George Carlin on LSD…
Tag: psychedelics
A dream-like psychedelic might help traumatized veterans reset their brains
A new study suggests that the intensity of spiritual or “mystical” moments felt during psychedelic treatment may predict how well veterans recover from trauma symptoms. Researchers found that soldiers who reported profound feelings of unity and sacredness while taking ibogaine experienced lasting relief from post-traumatic stress disorder. These findings were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
For decades, medical professionals have sought better ways to assist military personnel returning from combat. Many veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, as well as traumatic brain injuries caused by repeated exposure to blasts. These conditions often occur together and can be resistant to standard pharmaceutical treatments. The lack of effective options has led some researchers to investigate alternative therapies derived from natural sources.
One such substance is ibogaine. This psychoactive compound comes from the root bark of the Tabernanthe iboga shrub, which is native to Central Africa. Cultures in that region have used the plant for centuries in healing and spiritual ceremonies. In recent years, it has gained attention in the West for its potential to treat addiction and psychiatric distress. Unlike some other psychedelics, ibogaine often induces a dream-like state where users review their memories.
Despite anecdotal reports of success, the scientific community still has a limited understanding of how ibogaine works in the human brain. Most prior research focused on classic psychedelics like psilocybin or MDMA. The specific psychological mechanisms that might allow ibogaine to alleviate trauma symptoms remain largely unexplored.
Randi E. Brown, a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, led a team to investigate this question. They worked in collaboration with the late Nolan R. Williams and other specialists in psychiatry and behavioral sciences. The team sought to determine if the subjective quality of the drug experience mattered for recovery. They hypothesized that a “mystical experience” might be a key driver of therapeutic change.
The concept of a mystical experience in psychology is specific and measurable. It refers to a sensation of unity with the universe, a transcendence of time and space, and deeply felt peace or joy. It also includes a quality known as ineffability, meaning the experience is too profound to be described in words. The researchers wanted to know if veterans who felt these sensations more strongly would see better clinical results.
The study analyzed data from thirty male Special Operations Veterans. All participants had a history of traumatic brain injury and combat exposure. Because ibogaine is not approved for medical use in the United States, the veterans traveled to a clinic in Mexico for the treatment. This setup allowed the researchers to observe the effects of the drug in a clinical setting outside the U.S.
The treatment protocol involved a single administration of the drug. The medical staff combined ibogaine with magnesium sulfate. This addition is intended to protect the heart, as ibogaine can sometimes disrupt cardiac rhythms. The veterans received the medication orally after a period of fasting. They spent the session lying down with eyeshades, generally experiencing the effects internally rather than interacting with others.
To measure the psychological impact of the session, the researchers administered the Mystical Experiences Questionnaire. This survey asks participants to rate the intensity of various feelings, such as awe or a sense of sacredness. The researchers collected these scores immediately after the treatment concluded.
Top Federal Drug Official Touts Therapeutic ‘Promise’ Of Psychedelics And Slams Schedule I Research Barriers
A top federal health official is again touting the therapeutic “promise” of psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA—though she says the drugs’ Schedule I status remains a research barrier to scientifically validating their efficacy.
In a blog post this month, National Institution on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Director Nora Volkow said the “potential use of psychedelics in the treatment of various mental health conditions has made these drugs a hot area of scientific research, as well as growing public interest.”
NIDA, as well as other agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have been particularly interested in tapping into the therapeutic potential of ketamine, psilocybin and MDMA—each of which are undergoing trials that could pave the path to their broader accessibility to patients with serious mental health conditions.
These psychedelics “represent a potential paradigm shift in the way we address substance use disorders,” Volkow said, caveating that “there is much we still do not know about these drugs, the way they work, and how to administer them, and there is danger of the hype getting out ahead of the science.”
The director said the “promise of psychedelic compounds likely centers on their ability to promote rapid neural rewiring,” which “may explain these compounds’ relatively long-lasting effects, even with just one or a few administrations.”
Rising psychedelic use has not led to a corresponding surge in hospital admissions
A new analysis suggests that while the use of psychedelic substances appears to be increasing in the United States, this trend has not resulted in a corresponding surge in emergency room visits or hospitalizations. The findings indicate that severe adverse events requiring hospital care for hallucinogens remain comparatively rare when measured against other substances like alcohol and opioids. This research was published in JAMA Network Open.
The cultural landscape regarding psychedelics is shifting rapidly in the United States. Changes in state and local laws regarding decriminalization are occurring alongside increased media attention on the potential therapeutic benefits of drugs like psilocybin and MDMA. Government agencies have granted breakthrough therapy designations to some of these substances, acknowledging their potential medical utility.
This changing landscape raises important safety questions for public health officials. It is necessary to understand whether increased availability and reduced stigma are leading to more adverse health outcomes in the general population. Jacob Steinle, a psychiatry resident, and Kevin Xu, an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, led an investigation to address this gap.
“Hallucinogen use is increasing in recreational settings, and legislation around clinical use is evolving,” explained Steinle. “Prior to the study, relatively little was known about the safety of these substances in real-world settings beyond small clinical trials or theoretical risk assessments. We wanted to investigate the prevalence of hospitalizations associated with hallucinogens to address this knowledge gap.”
To address this, the research team designed a retrospective cohort study using large-scale administrative data. They utilized records from the Merative MarketScan Commercial and Multi-State Medicaid databases.
These databases provide a comprehensive view of healthcare claims from a diverse population across the country. The study period spanned seven years, covering data from 2016 through 2023. The investigators specifically focused on individuals between the ages of 16 and 64 years.
This age range captures the demographic groups most likely to engage in substance use. The researchers focused on identifying specific medical codes associated with hallucinogen-related disorders. They used the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, known as ICD-10.
Specifically, they looked for the code F16, which denotes hallucinogen-related issues in medical records. The team calculated the monthly rate of these admissions to track changes over time. They expressed this rate as a proportion of all substance-related emergency or hospital admissions.
Psychedelic treatments show promise for OCD while cannabis doesn’t, review finds
A recent review of alternative treatments for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) indicates that psychedelic treatments show promise for the disorder while cannabis does not.
Dr Michael Van Ameringen, a psychiatry professor at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada and lead author of the review published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, said that 40-60 % of OCD patients get either partial or no relief with available treatments, including SSRIs and exposure and response prevention therapy.
While psychedelics and cannabinoids have become part of the conversation surrounding OCD – a disorder characterized by intrusive, obsessive thoughts and/or compulsive behaviors – there is a much larger body of published evidence on the efficacy of these substances for more common conditions, like depression and anxiety.
“We wanted to hone down and really understand, is there evidence for these things that have been talked about to be used as the next step treatments?” Van Ameringen explained.
Given the paucity of existing literature, Van Ameringen said he didn’t know what to expect. To make up for the lack of published information, he included conference presentations and preliminary, unpublished findings in the review paper.
Upon compiling available evidence, Van Ameringen and his team found “stronger signals” for the efficacy of psychedelics, specifically psilocybin (the psychoactive component of “magic mushrooms,”) than for cannabinoids like THC and CBD.
Van Ameringen theorizes that the difference is related to how these substances interact with areas of the brain related to OCD. While cannabinoids activate the brain’s CB1 receptors, which regulate symptoms like compulsions and anxiety, available evidence shows they don’t offer lasting relief from OCD symptoms.
Psilocybin, on the other hand, can reduce connectivity in the brain’s default mode network, which “essentially is involved in self referential thinking and rumination. The default mode network is really activated in OCD”, he says.
A difference in the methodology of cannabis and psilocybin studies might also have contributed to the different results, says Dr Mohamed Sherif, a psychiatrist and computational neuroscientist at Brown University who will lead a future clinical trial on psilocybin for OCD. Psychedelic clinical trials, like the one Sherif is planning, tend to offer patients not only medication but also encouragement to frame their experience as a therapeutic “journey”.
“This was not done in cannabinoids [studies,]” Sherif explained.
Dr Terrence Ching, a clinical psychologist at the Yale School of Medicine, similarly wondered if the way people use cannabis versus psilocybin might explain the different outcomes. While people tend to use cannabis for temporary relief, psilocybin can help facilitate actual changes in the brain and in patients’ perception of their OCD.
“One could use cannabis for the same therapeutic reason, of confronting something deeper about their OCD or their obsessive fears. But conventionally, people tend to use cannabis for an avoidance function,” Ching explained.
Preliminary results from Ching’s clinical trial on a single dose of psilocybin for OCD were included in Van Ameringen’s review paper, and showed that psilocybin was effective for OCD symptoms compared to placebo. Ching is now preparing the results of the trial for publication, and planning a second clinical trial where OCD patients will receive two doses of psilocybin at different times.
Psychedelics produce enduring behavioral effects and functional plasticity through mechanisms independent of structural plasticity
Activation of serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptors is thought to underly the long-lasting antidepressant effects of psychedelics such as psilocybin, but beyond that, the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved are not well understood. Recent preclinical studies using mice have primarily examined relatively short time points after psychedelic administration, which does not address the long-lasting effects of psilocybin in humans (i.e., several months or more). We utilized a rat experimental system to demonstrate that both psilocybin and the selective 5-HT2A receptor agonist 25CN-NBOH reduce immobility in the forced swim test without a decrease in effect size for at least three months after a single administration of the psychedelic. There were no overt behavioral differences between psilocybin and 25CN-NBOH treated animals, suggesting 5-HT2A receptor activation is sufficient to produce long-lasting behavioral changes. Functional cellular plasticity in neurons from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of these animals was assessed using brain slice electrophysiology. Functional plasticity was evident for both psychedelics several months after treatment, and Layer 5 excitatory pyramidal neurons demonstrated significant changes in resting membrane potential, firing rates, and synaptic excitation. Recorded neurons were examined by microscopy for synaptic density and spine classification, which found no differences between control and psychedelic-treated. Gene expression studies for several presynaptic and postsynaptic markers in the mPFC indicated no differences in expression between groups. Together, our results indicate a single treatment with a psychedelic is sufficient to elicit very long-lasting behavioral and cellular changes through enduring function plasticity rather than structural plasticity.
A psychedelic tour of Earth’s ecosystems – from the desert to Siberia
Every mind-bending molecule in nature has an evolutionary origin; a defence against being eaten, a lure for pollinators, or perhaps a happy biochemical accident. Though they seem extraordinary, life has evolved psychedelic molecules that alter consciousness across almost every ecosystem.
Let’s take a tour of our surprisingly psychedelic planet.
The tropical rainforests hum with chemical diversity. Among the 10,000 tree species living in the Amazon are several which produce dimethyltryptamine (DMT), the molecule that makes psychedelic brew ayahuasca so powerful. DMT is a naturally occurring tryptamine molecule, which derives from the same chemical building block that gives us serotonin and melatonin, chemical messengers that change our mood and help us sleep.
One of these tree species, the Psychotria viridis, or chacruna, is a small understory tree from the plant family that also gives us coffee. Other DMT-producing species include yopo (Anadenanthera peregrina), a tree native to the Amazon that is also found in the Caribbean. Yopo is in the legume family, a close relative of beans, chickpeas and lentils. Scientists aren’t sure why some species in the same family develop psychedelic compounds while others don’t.
Mom opens up about taking psychedelics while pregnant, breastfeeding to ‘address’ issues
A microdosing mom who took psychedelic mushrooms while pregnant and breastfeeding says it has given her “more patience” as a parent.
Mikaela de la Myco, 31, began ingesting psylocibin mushrooms – a type of hallucinogenic mushroom – four months into her pregnancy with her son, aged five.
Following battles with alcohol addiction, ingesting mushrooms was a way for Mikaela “to address” her issues before her son was born.
Microdosing is the practice of taking small doses of psychedelic substances with the aim of improving mental well-being and cognitive function.
Mikaela continues to microdose, ingesting mushrooms in a “variety of forms” including capsules, chocolate, whole dried form and in tea.
She believes there is a “stigma” placed on moms who ingest mushrooms but they can be a “catalyst” for changes in behavior.
Mikaela, an educator and folk herbalist, from San Diego, California, said: “Like many mothers I had a relationship with psylocibin mushrooms before I became pregnant and it was tremendously supportive in many areas of my life.
“I sought to consult with others on the topic and was able to receive information from an elder who expressed to me that in her tradition they ingest while pregnant and that the relationship that mothers have with mushrooms doesn’t break just because of pregnancy.
“I had some concerns in pregnancy – specifically my relationship and addiction to alcohol that I wanted to address with microdosing because I didn’t want to carry on my alcoholism experience in my own family to my child.
Ohio Health Agency Grants $400,000 To Fund Psychedelics Education And Training For First Responders, Doctors And More
An Ohio health agency is providing a state university with a $400,000 grant to educate first responders, law enforcement, emergency departments and behavioral specialists about how to deal with potential adverse psychedelic experiences as more people use the substances for medical or recreational purposes.
Amid the expanding psychedelics reform movement, there’s been increased attention to the possible health benefits of substances like psilocybin and ibogaine. But only a handful of states allow for the regulated use of certain psychedelics, typically in medically supervised settings.
Ohio is not among those states yet, but Ohio State University (OSU) is now launching its Psychedelic Emergency, Acute, and Continuing Care Education (PEACE) initiative, with nearly half a million dollars of funding from the state Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) SOAR Innovation grant program.
“People have started to learn about the benefits of psychedelics while, at the same time, the federal government categorizes these as controlled substances,” Stacey Armstrong, associate director of the OSU’s Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education (CPDRE), said in a press release last week.
‘I am melting, help me’: The 30-year-old drug website that transformed psychedelic research
Thirty years ago, drug users flocked to a website called Erowid to describe experiences on everything from Advil to LSD. Today it’s become a goldmine for researchers and governments.
“I am melting, help me.” This is not only an unusual plea for assistance. It’s also the title of a “trip report”: one person’s experience with the powerful dissociative drug phencyclidine (known as PCP). And it’s just one of many thousands of mind-bending anecdotes filed to Erowid, a website that, since the early days of the internet, has built one of the world’s most influential records of drug use and its effects.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the scrappy, grassroots project, which hosts data on everything from caffeine to cannabis to paracetamol (also known as Tylenol) to heroin, like a Wikipedia on all things pharmaceutical. Users post information about purifying street drugs, rolling joints and the health implications of drug misuse. Visitors to the site can find information about drug toxicology and interactions between chemicals. They can even wade through the archives of Albert Hoffman, the Swiss chemist who first synthesised lysergic acid diethylamide – or LSD.
But perhaps most intriguing of all are the 45,000-plus trip reports in the “Experience Vault”. These hallucinatory tales, with titles such as “Tripping Alone on 1.5 Grams From Hell”, “The Weekend At The Edge Of The Universe” and “The Thumbprint”, where an unfortunate soul loses their mind on a drug related to LSD called AL-LAD, do not just make for idle internet fodder. They have become vital for academic research, especially for esoteric and illegal substances where clinical data does not exist or is challenging to obtain.
“People publishing their personal experiences and experimenting outside of the legal and academic bubble has led to the science, in many ways,” says David Luke, associate professor of psychology at the University of Greenwich in the UK who studies psychedelics and has conducted clinical trials using microdoses of LSD. “There was so little published academic research and so few resources for exploring the use of psychoactive drugs that Erowid was invaluable for research, and to understand issues around safety and experiences.”
Today, the social stigma around some types of drug use has softened to the point that Ayahuasca ceremonies, mushrooms and ketamine have even become a fixture in some corners of the business world. While these substances are still illegal in many countries, a growing number of places are choosing to decriminalise drugs that were previously subject to extensive crack downs. In recent years, psychedelics have also gathered renewed interest from the scientific community as a potential approach for treating conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Their use, however, remains controversial and in some places unregulated therapeutic use of these drugs has led to tragedy.
Back in 1995, when Erowid was founded, psychedelics were very much of the underground. This was a hostile time for drug reform, just over a decade since US president Ronald Reagan had expanded the war on drugs.
Hellbound and Down 
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