Why Doctors Can't Give You LSD (But Maybe They Should)

[n2doc]

By Shaunacy Ferro

When David Nichols earned a Ph.D in medicinal chemistry from the University of Iowa in 1973 by studying psychedelics, he thought he would continue studying hallucinogens indefinitely. "I thought I would work on it for the rest of my life," he says.

His timing was less than fortuitous. In 1970, the year after Nichols started grad school, Richard Nixon signed into law the Controlled Substances Act, designed to clamp down on the manufacture and distribution of drugs in the U.S. The act classified hallucinogenic substances like LSD, DMT, psilocybin (the psychedelic alkaloid in mushrooms) and mescaline as Schedule I substances--the most restrictive use category, reserved for drugs with high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. Marijuana was also placed in this category, and 15 years later when ecstasy came onto the scene, MDMA was emergency-classified as a Schedule I substance as well. By contrast, cocaine, opium and morphine are Schedule II substances, meaning they can be prescribed by a doctor.

Despite some promising results from trials of psychedelics in treating alcoholism, psychiatric conditions and modeling mental illness, by the early '70s, the government had tightened control of Schedule I substances, even for research. It's only now that we're starting to return to the notion that these drugs could be medicine.

Starting in the early '90s, and as more scientists prove it's feasible, increasingly in the last decade, researchers have been approved to conduct clinical trials with human subjects, and there are promising results showing that substances like MDMA could be useful in treating depression and curing PTSD, and that classical psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD could be a way to soothe anxiety in the terminally ill, treat alcoholism and more. But it's still far from an easy field to break into.

more
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/why-doctors-cant-give-lsd-but-should?src=SOC

[napoleon_in_rags]

1. A really good read on the history:

http://www.amazon.com/Pihkal-A-Chemical-Love-Story/dp/0963009605

MDMA is one of a vast family of psychoactive phenylethylamines, all with different properties. This chemist synthesised all of them, and tried many. His research was compelled by stories of MDMA helping someone overcome their stutter, as well as other reported therapeutic and healing effects.

Then, his story ends with the drug war, where they are shutting all of it down without critical reasoning.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

2. They were doing all kinds of paranormal studies back then too....

The idea being to explore reality and "mind over matter" stuff. They were looking at everything from ghosts to auras around leaves.

A common delusion is to believe one has special powers and there was no shortage of that.

[BainsBane]

3. I've read about Ketamine trials

but LSD? How could that work? I took it once and I can tell you it was far from calming. I thought I was Lady Macbeth.

[Phlem]

4. like MDMA could be useful in treating depression and curing PTSD

I can only hope. I tried mushrooms in my youth usually during a drinking period of weeks to a month and no matter that time fell, a dose of shrooms killed any craving for alcohol.

To be cured of PTSD. I've had it so long it's part of me and the hyper-vigilance is kind of handy.



-p

[duhneece]

5. At the last "Internation Drug Policy Reform Conference"

I attended one of the workshops and heard a woman speak of her late daughter's use of Ecstasy two or three times in the weeks and days before her death from colon cancer. Apparently her counselor offered this option. Also heard of a South (Central?) American herb psychedelic herb that helps alcoholics and heroin addicts get and keep 'clean & sober.' So much research that could help so many left undone.
http://reformconference.org/conference-archive/presentations

I attended on a partial scholarshop, which open in July or August for this year's conference in October in Denver. I can't go this year, but hope some DU'ers, besides FlyByNight, attend.

[Uncle Joe]

6. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, n2doc.

[Sivafae]

7. You gotta know what you are doing though

Which is why it is recommended that certain drugs be taken in the presence of a shaman. If you start onto a bad path while tripping, the shaman knows what to do to get you back on track. Once you get over the "peaking" stage, you can do quite a bit of deprogramming and work on issues that are controlling your behaviour in a negative way. But again, you have to know what your are doing, and hopefully are working with someone who knows what they are doing.

There is a big difference in taking a drug for pleasure and taking it for spiritual reasons.

And just as a side note, I predicted years ago that the country would move to be more conservative because the Dead were no longer touring anymore and thus a major source of LSD would no longer be available to young people.