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> Cannabis has been rebranded as a wellness panacea. Mushrooms and MDMA are making headlines as therapy tools, not party fuel. Man, these guys are late to the
by bjt2n3904 6y ago
> Cannabis has been rebranded as a wellness panacea. Mushrooms and MDMA are making headlines as therapy tools, not party fuel.
Man, these guys are late to the party. Alcohol works great for treating symptoms of stress, too! Can't be stressed, anxious, or depressed if I'm blitzed out of my mind!
- jagged-chisel 6y agoToo much generalization. Alcohol makes lots of folks so frickin' depressed... (edit: sure, fine, drink enough and you don't even know the world exist...)
- lr4444lr 6y agoAlcohol is serotonergic. Yeah, it has other negative side effects, but actual FDA approved antidepressants are also convincingly shown to increase suicide ideation in some cases, and it's actively monitored by psychiatrists. The point I think is that the therapy rebranding is not a license for recreational excess, and shouldn't be invoked as a trojan horse to that end.
- pessimizer 6y agoI think we should stop licensing for recreational excess. If people are free to do what they like for recreation (without breaking non-drug laws), the research can proceed separately without the moralizing.
- JumpCrisscross 6y ago> Alcohol works great for treating symptoms of stress Yes? This is how it can work. If you can’t have some wine without cleaning out the village, it might be a sign of alcoholism.
- bjt2n3904 6y agoIt's one thing to acknowledge that alcohol has an affect on stress. But that isn't what this is happening. It would be another thing entirely to REBRAND alcohol as a "therapy tool". FFS.
- JumpCrisscross 6y ago> that isn't what this is happening Of course it is. You have never seen an ad selling some drink as a tool for unwinding after a stressful day? Anything psychologically active can be sold for therapeutic and recreational uses. And anything used for the latter can be abused.
- NeutronStar 6y agoI agree. Anything recreational could also be meant as therapeutic. Anything. Not just drugs.
- stickfigure 6y agoIf alcohol was as restricted as MDMA, we just might start calling alcohol a therapy tool. But right now anyone (of legal age) who wants it can order a glass of wine or two, so the people that benefit from it have it. Nobody thinks twice. You sound incredulous that psilocybin or mdma could be therapy tools. Are you a psychologist? Do you have any firsthand experience with these chemicals? Why are you skeptical?
- __blockcipher__ 6y agoThe real distinction here is mechanism of action. Psilocybin helps fix psychoemotional problems in an enduring sense. You take one, or three, doses and your personality and self-understanding are permanently altered. Alcohol works acutely. So I totally agree the term therapeutic is an arbitrary label; all drugs have effects and thus can be therapeutic for condition X and deleterious for condition Y. But worth noting that psilocybin and MDMA produce enduring benefits whereas alcohol appears not to.
- 6y ago
- gotoeleven 6y agoHave you tried cocaine??? It's great!
- __s 6y agoExhilaration and lasting euphoria, which in no way differs from the normal euphoria of the healthy person. You perceive an increase of self-control and possess more vitality and capacity for work. In other words, you are simply normal, and it is soon hard to believe you are under the influence of any drug. Long intensive physical work is performed without any fatigue. This result is enjoyed without any of the unpleasant after-effects that follow exhilaration brought about by alcoholic beverages. No craving for the further use of cocaine appears after the first, or even after repeated taking of the drug.
- admax88q 6y ago> No craving for the further use of cocaine appears after the first, or even after repeated taking of the drug. lol
- vmception 6y agoI just wish currently illicit/scheduled drugs simply had the same list of disclaimers that FDA-approved drugs had. The side effects aren't different enough to be rebuttals to support their prohibition.
- User23 6y agoA lot of it is a quality control issue. The cocaine your ophthalmologist might use is just as safe as any other FDA-approved drug, because it is one. On the other hand the stuff you might get third-hand from the cartels was possibly of questionable quality to begin with and has been adulterated several times by various intermediaries.
- vmception 6y agoThis is why I prefer legalization instead of just decriminalization Consumer protection and ability to address the supply chain only comes with legalization Decriminalization is just 1800s snake oil’s salesmen at the World Fair
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- pjc50 6y agoAmphetamines were originally marketed as diet pills. Valium (diazepam) was marketed as a stress reducer.
- loeg 6y ago> Valium (diazepam) was marketed as a stress reducer. Benzos are anxiolytics (stress reducers).
- User23 6y agoAmphetamine is used off-label for depression with some success.
- eyelidlessness 6y agoAnd for people with dopamine deficiency (ADHD), it can present as both anxiety and depression besides the typically understood ADHD symptoms. Stimulants can certainly treat such cases of anxiety and depression (that was my primary reason for finally seeking a diagnosis).
- bnjms 6y agoThanks for this. I was wondering if other people felt their anxiety pass with adderall and heard reports people get more anxious. Good to know less anxiety is a common response for some.
- eyelidlessness 6y agoI missed this response earlier, but want to make sure I don’t let it pass by. Stimulants can make you more anxious. If you’re not actually treating a dopamine deficiency, it can be like way too much coffee. If you are treating a dopamine deficiency, in some cases it can cause anxiety regardless but in most cases heightened anxiety is a sign the dosage is too high. Generally it helps relax the brain chaos and it should be settling enough to be able to get to sleep.
- katzgrau 6y agoRight, you'll just be twice as stressed and anxious tomorrow unless you like to keep the party going. And then you've got a bigger problem.
- ggggtez 6y agoThe doses involved in using drugs as medicine are often a lot lower than what someone would take to get "blitzed". Do you homework.
- TedShiller 6y agoI drink alcohol every day to feel calm. I hope you don’t look down on me for that.
- TedShiller 6y agoSo drinking alcohol to feel calm is not acceptable?
- jniedrauer 6y agoAnecdotal, but alcohol is one of the more harmful drugs. I can't even drink a little bit now that I run semi-seriously. One or two glasses of wine completely throws off my body for the next 24 hours, and increases the risk for injuries. It's just not worth it.
- globular-toast 6y agoIgnorant comment. Alcohol has no known long term benefits. It might reduce stress with continued use, but that's not generally the point of using drugs for therapy. There is a lot of evidence that shows a single dosage of mushrooms or mdma has significant long term effects. In addition, mdma use in particular leads very quickly to tolerance and doesn't support continued use. Most users report that their first use was the most profound with subsequent uses not really adding much.