty of people who have anecdotes about psychedelics helping their depression before the idea of studying this was a thing.
Secondly, if a placebo has a really high rate of success, and less side effects than currently available medication, then it could still be interesting.
And thirdly, it's going to be really, really hard to test against placebos. They're using quite strong doses to get these results, and I think it would be very hard to not realise you weren't getting the psychedelic effects unless you went into the test with literally no prior understanding of what effects the non-placebo drug would have.
But yes, a lot of research still to do. I'm rather optimistic, though.
I wonder why no one studies the placebo effect. If it was understood better, we could perhaps factor out the effect for cases where it would be difficult to administer a believable placebo (as in the case here).
I owe my entire successful career in science and mathematics to repeated use of LSD in my late teens/early 20's. It woke my desire to seek answers to the underlying mechanics of the universe. Before that, I was just a high school drop-out with low self-esteem, no direction, and no positive role models.
I have read that LSD can induce your brain into learning states similar to that of a baby, where new connections (and disconnections?) are able to be formed effortlessly. Given your experience, I wish there were more research being done. It could be another tool to help people overcome trauma or personality disorders.
It worked for me in my 20's, but I think if I tried it again in my late 30's, it might make things worse. Mushrooms don't let you hide problems from yourself.
That's a legitimate worry, but it all lifts during the trip, when you realize that it's totally not about that.
This is the reason for the depression lifting, by the way.
Depressed people are stuck in infinite loops mostly involving their 'social self'.
When they trip, they realize that "I" has so many more facets than just the social self (ego) - that "I" is also part (and at the center) of an infinite stream of energy - "Universe" , that time is an illusion, that all living beings are part of the same organism, etc, etc.
There is so much more to "I" than just our "problems", "goals" and "aspirations", but we tend to forget that.
Psychedelics help you remember - and that's why they are so powerful and also scary for the establishment.
It helped me a lot more now (in my late 30s) than it did when I was younger. Now, when you understand "life" a lot better, you can really integrate the experience and derive positive and useful conclusions from it.
> Mushrooms don't let you hide problems from yourself.
That's the entire point in my opinion. It's the closest I've ever come to feeling like I "took the red pill".
I can't speak for others but from my own experience there aren't bad trips. There are only uncomfortable trips. Uncomfortable because they're reveling a truth you don't want to accept.
It didn't let you hide from your problems the first time, either. But for me, at least, it has gotten me out of my head and back into it with a different perspective on the problems. The stuff you think about it... it is basically fear (which goes away). The amazing part, I think, is that you don't even need all that much to get benefits.
I am in my late 30's now, and luckily I'm in a position to take a trip to Amsterdam every year or two - and that is after not doing it for years and years. I now find it a part of keeping myself psychologically healthy. I come back with a slightly altered life outlook. The worst part, for me, is that I usually can feel daily anxiety coming back as I come back down - but even that has become less over time and it gives me a better perspective on what those happen to be.
> It took 32 months between having the grant awarded and dosing the first patient, says Nutt. By comparison, it took six months “to get through the machinations” for his team’s previous studies using the equally illegal drugs LSD and MDMA, he says.
Says more about how poorly the brain is understood than anything else.
Also, very possible that the measures that were take to keep people "safe" were a factor. Anyone know if there was a control group given the same treatment (double blind) - but with a placebo?
__________
EDIT:
Direct link to the related research paper:
Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: a feasibility study
The measures that were taken to keep people "safe" were definitely a factor. In psychedelic circles it's called 'set and setting' and it is an integral part of the experience. Under the influence of psychedelics, one is much more susceptible to the information from the environment.
I don't think it's possible to do fully blinded studies with psychedelics. However in an older study (Griffiths I think) they gave placebo or psilocybin to the participants on random basis, but eventually everyone had one experience with placebo and one with psilocybin. The measured effects did clearly distinguish between placebo and psilocybin.
Is there any literature in their efficacy in treating anxiety disorders? As somebody who's suffered from severe anxiety since my mid-teens and had it cleared up more or less from medication I'm extremely interested in seeing how Psilocybin would affect the disorder. I would be quite willing to try it out but I'm very hesitant because I suspect my underlying anxiety would undermine the experience and possibly leave me in a worse off state than before.
Hey, so... I've got pretty severe PTSD from my experiences in combat. Loads of anxiety. I have to tell you since you made this point, that mushrooms specifically have helped me so tremendously to manage the anxiety. The way I describe it to other veterans (to encourage its use among people suffering from these disorders) is that mushrooms help ground me by providing a safe, chill, unique experience that I can later use as a point of reference when my anxiety gets bad. Make sure you know what you are putting into your body, don't take too many, don't eat them in a strange environment (a quiet weekend night in your living room is a good place), and only do mushrooms with someone you know and trust (and who has experience with the experience). You will thank yourself for doing it. It will change your life for the better if you follow those simple guidelines.
Yes, psilocybin will help. An ex-girlfriend of mine had severe anxiety problems after being sexually abused, and one of our earliest memories together was taking 3 grams of Psilocybe Cubensis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybe_cubensis) during a hike to Half Dome in Yosemite. She underwent a transformative experience that day, not only overcoming her anxiety problems but also her fear of snakes (we saw several rattlesnakes at an uncomfortably close distance to us) and her fear of heights/fear of falling. While I wouldn't recommend taking psychedelics in a dangerous situation or during strenuous exercising, taking psychedelics in the right situation can be transformative to those with deeply-rooted mental issues.
More anecdote leaning towards truth that my friends were self-medicating and not simply "doing something bad."
I am now, well into middle age, firmly in the camp that I missed out, due to fear, propaganda, and mis-information. And that my life might have been much better if I had not bought so heavily into that message and instead had "experimented". Trust your observations; not blind authority.
Anyway... I'm currently trying to overcome a combination of symptoms, thoughts, and feelings, stemming from years of abuse, PTSD, and eventually significant knock-on physical health effects.
In the past, I've tried SSRI's, NSRI's, Wellbutrin. Immediate, horrible reactions to each. The only thing that helped was a small dose of Adderall -- much lower than standard. And St. John's Wort. Almost impossible in the U.S. to find a doctor who will agree to simultaneous use of both -- unlike in Europe, so I understand. And the doctor I found was a jerk who almost cost me my chance to purchase next year's health insurance, due to his lack of response on paperwork. So, no more Adderall.
I'm ready to try magic mushrooms. Maybe a low, pure dose of ketamin. Or perhaps MDMA. Under supervision -- medical or simply experienced and well-intentioned. But, there is no avenue for this.
And big pharma and the "war on drugs" will do their best to keep it locked down.
I simply have no trust left in the Establishment, in the U.S., with respect to medical practice. Or, very select trust, in individual practitioners. Who are often caught in a system that severely hampers their ability to actually practice effective medicine and treatment.
I agree with you completely. When I was young I smoked a lot of weed but was afraid of LSD and mushrooms. Now that I'm nearing 60 I feel that I definitely missed out. Since dealing with pretty bad anxiety from, I assume, extreme stress at work for decades, I'm ready to try mushrooms and, in the right setting, LSD.
I really do believe some of the more negative stereotypes and stigma is beginning to lift surrounding the therapeutic use of entheogens. Like you stated time and accurate information with disciplined research hopefully leads to change. I think we have all seen that occur with marijuana for both medical and recreational use. I am very optimistic about the future of psychedelic use for those that need it and those that desire it.
Lots of people with positive experiences with psilocybin in this thread. I have also had many incredible experiences and advocate its use, with conditions. But. And this is a very important thing to know before anyone reading decides to try it for the first time.
Psilocybin experiences can be truly traumatic. If you have existing mental health issues, please be very, very careful before you decide to take it. Do all the research you can. I have one friend who went completely over the edge, reached the point of no return. It triggered a predisposition to a horrible mental illness. It has destroyed his life and his familys. For a small number of people, this can happen.
If you think you might be vulnerable to this but still want to go ahead, please make sure you are responsibly and get an experienced sitter and a safe, familiar setting.
> I have one friend who went completely over the edge, reached the point of no return. It triggered a predisposition to a horrible mental illness. It has destroyed his life and his family.
Have any details you're comfortable sharing? Particularly the mental illness, what happened when they were triggered and how often they dosed?
I like how marijuana and psilocybin have no negative side effects and it's taken hundreds of years to be taken seriously as clinical treatments.
Meanwhile, according to the FDA, there were "56,000 emergency room visits, 26,000 hospitalizations, and 458 deaths per year related to acetaminophen-associated overdoses during the 1990s. unintentional acetaminophen overdose accounted for nearly 25 percent of the emergency department visits, 10 percent of the hospitalizations, and 25 percent of the deaths [per year]." [1]
The irony of psilocybin classification as a Schedule 1 drug is that it's not even addictive. But then again, the US government and America in general has never let facts get in the way of their goals to ruin people's lives. People have known this is an effective treatment for depression for many years. How many lives have been ruined simply because of its being illicit and unavailable to treat patients who needed it? When I think about it that way, I can't help but hope these murderers will one day get justice, but I know they won't.
Twelve people. No control group. And as a person who has suffered lifelong depression, and up until 2.5 years ago had serious substance problems: duh, drugs change the way you feel.
I'm not saying there's nothing worth exploring here. My personal intuition is that psychedelics could be a huge help in some cases, especially for treatment-resistant depression. But this "study" isn't worth squat.
i think we'll be looking back at our time with amusement to say the least - these people, like millions others, were having serious problems for decades (17.8 years avg in the article) while known remedies like cannabis, mushrooms and other stuff is just prohibited out of the irrational fear and powergrab desire driving the war on drugs.
Legalize, standardize, tax, repeat. Why is it that difficult? People will do anything to keep their grip on (perceived) power - even if it means destroying someone's life.
Gov't doesn't really want jobs, or tax revenue at the expense of their jobs. What would cops do if they weren't locking up kids for a joint?
Not everything is a giant conspiracy theory. If society changed to the point where drugs didn't have such a stigma against them, then the politicians would legalize them. They excel at doing things that are popular - be it good or bad things. Case in point Canada with their goal of legalizing marijuana.
It's harder to do that in the US because you have more conservative people who see drugs as morally repugnant. My prediction is blue states will continue legalizing and red states will be the last holdout.
Does anyone know what species is in the picture? Someone on the Flickr page asks if they're Cyanescens. My guess would be Allenii just based on the fact that they were found in San Bruno, but I don't have a good species concept for either.
[+] [-] exelius|10 years ago|reply
That said, this study had only 12 participants with no control group -- so it's hard to draw any meaningful conclusions. But as a canary study, it says that there might be something here, so further, more rigorous studies are warranted.
[+] [-] cassieramen|10 years ago|reply
All the legal hurdles they had to pass to make this happen are quite impressive. Hopefully they've eeked open that door a bit for further study.
[+] [-] zimbu668|10 years ago|reply
http://www.tedmed.com/speakers/show?id=526372
Just in case anyone here hasn't already seen this: https://xkcd.com/1462/
[+] [-] harry8|10 years ago|reply
Surely we've been trying to treat people with severe, long term depression by other means and not had success. This surely wasn't the first treatment that these people tried in trying to treat their long-term misery. How are both of those things taken together not as good as a control group that allows you to draw meaningful conclusions. It really sounds to me (although it would be better to see the quantification in the source docs) that this is a strong enough result to rule out noise.
If your results are strong enough, you don't need a control. If all 12 participants died while undertaking the trial would we say that it needs to be re-run with a control to be meaningful?
The results look strong. Go for pre-registered replication right away. Sod the control group. Everyone with severe long term depression outside the study is already suffering enough to be the control.
[+] [-] humbleMouse|10 years ago|reply
People should be coached in how to have a good mushroom experience and what to expect. Nature + fresh fruit + good music + comfy place to sleep has always been a winning combination for me.
[+] [-] maxxxxx|10 years ago|reply
I am not opposed to drugs but you should know what you are getting into.
[+] [-] Neff|10 years ago|reply
Instead of leaving me feeling refreshed I am drained and dread the idea of going back to being "normal" where I become blind to those obvious flaws and complacent with living a sub-par life.
[+] [-] faramarz|10 years ago|reply
<3
[+] [-] gjolund|10 years ago|reply
For a life changing experience hike a few days into a national forest and drop some shrooms.
[+] [-] fourstar|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] matthewvincent|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mosdave|10 years ago|reply
Can't go wrong with Messrs. McKenna and Anton-Wilson.
[+] [-] primitivesuave|10 years ago|reply
That said, there are obvious risks to glorifying psychedelic use, especially when available psychedelics are usually in the form of LSD. While these synthetic compounds can yield the same results as their organic counterparts, there is no way to verify the amount of LSD in a dose. Overdosing on LSD can trigger schizophrenia and several other mental problems in those who are prone to it. This is why SWIM recommends organic psychedelic compounds that can be clearly measured into an appropriate dosage for the individual's size and past psychedelic experience.
There is also an overwhelming trend amongst unscrupulous suppliers to market doses of DOC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,5-Dimethoxy-4-chloroamphetam...) as LSD. While the observed effect of the two are similar, DOC can be extremely dangerous to those with hypertension and high blood pressure. DOC is also an amphetamine with greater risk of physical addiction.
SWIM also wants to point out that SWIM engaged in countless adventures with varying levels of psilocybin and mescaline dosages, and arrived at the conclusion that psychedelic substances are not necessary for seeing the beauty in life or the purpose that one may have in this world. SWIM's most transformative revelations came about while completely sober at a Taoist monastery of the Wudang mountains in China. It is SWIM's opinion that all can know beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness (Tao Te Ching, chapter 2), and now urges people to pursue safe and well-known techniques (meditation, yoga, tai chi, qi gong) for improving one's state of mind.
[+] [-] tribby|10 years ago|reply
Nor psilocybin in a mushroom...
[+] [-] apo|10 years ago|reply
> A logical next step would be to carry out a placebo controlled randomised trial in which the level of therapist contact is consistent between conditions.
http://www.thelancet.com/pb/assets/raw/Lancet/pdfs/S22150366...
Depression studies are subject to well-known, powerful placebo effects, rendering this study's conclusions next to useless:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/are-antidepr...
[+] [-] cryptoz|10 years ago|reply
No study or scientific curiosity is "next to useless". You are being intentionally antagonistic and there's no need for that. All research has to start somewhere, and this study is a significant start to this field. In no way is it or its conclusions "next to useless".
[+] [-] elif|10 years ago|reply
There's a chasmic divide between the effects of psilocybin and any mental state you can will consciously or subconsciously.
EDIT: unless your hypothesis is that the dissolution of the ego, lack of regard for the conventional, and overwhelming sense of identity with the cosmos are unrelated to depression. Sure a control could tell you that.
[+] [-] corin_|10 years ago|reply
Secondly, if a placebo has a really high rate of success, and less side effects than currently available medication, then it could still be interesting.
And thirdly, it's going to be really, really hard to test against placebos. They're using quite strong doses to get these results, and I think it would be very hard to not realise you weren't getting the psychedelic effects unless you went into the test with literally no prior understanding of what effects the non-placebo drug would have.
But yes, a lot of research still to do. I'm rather optimistic, though.
[+] [-] reddytowns|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ifnaut|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bashinator|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Torgo|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] justsaysmthng|10 years ago|reply
This is the reason for the depression lifting, by the way.
Depressed people are stuck in infinite loops mostly involving their 'social self'.
When they trip, they realize that "I" has so many more facets than just the social self (ego) - that "I" is also part (and at the center) of an infinite stream of energy - "Universe" , that time is an illusion, that all living beings are part of the same organism, etc, etc.
There is so much more to "I" than just our "problems", "goals" and "aspirations", but we tend to forget that. Psychedelics help you remember - and that's why they are so powerful and also scary for the establishment.
It helped me a lot more now (in my late 30s) than it did when I was younger. Now, when you understand "life" a lot better, you can really integrate the experience and derive positive and useful conclusions from it.
[+] [-] atom-morgan|10 years ago|reply
That's the entire point in my opinion. It's the closest I've ever come to feeling like I "took the red pill".
I can't speak for others but from my own experience there aren't bad trips. There are only uncomfortable trips. Uncomfortable because they're reveling a truth you don't want to accept.
[+] [-] theseatoms|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] TheOneTrueKyle|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Broken_Hippo|10 years ago|reply
I am in my late 30's now, and luckily I'm in a position to take a trip to Amsterdam every year or two - and that is after not doing it for years and years. I now find it a part of keeping myself psychologically healthy. I come back with a slightly altered life outlook. The worst part, for me, is that I usually can feel daily anxiety coming back as I come back down - but even that has become less over time and it gives me a better perspective on what those happen to be.
[+] [-] sev|10 years ago|reply
I thought we were making progress...
[+] [-] nxzero|10 years ago|reply
Also, very possible that the measures that were take to keep people "safe" were a factor. Anyone know if there was a control group given the same treatment (double blind) - but with a placebo? __________
EDIT:
Direct link to the related research paper:
Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: a feasibility study
http://www.thelancet.com/pb/assets/raw/Lancet/pdfs/S22150366...
[+] [-] tpm|10 years ago|reply
I don't think it's possible to do fully blinded studies with psychedelics. However in an older study (Griffiths I think) they gave placebo or psilocybin to the participants on random basis, but eventually everyone had one experience with placebo and one with psilocybin. The measured effects did clearly distinguish between placebo and psilocybin.
[+] [-] hippich|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] stuxnet79|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fapjacks|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] primitivesuave|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] instakill|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pasbesoin|10 years ago|reply
I am now, well into middle age, firmly in the camp that I missed out, due to fear, propaganda, and mis-information. And that my life might have been much better if I had not bought so heavily into that message and instead had "experimented". Trust your observations; not blind authority.
Anyway... I'm currently trying to overcome a combination of symptoms, thoughts, and feelings, stemming from years of abuse, PTSD, and eventually significant knock-on physical health effects.
In the past, I've tried SSRI's, NSRI's, Wellbutrin. Immediate, horrible reactions to each. The only thing that helped was a small dose of Adderall -- much lower than standard. And St. John's Wort. Almost impossible in the U.S. to find a doctor who will agree to simultaneous use of both -- unlike in Europe, so I understand. And the doctor I found was a jerk who almost cost me my chance to purchase next year's health insurance, due to his lack of response on paperwork. So, no more Adderall.
I'm ready to try magic mushrooms. Maybe a low, pure dose of ketamin. Or perhaps MDMA. Under supervision -- medical or simply experienced and well-intentioned. But, there is no avenue for this.
And big pharma and the "war on drugs" will do their best to keep it locked down.
I simply have no trust left in the Establishment, in the U.S., with respect to medical practice. Or, very select trust, in individual practitioners. Who are often caught in a system that severely hampers their ability to actually practice effective medicine and treatment.
[+] [-] darreld|10 years ago|reply
My problem is availability.
[+] [-] kolapuriya|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] alva|10 years ago|reply
Psilocybin experiences can be truly traumatic. If you have existing mental health issues, please be very, very careful before you decide to take it. Do all the research you can. I have one friend who went completely over the edge, reached the point of no return. It triggered a predisposition to a horrible mental illness. It has destroyed his life and his familys. For a small number of people, this can happen.
If you think you might be vulnerable to this but still want to go ahead, please make sure you are responsibly and get an experienced sitter and a safe, familiar setting.
[+] [-] fucking_tragedy|10 years ago|reply
Have any details you're comfortable sharing? Particularly the mental illness, what happened when they were triggered and how often they dosed?
[+] [-] peterwwillis|10 years ago|reply
Meanwhile, according to the FDA, there were "56,000 emergency room visits, 26,000 hospitalizations, and 458 deaths per year related to acetaminophen-associated overdoses during the 1990s. unintentional acetaminophen overdose accounted for nearly 25 percent of the emergency department visits, 10 percent of the hospitalizations, and 25 percent of the deaths [per year]." [1]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracetamol#Liver_damage
[+] [-] joesmo|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] niccaluim|10 years ago|reply
I'm not saying there's nothing worth exploring here. My personal intuition is that psychedelics could be a huge help in some cases, especially for treatment-resistant depression. But this "study" isn't worth squat.
[+] [-] notadoc|10 years ago|reply
There are ongoing clinical trials, it has been widely covered in media lately, and many major US cities have doctors who run ketamine clinics.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00088699
http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/03/what-its-like-to-treat-...
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/09/28/44320359...
Is it really surprising to anyone that mind altering chemicals could alter mental states? A silly question, obviously.
[+] [-] jarmitage|10 years ago|reply
Check out their publications list from this year alone, a few world firsts in there:
http://beckleyfoundation.org/resources/science-publications/
[+] [-] trhway|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pigpaws|10 years ago|reply
Gov't doesn't really want jobs, or tax revenue at the expense of their jobs. What would cops do if they weren't locking up kids for a joint?
[+] [-] eloff|10 years ago|reply
It's harder to do that in the US because you have more conservative people who see drugs as morally repugnant. My prediction is blue states will continue legalizing and red states will be the last holdout.
[+] [-] sickbeard|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Alex3917|10 years ago|reply