Posts tagged "medicine"
Psychedelics, Therapy, and the Law The Risks and Pitfalls of the Emerging Industry of Psychedelic Medicine
Today’s guest post is by Lincoln Stoller, PhD, CHt, a hypnotherapist in British Columbia who writes at mindstrengthbalance.com. The legal view of psychedelics is quickly heading for a change. A few organizations, like MAPS and Erowid, had maintained their position as providers of information during the illegal years. MAPS has focused on research, Erowid on information. They and others have held the fort, so to speak, but their effects have been small and, by themselves, they would not have precipitated social change. Law and policy are not driven by science, they’re driven by expediency and advantage. In the...
Coronavirus Silver Lining How the psychedelic community can leverage today’s renewed focus on mental health
Isn’t it time for a little good news? Today’s guest post by Lucia Huang is about Osmind, an organization offering a ray of sunshine in a time of cloudy uncertainty. This month, calls to the U.S. crisis hotline jumped 891%. Almost half of adults sheltering in place say that coronavirus has had a negative impact on their mental health. COVID-19 has also halted or slowed U.S. clinical trials advancing new medicines, many in behavioral health and psychedelic medicine including trials on MDMA and psilocybin. The pandemic has both short- and long-term implications on our mental health and is...
Cultivating Inner Growth The Inner Healing Intelligence in MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy
This article is by Shannon Clare, M.A., the Associate Director of Training & Supervision at the MAPS Public Benefit Corporation. It first appeared in the MAPS Bulletin Winter 2018: Vol. 28, No. 3 and is reprinted here with permission. Please consider donating monthly (or even just once) to support the incredible work that MAPS does to advance psychedelic science and profound healing. Just as a seed has within it the knowledge to grow, humans have an innate capacity to heal, when given the right environment to do so. When help is needed to create that environment, psychotherapy, like a greenhouse,...
Oklahoma Voters Just Legalized Medical Cannabis To celebrate, I'm sharing an excerpt of my new book, Magic Medicine
In a historic referendum, Oklahoma voters have just approved one of the most progressive medical cannabis laws in the country. With a doctor’s orders, Oklahomans will be able to possess eight ounces in their homes, carry three ounces in public, and cultivate 12 plants. Unlike many other states, there is no limit to which diseases may be treated by cannabis — a doctor may prescribe it for any condition. The measure passed with a 57% to 43% margin. These regulations are relatively lax, especially for a red state in the heart of Trump country. But perhaps it should come...
The Walls Come Tumbling Down My First MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Session
This story by Andy Gold first appeared in the MAPS Bulletin, Winter 2016 edition. I went for my first MDMA-assisted psychotherapy session on November 30, 2015, the Monday after Thanksgiving. Was it really a coincidence that the colonoscopy which found a malignant tumor in my colon some years earlier had also taken place on the Monday after Thanksgiving? I think not. Full circle, indeed. I arrived at the site in Marin County, Calif., where the session was to take place, at 9:30 in the morning. One of the study requirements is that you do the sessions while fasting. Someone also...
My Interview with Rick Doblin, Psychedelic Pioneer Founder of MAPS Discusses MDMA Therapy, a Crazy Personal LSD Trip, and More
I recently had the good fortune of meeting my psychedelic hero, Rick Doblin, the founder and president of the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies. What’s more, he graciously agreed to an on-camera interview. I asked him about the origins of MAPS, the Russian ban of methadone in Crimean addiction clinics, New Zealand’s new regulatory framework for legal highs, MAPS’ recent partnership with the military to research MDMA as a treatment for PTSD, and much more. My favorite part is when Rick tells the story of taking LSD on his twenty-first birthday. He heard a siren and became convinced that the Russians were...
MAPS Completes First New Therapeutic LSD Study in 40 Years
Update 5 March 2014: The study has been published, and the final copy is available here. Rick Doblin, the founder and president of MAPS, said this in a recent “Ask Me Anything” interview on Reddit: We’ve just completed the world’s first study of the therapeutic use of LSD in over 40 years, in Switzerland to treat anxiety associated with end-of-life issues. Eleven of the 12 subjects had never done LSD before and there were no serious adverse events, even in people facing death. This recently completed Swiss study is truly momentous — it’s the first “double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation of LSD-assisted...
“Ask Me Anything” Reddit Interview with Rick Doblin & MAPS
Yesterday, Rick Doblin and ten other MAPS staff members engaged in an online “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit. The turnout was phenomenal. Questions ran the gamut from personal (“Have you ever tried psychedelics?”) to political (“Will the legalization of psychedelics will come next after marijuana?”) and much more. Several posters asked about minimizing the risk of MDMA toxicity, while others were curious about treatments for cluster headaches, depression, autism, and other conditions. A couple people even asked if MAPS accepts Bitcoin (as of yesterday, they do). As you might expect, the answers from MAPS staff were incredibly...
Help Heal Trauma Survivors by Supporting MDMA Research
MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, has been an instrumental force in psychedelic research and advocacy since its formation in 1986. In my opinion, this non-profit organization has done more to establish psychedelics as legitimate medicines than anyone else in the world. Their biggest project is proving the safety and effectiveness of MDMA-assisted therapy as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They have performed a number of studies around the world indicating its effectiveness — even with the one-third of PTSD patients who do not respond adequately to other treatments. As you can imagine, MAPS does...
FDA Approves Lorcaserin, Diet Drug with Psychedelic Effects at High Doses
This is a landmark step towards sensible US drug policy. Since the Nixon Administration passed the Controlled Substance Act passed in 1970, nearly all psychedelic-style drugs have been automatically classified as Schedule I, which means absolute prohibition with no recognized medical potential. (LSA presents an exception as a Schedule III drug, and the case may be made for the “psychedelic” nature of dextromethorphan and ketamine.) Lorcaserin, a weight loss drug with euphoric, hallucinogenic, and dissociative effects at high doses, has been classified as a Schedule IV medicine. This marks the first time that the DEA has acknowledged the...
Ketamine shows promise in treating “Fear of Harm”
There has been a huge resurgence of research on psychedelic and dissociative drugs recently. This is very promising because for 40 years, the study of these very promising medical compounds was shelved in the name of prohibition. Finally, after decades of hiatus, we are able to shed light on some of these compounds in controlled clinical settings. The studies may be small and few in number right now, but their positive results should help open the door to larger and ever more diverse studies. If early studies are any indication, the medical potential of psychedelics is absolutely vast....