Psychedelic Research: Benefits Outweigh Downsides.

[tayo]

This is a paper I wrote for an English class. Although possibly self-incriminating, I thought it would be a good contribution to this site. Please let me know what you think. Property of Tayo.

Psychedelic Research: Benefits Outweigh Downsides

Many people are misinformed when it comes to the topic of psychedelics. One in particular that has raised a lot of attention in the media lately was MDMA, otherwise known as Ecstasy. Another less known chemical, psilocybin is the active constituent of “magic mushrooms” which are found naturally and cultivated. Psilocybin and MDMA will be the two psychedelics I will focus on, with reference to LSD as it relates.

But what most people are wondering is “Do psychedelics have a place in medicine? Are they safe when used in controlled settings?” The answer to all of these questions after evaluating evidence to this day is “Yes.” I will suggest evidence that psychedelics can have beneficial effects on therapy for individuals with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), cluster headaches, and anxiety of terminally ill patients. I will point out general benefits from psychedelic studies at John Hopkins, and will also refute false studies.

Both supporters and critics of psychedelic research can agree that the illegal use of these psychedelics in uncontrolled situations can be dangerous. It can be dangerous for many reasons; users often take multiple doses, it can be impure and cut with other substances, and when combined with other illicit drugs it can prove lethal (Marsa, Agonizing Over Ecstasy…). So with that said, I am advocating the research of psychedelics in controlled settings. This means that subjects would be under close supervision at all times, given proper doses of a pure chemical, and not without therapeutic purpose.

MDMA, Methylene-Dioxy-Meth-Amphetamine, is both a stimulant and a psychedelic, so its main action in the body is to stimulate serotonin and dopamine levels. The –Amphetamine part of the molecular structure is a stimulant, which means it can raise blood pressure, increase heart rate and increase sweating, and therefore the risk of dehydration becomes greater. Much of the illegal MDMA hype is due to the fact that when many of the users go to clubs or raves and dance all night, and they dehydrate and their body overheats, which results in death. This is not how patients should be given Ecstasy.

The reason for therapy using Ecstasy is phrased well by Lester Grinspoon, a Harvard Professor of Psychiatry, “it [MDMA] can greatly accelerate the therapeutic process… It enhances ones capacity for insight and empathy, and melts away the layers of defensiveness and anxiety that impede treatment. … In one session, people can get past hang-ups that take six months of therapy to untangle.” With this said, MDMA enhances communication and intimacy.

One critic of researching Ecstasy in therapeutic sessions, Stuart Kallen has an article titled “Efforts to Prove That Ecstasy Can Help Psychotherapists Treat Patients Are Misguided.” In this, he cites studies stating that claim research shown that MDMA has been shown to cause brain damage, and that it damaged dopamine receptors in mammalian brains.

This same study was the major component in the NIDA campaign against Ecstasy. These claims lost validity, though, when Rick Doblin, the president of MAPS, which stands for Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies, pointed out the flaws in this study. The study and the false brain scan imagery used by the NIDA were withdrawn after many months of attempted removal due to the Freedom of Information Act, the NIDA was forced to declare them to have “major methodological flaws and [the studies] were clearly misleading.”

The conductors of the experiment withdrew the article which claimed that MDMA caused damage to dopamine receptors a year after it was published. They have admitted results to be a product of mislabeling of chemical bottles, so the results finding brain damage and dopamine damage, was actually because primates were given methamphetamine. MDMA, to this day has not shown any dopamine neurotoxicity, and there is no proven relationship to Parkinson’s disease. In fact, when MDMA in conjunction with L-Dopa, is administered to primates with Parkinson’s, it has proven to help with the pains associated with the disease (Balkin). Swiss researchers found no apparent brain damage in people who used chemically pure Ecstasy, and they stood by their results which forced the opposing study to be re-examined (Marsa, The Highs and Lows…)

An MDMA testimonial of a 32 year old woman with kidney cancer shows a positive outlook for therapy. Her anxiety and upset related to kidney cancer failed to respond to treatment and she was tired of taking anti-depressants to numb her feelings. She knew that there were a handful of psychiatrists in the United States using Ecstasy in therapy sessions so she sought one out. She said that in a single session of therapy she was able to “come to grips with her grief… and even if this feeling was just an effect of the drug it’s what I needed to do to move forward.” MDMA is also currently being researched in PTSD patients that are currently not responding to typical treatments of coping (Marsa, Agonizing Over Ecstasy…)

Psilocybin, the ingredient in magic mushrooms, has been used as an entheogen for thousands of years by Central American religions. An entheogen is a naturally occurring substance found in a plant or sometimes an animal that will induce a religious experience. Entheogens are often used in religious ceremonies for just that reason. Some would argue that “religion is the best cure for addiction” and claim that finding it has many positive benefits. Psilocybin can help people cross a barrier for those who need a push to find that “mystical” life changing experience.

A study was conducted at Johns Hopkins University, in which they state that psilocybin can “occasion mystical type experiences… having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance.” All participants were hallucinogen naïve so they did not know what to expect. Half were given a placebo and half were given psilocybin. The half given psilocybin had tremendous results: 79 percent of these people reported psilocybin sessions to be one of the top five most important events of their lives, and of that 79 percent, 30 percent said it was the single most important event of their lives. After two months they were checked on and most reported “positive lasting effects and sense of well-being” as well as a positive outlook on life, which significant others also confirmed (Hayes).

Testimonials of illicit psilocybin use have also been noted to induce acute relief of OCD symptoms, which the University of South Carolina is examining. Its illicit use has also reported to give acute relief from Cluster Headaches for weeks or sometimes even months, and cluster headaches are considered a very painful, difficult to treat condition. It also is being tested as a way to come to terms with the anxiety associated with death in terminally ill patients (Hayes.) The main question of the study is, “does psilocybin and activity caused by serotonin on some receptor sites, safely decrease symptoms of OCD?” (Gonzalez). There are more studies with psilocybin than with MDMA because it has not been shown to cause brain damage, nor has LSD, but in recent years magic mushrooms have become more popular due to the fact that they can be easily cultivated in kits or found in most of the United States naturally (Hayes.)

Both psilocybin and MDMA have potential to give scientists insight on brain chemistry and future medications for mental-illness. The most famous of all psychedelics has already given us empirical evidence of potential in psychedelics. In fact the discovery of SSRI (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors) type anti-depressants is in large part due to research using the chemical LSD. Scientists realized that LSD and serotonin, which is an endogenous neurotransmitter responsible for many functions, among them the regulation of mood, had similar molecular structures. Before this discovery it was thought that serotonin was simply a regulator of blood pressure. Without LSD, scientists say it may have taken “decades, not years” to discover the association of serotonin in treating depression with medicines like Prozac, and Zoloft; both SSRIs. LSD, during alcoholics anonymous and narcotics anonymous sessions, also helped recovery rates of heroin addicts and alcoholics to a stunning 40-50 percent success rate in the 1960s (Marsa, Agonizing Over Ecstasy…)

Currently the process of legalizing psychedelics in controlled scenarios for in-patient therapy could take decades, but hopefully only years. There are only a few human studies of psychedelics that are currently underway, due to the fact that the process of government approval and ethics of human testing have been tainted by anti-drug campaigns that have proven flawed. There remains a stigma about the use of psychedelic use, of any kind, although taboos if existent should remain only directed toward the illicit use. Research has shown many positive benefits of psilocybin, MDMA, and sometimes LSD, to rule them out entirely from human trials would be ridiculous. There is much that we can learn about the human mind from psychedelics, just how fast will we learn it?



Works Cited

Balkin, Karen F. “The Harmfulness of Ecstasy has Been Exaggerated.” Club Drugs.
At Issue Series. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.
<http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?>

Gonzalez, Allyson. “LSD for OCD?”
Weekly Planet, Tampa, FL. December 8-14, 2004. Vol. 17, Iss. 38; pg. 19. ProQuest Research Library. ProQuest Information and Learning Co.
<http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?>

Hayes, Charles. “Can Science Validate The Psychedelic Experience?” Tikkun. March/April 2007. Vol. 22, Iss. 2; pg. 65-68. Academic Search Premier.
<http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?>

Kallen, Stuart A. “Efforts To Prove That Ecstasy Can Help Psychotherapists Treat Patients Are Misguided.” Legalizing Drugs. At Issue Series. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.
<http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?>

Marsa, Linda. “Agonizing Over Ecstasy Therapists Intrigued By Drug’s Promise, Wary Of Bad Effects.” [Fourth Edition] Seattle Times. Seattle, WA: July 25, 2001 pg. A.3 ProQuest Research Library. ProQuest Information and Learning Co.
<http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?>

Marsa, Linda. “THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF ECSTASY; First it was an intriguing experiment in therapy, then a nightclub scourge. But some experts say its healing potential should not be ignored.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA: July 16, 2001, pg. S.1 ProQuest Research Library. ProQuest Information and Learning Co.
<http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?>

[Bajeda]

Originally Posted by tayo

Property of Tayo

Originally Posted by Bottom of every page

Copyright Drugs-Forum 2007, All rights reserved

ahem...

[tayo]

haha. Bajeda the bubble burster! Okay, that's fine but hopefully the person who posts it gets recognition in the citation.

citations of DF users...
http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34360

how's the paper though?

[Bajeda]

Thank you for taking the time to write this and for posting it.

I have dissected your post and added comments in red to the quoted text below. Just some constructive criticism to help you improve upon your draft should you choose.

Originally Posted by tayo

Psychedelic Research: Benefits Outweigh Downsides

Many people are misinformed when it comes to the topic of psychedelics. One in particular that has raised a lot of attention in the media lately was MDMA, otherwise known as Ecstasy - MDMA =/= Ecstasy, its best not to perpetuate that notion. Another less known chemical, psilocybin is the active constituent of “magic mushrooms” which are found naturally and cultivated. Psilocybin and MDMA will be the two psychedelics I will focus on, with reference to LSD as it relates.

^^^^^ Might be good to develop a strong opening to draw people in (something catchy), and a thesis to add structure is needed (could maybe merge this paragraph with one below).


But what most people are wondering is “Do psychedelics have a place in medicine? Are they safe when used in controlled settings?” The answer to all of these questions after evaluating evidence to this day is “Yes.” (If you want to talk about psychedelics in respect to their medical and scientific merits you should probably avoid polemic statements like the previous sentence. Ongoing research strongly suggests that psychedelics have immense therapeutic potential so far as mental health and treating mental disorders is concerned, and most psychedelics have a high margin of saftey, but this isn't a 100% sure thing, hence the need for yet more research.
***** On a side note, I would think most people are wondering whether psychedelics fry your brain or not, unfortunately.) I will suggest evidence (I'd rather you present the evidence than suggest it) that psychedelics can have beneficial effects on therapy for individuals with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), cluster headaches, and anxiety of terminally ill patients. (psychedelics are currently being looked at as adjuncts to therapy [psycholytic therapy], and also as therapy themselves due to their phramcological nature or the nature of the experiences they induce. It comes out a bit weird to say they have 'beneficial effects' on therapy though, as their use constitutes a novel form of therapy itself.) I will point out general benefits from psychedelic studies at John Hopkins, and will also refute false studies. (You won't refute 'false studies', but you will point out flawed studies as noted by the scientific literature ...... I think this paragraph would do well to be combined with the first and with a thesis integrated)

Both supporters and critics of psychedelic research can agree that the illegal use of these psychedelics in uncontrolled situations can be dangerous. It can be dangerous for many reasons; users often take multiple doses (may want to change wording, as multiple doses are used in some therapeutic regimens), it can be impure and cut with other substances, and when combined with other illicit drugs it can prove lethal (Marsa, Agonizing Over Ecstasy…) (rather than referring to outright lethality which is only one possible outcome of polysubstance use [and not the most likely with psychedelics] you can refer to increased dangers/risks. Also mention non-clinical setting as overall referent to this section). So with that said, I am advocating the research of psychedelics in controlled settings. This means that subjects would be under close supervision at all times, given proper doses of a pure chemical, and not without therapeutic purpose.

MDMA, Methylene-Dioxy-Meth-Amphetamine, is both a stimulant and a psychedelic, so its main action in the body is to stimulate serotonin and dopamine levels. The –Amphetamine part of the molecular structure is a stimulant, which means it can raise blood pressure, increase heart rate and increase sweating, and therefore the risk of dehydration becomes greater. (You are coming across as saying MDMA is really two different drugs that act on you. Try maybe describing the different range of effects it can have due to its unique pharmacological mechanisms. It may do well to mention oxytocin and prolactin, or you could avoid phramacological details all together). Much of the illegal MDMA hype is due to the fact that when many of the users go to clubs or raves and dance all night, and they dehydrate and their body overheats, which results in death (the way this is worded it sounds like you are saying that many users of illegal MDMA [ecstasy would be better to differentiate from therepeutic substance] die from use for that reason). This is not how patients should be given Ecstasy.

The reason for therapy using Ecstasy is phrased well by Lester Grinspoon, a Harvard Professor of Psychiatry, “it [MDMA] can greatly accelerate the therapeutic process… It enhances ones capacity for insight and empathy, and melts away the layers of defensiveness and anxiety that impede treatment. … In one session, people can get past hang-ups that take six months of therapy to untangle.” With this said, MDMA enhances communication and intimacy. (this can be expanded upon, and you don't need to say "With this said" at the end as you are simply reiterating the main gist of the paragraph in more concise terms).

One critic of researching Ecstasy in therapeutic sessions, Stuart Kallen has an article titled “Efforts to Prove That Ecstasy Can Help Psychotherapists Treat Patients Are Misguided.” In this, he cites studies stating that claim research shown that MDMA has been shown to cause brain damage, and that it damaged dopamine receptors in mammalian brains.
(why the paragraph break? this is still on the some topic)
This same study (would be good to specify which study/studies with citations)was the major component in the NIDA campaign against Ecstasy. These claims lost validity, though, when Rick Doblin, the president of MAPS, which stands for Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies, pointed out the flaws in this study. (The outrageous claims made by NIDA based upon the Ricaurte study were first questioned when a German team of scientists couldn't replicate the results, and it went downhill for Ricaurte from there as more studies emerged contradicting his claims, cluminating in his retraction of the study. May be good to find a source to cite for exact historical claims such as these) The study and the false brain scan imagery (it wasn't fake, it was just extremely misleading in how they presented it) used by the NIDA were withdrawn after many months of attempted removal due to the Freedom of Information Act (I dont get what the freedom of information act had to do with this), the NIDA was forced to declare them to have “major methodological flaws and [the studies] were clearly misleading.”

The conductors of the experiment withdrew the article which claimed that MDMA caused damage to dopamine receptors a year after it was published. They have admitted results to be a product of mislabeling of chemical bottles, so the results finding brain damage and dopamine damage, was actually because primates were given methamphetamine. MDMA, to this day has not shown any dopamine neurotoxicity, and there is no proven relationship to Parkinson’s disease. In fact, when MDMA in conjunction with L-Dopa, is administered to primates with Parkinson’s, it has proven to help with the pains associated with the disease (Balkin). Swiss researchers found no apparent brain damage in people who used chemically pure Ecstasy, and they stood by their results which forced the opposing study to be re-examined (Marsa, The Highs and Lows…) (this isn't a done deal though. However good things are looking for the low risk profile of MDMA in humans, science is never a done deal, and that is especially true in this case. The debate rages on. It would be better to cite specific arguments for both sides of the MDMA neurotoxicity issue than taking a single side)

An MDMA testimonial of a 32 year old woman with kidney cancer shows a positive outlook for therapy (needs rewording). Her anxiety and upset (?) related to kidney cancer failed to respond to treatment and she was tired of taking anti-depressants to numb her feelings. She knew that there were a handful of psychiatrists in the United States using Ecstasy (MDMA) in therapy sessions so she sought one out. She said that in a single session of therapy she was able to “come to grips with her grief… and even if this feeling was just an effect of the drug it’s what I needed to do to move forward.” MDMA is also currently being researched in PTSD patients that are currently not responding to typical treatments of coping (Marsa, Agonizing Over Ecstasy…)

(where is transition to psilocybin? comes out of nowhere)
Psilocybin, the ingredient (the active compound you could say) in magic mushrooms, has been used as an entheogen for thousands of years by Central American religions (rephrase it so it comes across as they used mushrooms containing psilocybin, they didnt extract the psilocybin from the mushrooms to use it) . An entheogen is a naturally occurring substance found in a plant or sometimes an animal that will induce a religious experience (citation for definition?). Entheogens are often used in religious ceremonies for just that reason (often is a bit of a strong word). Some would argue that “religion is the best cure for addiction” and claim that finding it has many positive benefits. Psilocybin can help people cross a barrier for those who need a push to find that “mystical” life changing experience.

A study was conducted at Johns Hopkins University, in which they state that psilocybin can “occasion mystical type experiences… having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance.” All participants were hallucinogen naïve so they did not know what to expect. Half were given a placebo and half were given psilocybin. The half given psilocybin had tremendous results: 79 percent of these people reported psilocybin sessions to be one of the top five most important events of their lives, and of that 79 percent, 30 percent said it was the single most important event of their lives. After two months they were checked on and most reported “positive lasting effects and sense of well-being” as well as a positive outlook on life, which significant others also confirmed (Hayes).

Testimonials of illicit psilocybin use have also been noted to induce acute relief of OCD symptoms, which the University of South Carolina is examining. Its illicit use has also reported to give acute relief from Cluster Headaches for weeks or sometimes even months, and cluster headaches are considered a very painful, difficult to treat condition. It also is being tested as a way to come to terms with the anxiety associated with death in terminally ill patients (Hayes.) The main question of the study is, “does psilocybin and activity caused by serotonin on some receptor sites, safely decrease symptoms of OCD?” (paraphrase may be better in this instance) (Gonzalez). There are more studies with psilocybin than with MDMA (you mean more studies on potential therapeutic use? didn't check your source, but its a strong claim to state that there are more studies overall on psilocybin than MDMA, especially considering MDMA neurotoxicity which would make you think there are more studies on it as a whole from phramacology alone) because it has not been shown to cause brain damage, nor has LSD, but in recent years magic mushrooms have become more popular due to the fact that they can be easily cultivated in kits or found in most of the United States naturally (Hayes.) (how does their increase in popularity relate to psilocybin's therapeutic use?)

Both psilocybin and MDMA have potential to give scientists insight on brain chemistry and future medications for mental-illness. The most famous of all psychedelics has already given us empirical evidence of potential in psychedelics. In fact the discovery of SSRI (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors) type anti-depressants is in large part due to research using the chemical LSD. Scientists realized that LSD and serotonin, which is an endogenous neurotransmitter responsible for many functions, among them the regulation of mood, had similar molecular structures. Before this discovery it was thought that serotonin was simply a regulator of blood pressure. Without LSD, scientists say it may have taken “decades, not years” to discover the association of serotonin in treating depression with medicines like Prozac, and Zoloft; both SSRIs. LSD, during alcoholics anonymous and narcotics anonymous sessions, also helped recovery rates of heroin addicts and alcoholics to a stunning 40-50 percent success rate in the 1960s (Marsa, Agonizing Over Ecstasy…) (you jump from its history in pharmacologic research to its therapeutic use with no transition)

Currently the process of legalizing psychedelics in controlled scenarios for in-patient therapy could take decades, but hopefully only years (this could be much stronger). There are only a few human studies of psychedelics that are currently underway (define a few? There is a pretty decent amount going on now compared to before! check http://www.maps.org/research/ ) , due to the fact that the process of government approval and ethics of human testing have been tainted by anti-drug campaigns that have proven flawed (is much more complicated than that. see articles in drug policy sub-section of Law archive. I would either elaborate or better yet, just leave it at 'government regulatory agencies have been slow to approve further research blah blah blah). There remains a stigma about the use of psychedelic use, of any kind, although taboos if existent should remain only directed toward the illicit use (you are getting a bit normative for the scope of this article, especially when you direct such claims towards illicit use, which we want distanced from scientifically legitimate use in this context). Research has shown many positive benefits of psilocybin, MDMA, and sometimes LSD, to rule them out entirely from human trials would be ridiculous. There is much that we can learn about the human mind from psychedelics, just how fast will we learn it?



Works Cited

Balkin, Karen F. “The Harmfulness of Ecstasy has Been Exaggerated.” Club Drugs.
At Issue Series. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.
<http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?>

Gonzalez, Allyson. “LSD for OCD?”
Weekly Planet, Tampa, FL. December 8-14, 2004. Vol. 17, Iss. 38; pg. 19. ProQuest Research Library. ProQuest Information and Learning Co.
<http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?>

Hayes, Charles. “Can Science Validate The Psychedelic Experience?” Tikkun. March/April 2007. Vol. 22, Iss. 2; pg. 65-68. Academic Search Premier.
<http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?>

Kallen, Stuart A. “Efforts To Prove That Ecstasy Can Help Psychotherapists Treat Patients Are Misguided.” Legalizing Drugs. At Issue Series. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.
<http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?>

Marsa, Linda. “Agonizing Over Ecstasy Therapists Intrigued By Drug’s Promise, Wary Of Bad Effects.” [Fourth Edition] Seattle Times. Seattle, WA: July 25, 2001 pg. A.3 ProQuest Research Library. ProQuest Information and Learning Co.
<http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?>

Marsa, Linda. “THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF ECSTASY; First it was an intriguing experiment in therapy, then a nightclub scourge. But some experts say its healing potential should not be ignored.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA: July 16, 2001, pg. S.1 ProQuest Research Library. ProQuest Information and Learning Co.
<http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?>

Sorry about all the comments, I'm a bit anal when it comes to writing sometimes.

Not a bad overview, but it has an unmistakable 'first draft' feel to it. Structure the article more so it is more coherent and has its basis in a strong thesis to impart a clear message to the reader. More sources would definitely be a good thing, and paragraphs could also be better structured to clearly elucidate your argument.

[tayo]

No problem, it has already been turned in and graded, so anything added will benefit drugs-forum. Yes, I was only allowed to write 3 pages double spaced for the class so I had to take alot of specifics out. And it was an "argumentative paper" so I had to take a side. All your additions are wonderful, I suppose with what you've added it would create a more neutral scientific approach.