More Research

     I just spent the last couple of hours going through my stack of research articles trying to narrow it down to 3 that I really wanted to use. I was having a really hard time with this because I have found a fair amount of research studies that I would like to include as references in my essay but I have also found really heartfelt stories of transformation from individuals that have benefited from psychedelic therapy that I also wanted to use. Luckily I decided to re-read the assignment sheet for this essay and read that we need to have at least 5 sources. So I am happy that I get to utilize more of the information I have been finding than limiting myself to only 5 sources total.

photo from arizonamedicalmarijuana.com

A great resource that I have found is the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). MAPS is a non-profit organization that was created in order to conduct research and studies into the safe use of psychedelic drugs as medicine. Their mission statement specifically says that they are wanting to "develop medical, legal and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana." I am amazed at the amount of research that is available through their website as they have an internal search engine where one can look for articles and studies. I'm actually also amazed that there have been so many studies done into psychedelics as medicine because when I first chose this topic I kind of thought that research into this realm came to an end in the 1960's. I feel that this is a really good resource for me because MAPS is committed to research that is "governed by rigorous scientific evaluation of their risks and benefits." Reading that as part of one of their goals made me feel like they weren't blindly trying to push for legalization of psychedelics as medicine because they are presenting the pros and cons within their findings. I am also thinking that I am going to narrow down my argument to including only plant based psychedelics as well because these are substances that have been in use by various cultures for centuries for spiritual practices as well as healing medicines. I'm also not a huge proponent of chemical drugs in general and think that the plant based medicines have much less detrimental long-term effects.

photo from collective-evolution.com

     Another source that I found is an article titled "Safety and Side Effects of Ayahuasca in Humans-An Overview Focusing on Developmental Toxicology." This article cites a variety of studies that were conducted as well as analyzing EEG scans of the brain and the effects of ayahuasca on the brain. It goes further with noting how many different bodily functions are affected during and after consumption of ayahuasca as well as effects on different hormone levels in the body. Possible chemical interactions are noted in the article as well. I found this article interesting because it does also include some information about life-threatening adverse reactions which could very well lead to an argument against the use of this drug therapeutically. I also think that this article will be helpful for my argument because it included people in their studies that have been using ayahuasca for decades in some cases that show no detrimental effects.

photo from arizonamedicalmarijuana.com

     The third article that I chose to reference for this blog is "Psychological and Cognitive Effects of Long-Term Peyote Use Among Native Americans." I found this article both interesting and useful because it is coming from the point of view that it is difficult to study long-term effects of psychedelic drug use in the general population because there are very often other drugs used that could be contributing factors to any physical/mental impairment. The researchers decided that the only group of people they could find whose hallucinogen use spanned many years and did not necessarily also use multiple other illicit drugs were Native Americans that use peyote during religious ceremonies. Potential participants of the study were excluded from research if they had a history of other drug use, alcoholism, neurological disorders and a variety of other reasons that could have led to skewed information. There was one area of this study that I found particularly interesting which stated that persons who had used peyote regularly for years scored higher on tests than did persons in on of the control groups that had a history of alcoholism. It was also noted that further research would be necessary because there were so many other variables to take into consideration like social condition status and psychological factors. I think this study will come in useful for my argument because it documents a group that has been using a psychedelic for a long time.



Works Cited.
Guimaraes dos Santos, Rafael Ph.D. "Safety and Side Effects of Ayahuasca in Humans-An Overview               Focusing on developmental Toxicology." Journal of Psychoactive Drugs Jan-Mar 2013 Vol.45 issue 1:     pg 68-78. Academic Search Premier. 6 Nov. 2013
Halpern, John H., et al. "Psychological and Cognitive Effects of Long-Term Peyote Use Among Native      Americans." Biological Psychiatry Oct. 2005 Vol. 58 issue 8: pg 624-631. Academic Search                   Premier. 7 Nov. 2013
MAPS Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Creative Commons 2013 MAPS. Web 6 Nov. 2013

Research Into Psychedelic Therapy

image from telegrafist.org.

 

     In beginning my research into the benefits of the therapeutic uses of psychedelic substances I have actually been surprised about the amount of information that I have discovered relating to the subject. Another surprise to me is that I am having a difficult time finding any scientific related studies arguing against the use of psychedelics used in controlled therapeutic settings. I have been using the Points of View Reference Center, Academic Search Premier and the Psychological and Behavioral Sciences engine under Ebsco to look for reputable sources for researching this subject as well as Google Scholar and basic internet searches.
     One article that I found that I will be referencing in my final essay is titled "The Neurobiology of Psychedelic Drugs: Implications for the Treatment of Mood Disorders," written by Franz X. Vollenweider and Michael Kometer.  The article shows how developments in neuroscience and neuroimaging can now show that "psychedelics modulate neural circuits that have been implicated in mood and affective disorders, and can reduce the clinical symptoms of these disorders." The article gives a breakdown of clinical research studies that have been conducted using MDMA, LSD, Psilocybin and Ketamine to treat a variety of symptoms and disorders such as depression, anxiety, OCD, heroin addiction, cluster headaches, and treatment of depression/anxiety in terminally ill cancer patients. The article Vollenweider and Kometer discuss extensively the effects of psychedelics on neural pathways and receptor sites, saying that the use of psychedelic substances can actually lead to developing new receptor sites associated with menat health. The authors also suggest that studying the use of these substances and how they affect the human brain could lead to breakthrough treatments and development of other possible treatments for the above mentioned symptoms and disorders in the future. The authors believe that further "well-controlled clinical studies, keeping in mind the controversial history of this class of drugs," need to be conducted.
     I found this article very interesting as it pertains to neuroscience and that it is actually now possible for scientists to see how the brain is being affected by using neuroimaging, which was not available in the 1960's when this type of research first began and before it was shut down. This article also referenced many studies that I can also read that I think will help create a larger body of credible references for my essay.

photo-illustration by Kamram Samimi Michael

     I was having a hard time finding any information that is against the use of psychedelics in therapy that weren't in direct relation to their illegal status. I did find an article by Cliff Kincaid who is the Director of the AIM Center for Investigative Journalism on a website calles gulagbound.com which was actually on of the only anti medical psychedelic sources I could find so far. Kincaid discusses in his article how progressives are now pushing for psychedelics to be "legal prescription drugs." To support his argument against psychedelics being used as acceptable medical treatments he suggests that the legalization of medical marijuana in Colorado "is already out of control," using the shooting that occurred during the 420 celebration in Denver as evidence of the dangers of legalizing drugs for medical use. He also negatively refers to a former supporter of Obama who has also donated large sums to the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Sciences who happened to be a transgender woman. I'm a little confused as to how he thought that including the gender identity of this woman had anything to do with being against therapeutic or medicinal psychedelics. I actually found Kincaid's arguments weak and lacking evidence against therapeutic psychedelics and highly judgmental in referring to the possibility of the legalization of medical psychedelics by saying "It is coming to pass under Obama, thanks to his transgendered backer."
     I am going to continue looking for other arguments against my research topic so that I can form a strong argument base. I hope that I am able to find some arguments that are not as biased and opinionated as the above mentioned article was.



Works Cited:


Vollenweider, Franz X. and Kometer, Michael. "The Neurobiology of Psychedelic Drugs: Implications for           the Treatment of Mood Disorders." Nature Reviews Neuroscience.  11.9 Sept. 2010: 642-651.                  Ebsco. Web 2 Nov. 2013.
Kincaid, Cliff. "Progressives Now Want Psychedelic Medicine." Gulag Bound. Gulag Bound by Gulag                Media, May 1, 2013. Web 2 Nov. 2013.

Image Analysis

                                                  Image from http://therevealer.org/archives/5262

      This is an image of an Alex Grey Painting that I chose to do my image analysis. Alex Grey uses psychedelics in his personal life and I am amazed by his ability to re-create his visions in his art work. I chose this image because to me it represents visually how a person on psychedelics could possibly be able to step back from themselves and objectively record and process their feelings, emotions, and memories. In the lower left corner there is what appears to be a demonic face and a skull representing the persons own inner demons but the subject is protected by a luminescent blue light surrounding their body. It also gives me the feeling that the person is aware of the demons presence but is able to feel safe and not let them affect his current journey knowing that he is safe from them. This painting also show a representation of the person's chakra's and eyes being open and clear as well as a powerful guardian standing behind him possibly guiding him and protecting him during his visions.
     I feel that this painting is a positive representation of how the use of psychedelics could be helpful in therapy showing that it is an inward based journey in which a person could potentially come to terms with their inner traumas and/illness. To me this painting shows the union of the sub-conscious with the conscious interpretations of experiences which I believe can lead to healing.

Psychedelic Research Question

         My research question for my argumentative essay is: "Should psychedelics be legal to use in therapeutic settings?"

     Currently my answer to this question is yes, because so far in my research it appears that using psychedelics in a controlled setting with a trained professional can have lasting benefits for persons suffering from P.T.S.D, mental illness and addiction. And, so far I have not come across anything that proves that psychedelics use is addictive or harmful when used at proper dosages or when they are not mixed with other substances. I think that a lot of information that the general public is subjected to regarding these substances is often negative in nature and places a lot of fear into people about their use.   I'm not arguing for complete legalization to the general public as I think that each person will react to these substances differently and some people may not be mentally stable enough to handle how their body/mind reacts, but for the legalization for use in controlled settings.

     I think people with other viewpoints may be against the legal use of psychedelics in therapy because there have been documented cases of persons committing crimes as well as harming themselves and others while under the influence of psychedelic substances. I think people would also argue against the legal use of psychedelics in therapy because of the nature of psychedelics altering one's perception to the point that they may behave irrationally leading to harmful behaviors. This is a point of view that confuses me a little and I feel that it doesn't really make a lot of sense because alcohol is legal and also causes an altering of perception leading to irrational and potentially harmful behaviors with significant, well documented health risks.

     I want to learn more about legislation on psychedelics and the history behind the laws created against them. I am also interested to delve into and learn what other people's opinions are on the subject. I am excited to start reading studies that have been conducted on the subject and learn more about the history of psychedelics in therapy, why research in this area seemed to die down for  a long time and why it is gaining more momentum currently. I also want to learn more about why the research in this area that was being done in the 1960's went awry and what led to it's downfall then. I'm also really interested in finding out what, if any, are the possible physical and mental side effects and dangers to psychedelic therapy.

Intro to Psychedelic Therapy

     Hi, I'm Jenny. I am creating this blog to explore the topic I've chosen for my argumentative essay. The topic that I chose to focus on is the use of psychedelic substances in therapy to aid in the treatment of P.T.S.D, anxiety/depression, addictions and other mental illnesses and trauma related issues. I first became interested in this topic after reading about how some war veterans who were severely depressed and traumatized who were having difficulty re-adjusting and carrying on post-war, had miraculously found themselves "cured" after taking a psychedelic plant medicine called ayahuasca. Then I discovered that there are quite a few Universities that have renewed clinical studies of the use of psychedelics in therapy in recent years. I'm pretty fascinated by the subject and am excited to do research to learn more about the findings of this type of therapeutic treatment. Thanks for reading my blog. I look forward to hearing your feedback.