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Substance Abuse during Pregnancy
Published in “Bert” Bertis Britt Little, Drugs and Pregnancy, 2022
Psychedelic drugs produce visual hallucinations through a disruption of higher central nervous system function. Most hallucinogens are actually functional analogs of neurotransmitters (e.g., LSD resembles serotonin). Some hallucinogens are assumed to exert their effect by displacing this or other neurotransmitters, but the molecular basis for the action of hallucinogens is not established. Tolerance of hallucinogens is rapidly developed and chronic users must increase doses rapidly over the course of the drug’s use to maintain desired effects (Carroll, 1990).
Missed Opportunities? Beneficial Uses of Illicit Drugs
Published in Ross Coomber, The Control of Drugs and Drug Users, 2020
Lester Grinspoon, James B. Bakalar
There are now dozens of known psychedelic drugs, some of them synthesized only in the last twenty years. Few have been tested seriously in human beings. Their effects are sometimes different from those of LSD, psilocybin, and other familiar substances. These differences may be significant for the study of the human mind and for psychotherapy, but we cannot analyze them properly without more controlled human research. In particular, there are certain psychedelic drugs that do not produce the same degree of perceptual change or emotional unpredictability as LSD or psilocybin. They can in no way be regarded as hallucinogenic. Among these is MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), a relatively mild drug that is said to give a heightened capacity for introspection, insight, and intimacy along with temporary freedom from anxiety and depression, without distracting changes in perception, body image, and the sense of self (Naranjo, 1975; Greer, 1983). Its effect lasts two to four hours and is usually fairly subtle and controllable.
The Drug Choice
Published in Albert A. Kurland, S. Joseph Mulé, Psychiatric Aspects of Opiate Dependence, 2019
Albert A. Kurland, S. Joseph Mulé
Wurmser16 views the use of narcotics as a means to reduce sensitivity and vulnerability to disappointment and to calm anger. Amphetamines and cocaine eliminate the sense of boredom and emptiness caused by the repression of feelings of rage and shame by giving rise to a feeling of aggressive mastery, control, invincibility, and grandeur. Psychedelic drugs have in common with the amphetamines their effect as antidotes to boredom, emptiness, and meaninglessness.
Barriers and Facilitators to the Equitable Access of Psychedelic Medical Care and Research in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
Published in AJOB Neuroscience, 2023
Dementia is an ever-growing public health concern with significant impact on the quality of life of older adults and their families (Aranda et al. 2021). Research continues to investigate treatments with enhanced capacity to slow or reverse the disease process, given limitations of existing therapies. Psychedelic drugs are emerging as safe and effective treatments for psychiatric conditions, such as major depressive disorder, with study expanding to consider potential benefits for neurocognitive disorders (Peterson et al. 2023). The burgeoning study and clinical use of psychedelic drugs in dementia care is accompanied by wide-ranging ethical considerations (Peterson et al. 2023). The fair distribution of the potential benefits of psychedelic medicine, with just access to treatment and research participation, as well as safe-guarding from harms, are critical to address in the landscape of widespread health inequities.
Knowledge, Perceptions, and Use of Psychedelics among Individuals with Fibromyalgia
Published in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2023
Nicolas G. Glynos, Jennifer Pierce, Alan K. Davis, Jenna McAfee, Kevin F. Boehnke
Compared to those who had never used psychedelics, individuals who had used psychedelics were more knowledgeable about and had favorable attitudes toward psychedelics, including willingness to participate in a clinical trial and a belief that psychedelics might have potential benefits for managing chronic pain. This may be due to participants with a psychedelic use history feeling more comfortable and optimistic about psychedelic therapy based on personal experiences. This difference is likely also influenced by the persistent cultural stigma associated with the status of many psychedelic compounds having been designated as Schedule I drugs for over 50 years, which has strongly influenced cultural narratives around the potential value or harm of these substances, especially among people who have not used them. Participants who had not used psychedelics were more concerned about the legal (35.9%) and health status (53.6%) of psychedelic drugs compared to those who had used psychedelics (17.0% and 18.9% respectively). The stigma associated with psychedelics may act as a barrier for psychedelic naïve individuals to participate in clinical trials or to seek out psychedelic-based therapies as they become available. These findings support the need for additional research to better understand the effects of cultural stigma on perceptions of psychedelic substances and related therapies.
The Psychedelic Renaissance in Clinical Research: A Bibliometric Analysis of Three Decades of Human Studies with Psychedelics
Published in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2023
Aviad Hadar, Jonathan David, Nadav Shalit, Leor Roseman, Raz Gross, Ben Sessa, Shaul Lev-Ran
Research on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs has seen a rapid resurgence in the past two decades, evidenced by a sharp increase in the number of published review articles and clinical trial reports on the effects of psychedelics on various mental health conditions. This renaissance in human psychedelic research follows a period of almost 30 years of scientifically incapacitating strict prohibition laws that abruptly halted first wave of psychedelic research conducted in the 1950s-1960s (Carhart-Harris and Goodwin 2017). Since the beginning of the 21st century, psychedelics have been directly investigated within various scientific frameworks such as clinical trials for various psychiatric disorders (Sessa 2012 Carhart-Harris et al. 2016), neuroimaging studies in healthy humans (Carhart-Harris et al. 2012), psychotherapeutic interventions (Mithoefer et al. 2011), basic science, and animal studies (Dean et al. 2019), and traditional therapeutic settings (Netzband et al. 2020). The revival continues to manifest by the recent designation of two psychedelic1 assisted interventions as “breakthrough therapies” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Reiff et al. 2020).