3 ms·

Sources for benefits (plural) vs. downsides? Source for politically-motivated criminalization?

ljf 5y ago
Not lsd but the reason behind the banning of cannabis and heroin is a pretty well known story https://www.unharm.org/the-racist-truth-behind-the-war-on-drugs/ https://www.unharm.org/the-racist-truth-behind-the-war-on-dr... They were criminalised to criminalise part of society. Lsd was similar - the govt was worried about losing control of people and their desires. Lsd has never been an interest of mine, but I am aware many people find the experiences they have truly profound. there was some excellent work in curing alcoholism that used Lsd and proved very successful prior to it being banned; BBC News - LSD 'helps alcoholics to give up drinking' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17297714 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17297714
acid_enthusiast 5y ago
Lots (hundreds? thousands? a large cross section of the population of every music music festival on the planet for the last 50 years) of human beings report them encouraging a good time with increased enjoyment, openness, creativity, ability to do things, and they where praised by the creators of AA to be helpful in the treatment of alcholism. Very few of the doctors, nurses, lorry drivers, support workers, shop keepers, crafters, farmers, scientists who attend these events and lie about their participation go on to develop serious social or medical problems or they wouldn't have the money to go back year on year for more illegal fun. Unfortunately the majority of these positive experiences are not recorded by government backed science, since reporting LSD use to the government results in the loss of jobs, driving privileges, children and ultimately homes and freedom. Users complained about the war, lsd was banned (- over simplification for brevity.). Laughter has no accepted medical use and trying to prove otherwise is a crime
nabla9 5y ago
Will psychedelics be ‘a revolution in psychiatry’? https://www.nature.com/articles/d41573-021-00087-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41573-021-00087-7 The Yale Manual for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy of Depression (using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a Therapeutic Frame) https://psyarxiv.com/u6v9y https://psyarxiv.com/u6v9y “Trial of Psilocybin versus Escitalopram for Depression“, https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032994 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032994 Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder. A Randomized Clinical Trial, Alan K. Davis et al., 2020 doi : 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.3285 Can Psychedelic Drugs Attenuate Age-Related Changes in Cognition and Affect? https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41465-019-00151-6 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41465-019-00151-6 LSD is one of the safest drugs there are. You may get a bad trip but it ends. Of course people in danger of psychosis should not take it. People don't get addicted to LSD or psychedelics in general. It's not something you want to take frequently (excluding some who microdose at the levels where you don't feel the psychedelics effects).
- vkomega 5y ago
  Great, thanks for the objective response. My inquiry was substantially downvoted. How can one determine if they are at risk of psychosis prior to consuming LSD? I've heard many stories of people who were "never the same" (in a bad life-outcome sense) after having bad LSD trips. It wasn't clear from family history or medical history that they were at-risk for such a reaction. At least based on these outcomes, it might be a bit inaccurate to claim LSD is safe. I suspect it was outlawed in part due to observed risks decades ago, but am still curious about political motivations. (e.g. "they want to deny us access to knowledge, man." or racial reasons, etc) Perhaps there will be technology advancements in support of ascertaining propensity for adverse reactions to psychedelics. I suspect there's a strong component related to dosage. Maybe this is related to the microdosing movement?
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - sammalloy 5y ago
    > How can one determine if they are at risk of psychosis prior to consuming LSD? Family history of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia. > I've heard many stories of people who were "never the same" (in a bad life-outcome sense) after having bad LSD trips. I think those stories are overblown. People like to have something to blame for when a loved one goes down the wrong path.
    - vkomega 5y ago
      > history This was addressed in my previous comment. I've known folks who took the stuff and had a horrible reaction, without family history as such. Also, consuming street drugs of unknown quality in uncontrolled settings with uncontrolled dosages is quite different than controlled medical experiments. > overblown I never wanted to try the stuff after personally observing people change after having a "bad trip". If it permanently alters perceptions in unpredictable ways, then ingesting it likely catalyzes alternate life trajectories, also in unpredictable ways. Seems like a double edged sword. Many report the positive benefits but the supporters seem to downplay risks or point to other factors without supporting evidence. It's unclear how to determine safety with prospective victims/winners whose family history doesn't include mental illness. Again, I suspect dosage is a critical factor to trip outcome; this being common pharmacological wisdom.
AnthonBerg 5y ago
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2015.00358 https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2015.00358 Szabo A. (2015). “Psychedelics and Immunomodulation: Novel Approaches and Therapeutic Opportunities”. Frontiers in immunology, 6, 358. Abstract: Classical psychedelics are psychoactive substances, which, besides their psychopharmacological activity, have also been shown to exert significant modulatory effects on immune responses by altering signaling pathways involved in inflammation, cellular proliferation, and cell survival via activating NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinases. Recently, several neurotransmitter receptors involved in the pharmacology of psychedelics, such as serotonin and sigma-1 receptors, have also been shown to play crucial roles in numerous immunological processes. This emerging field also offers promising treatment modalities in the therapy of various diseases including autoimmune and chronic inflammatory conditions, infections, and cancer. However, the scarcity of available review literature renders the topic unclear and obscure, mostly posing psychedelics as illicit drugs of abuse and not as physiologically relevant molecules or as possible agents of future pharmacotherapies. In this paper, the immunomodulatory potential of classical serotonergic psychedelics, including N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine, and 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine will be discussed from a perspective of molecular immunology and pharmacology. Special attention will be given to the functional interaction of serotonin and sigma-1 receptors and their cross-talk with toll-like and RIG-I-like pattern-recognition receptor-mediated signaling. Furthermore, novel approaches will be suggested feasible for the treatment of diseases with chronic inflammatory etiology and pathology, such as atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, depression, and Alzheimer's disease.

ljf 5y ago

Not lsd but the reason behind the banning of cannabis and heroin is a pretty well known story https://www.unharm.org/the-racist-truth-behind-the-war-on-drugs/ https://www.unharm.org/the-racist-truth-behind-the-war-on-dr... They were criminalised to criminalise part of society. Lsd was similar - the govt was worried about losing control of people and their desires. Lsd has never been an interest of mine, but I am aware many people find the experiences they have truly profound. there was some excellent work in curing alcoholism that used Lsd and proved very successful prior to it being banned; BBC News - LSD 'helps alcoholics to give up drinking' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17297714 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17297714

acid_enthusiast 5y ago

Lots (hundreds? thousands? a large cross section of the population of every music music festival on the planet for the last 50 years) of human beings report them encouraging a good time with increased enjoyment, openness, creativity, ability to do things, and they where praised by the creators of AA to be helpful in the treatment of alcholism. Very few of the doctors, nurses, lorry drivers, support workers, shop keepers, crafters, farmers, scientists who attend these events and lie about their participation go on to develop serious social or medical problems or they wouldn't have the money to go back year on year for more illegal fun. Unfortunately the majority of these positive experiences are not recorded by government backed science, since reporting LSD use to the government results in the loss of jobs, driving privileges, children and ultimately homes and freedom. Users complained about the war, lsd was banned (- over simplification for brevity.). Laughter has no accepted medical use and trying to prove otherwise is a crime

nabla9 5y ago

Will psychedelics be ‘a revolution in psychiatry’? https://www.nature.com/articles/d41573-021-00087-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41573-021-00087-7 The Yale Manual for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy of Depression (using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a Therapeutic Frame) https://psyarxiv.com/u6v9y https://psyarxiv.com/u6v9y “Trial of Psilocybin versus Escitalopram for Depression“, https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032994 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032994 Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder. A Randomized Clinical Trial, Alan K. Davis et al., 2020 doi : 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.3285 Can Psychedelic Drugs Attenuate Age-Related Changes in Cognition and Affect? https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41465-019-00151-6 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41465-019-00151-6 LSD is one of the safest drugs there are. You may get a bad trip but it ends. Of course people in danger of psychosis should not take it. People don't get addicted to LSD or psychedelics in general. It's not something you want to take frequently (excluding some who microdose at the levels where you don't feel the psychedelics effects).

vkomega 5y ago
Great, thanks for the objective response. My inquiry was substantially downvoted. How can one determine if they are at risk of psychosis prior to consuming LSD? I've heard many stories of people who were "never the same" (in a bad life-outcome sense) after having bad LSD trips. It wasn't clear from family history or medical history that they were at-risk for such a reaction. At least based on these outcomes, it might be a bit inaccurate to claim LSD is safe. I suspect it was outlawed in part due to observed risks decades ago, but am still curious about political motivations. (e.g. "they want to deny us access to knowledge, man." or racial reasons, etc) Perhaps there will be technology advancements in support of ascertaining propensity for adverse reactions to psychedelics. I suspect there's a strong component related to dosage. Maybe this is related to the microdosing movement?
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- sammalloy 5y ago
  > How can one determine if they are at risk of psychosis prior to consuming LSD? Family history of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia. > I've heard many stories of people who were "never the same" (in a bad life-outcome sense) after having bad LSD trips. I think those stories are overblown. People like to have something to blame for when a loved one goes down the wrong path.
  - vkomega 5y ago
    > history This was addressed in my previous comment. I've known folks who took the stuff and had a horrible reaction, without family history as such. Also, consuming street drugs of unknown quality in uncontrolled settings with uncontrolled dosages is quite different than controlled medical experiments. > overblown I never wanted to try the stuff after personally observing people change after having a "bad trip". If it permanently alters perceptions in unpredictable ways, then ingesting it likely catalyzes alternate life trajectories, also in unpredictable ways. Seems like a double edged sword. Many report the positive benefits but the supporters seem to downplay risks or point to other factors without supporting evidence. It's unclear how to determine safety with prospective victims/winners whose family history doesn't include mental illness. Again, I suspect dosage is a critical factor to trip outcome; this being common pharmacological wisdom.

AnthonBerg 5y ago

https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2015.00358 https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2015.00358 Szabo A. (2015). “Psychedelics and Immunomodulation: Novel Approaches and Therapeutic Opportunities”. Frontiers in immunology, 6, 358. Abstract: Classical psychedelics are psychoactive substances, which, besides their psychopharmacological activity, have also been shown to exert significant modulatory effects on immune responses by altering signaling pathways involved in inflammation, cellular proliferation, and cell survival via activating NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinases. Recently, several neurotransmitter receptors involved in the pharmacology of psychedelics, such as serotonin and sigma-1 receptors, have also been shown to play crucial roles in numerous immunological processes. This emerging field also offers promising treatment modalities in the therapy of various diseases including autoimmune and chronic inflammatory conditions, infections, and cancer. However, the scarcity of available review literature renders the topic unclear and obscure, mostly posing psychedelics as illicit drugs of abuse and not as physiologically relevant molecules or as possible agents of future pharmacotherapies. In this paper, the immunomodulatory potential of classical serotonergic psychedelics, including N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine, and 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine will be discussed from a perspective of molecular immunology and pharmacology. Special attention will be given to the functional interaction of serotonin and sigma-1 receptors and their cross-talk with toll-like and RIG-I-like pattern-recognition receptor-mediated signaling. Furthermore, novel approaches will be suggested feasible for the treatment of diseases with chronic inflammatory etiology and pathology, such as atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, depression, and Alzheimer's disease.