The Health Benefits Of Psychedelic Drugs

LSD Isn't Just For Stoners Anymore - Here's What We Might Be Missing Out On

You might associate them with the ‘60s and ‘70s, but psychedelic drugs are making a bit of a cultural comeback at the moment. As avenues of psychedelic research that were dropped decades ago are picked up again and large media outlets and respected scientific journals report on their potential benefits and applications, the Western world is being afforded a second chance to grapple with these complex compounds.

Psychedelics are a class of non-addictive and non-toxic compounds, including LSD, psilocybin (magic mushrooms), mescaline, and ayahuasca, which are known for causing significant changes in thought, perception, and emotion. While they’re widely associated with hedonistic or recreational use within our culture (think: hippies), various other cultures have held these substances in high regard and used them for spiritual and medicinal purposes for millennia.

Currently, psychedelics are illegal in most countries, though there are some important exceptions. In the U.S. and Canada, members of the Native American Church have been granted legal recognition to use peyote, a mescaline-containing cactus, for spiritual purposes. In Brazil, the use of the psychedelic brew ayahuasca for spiritual purposes is legal, and several Brazilian churches use ayahuasca ceremonially, such as Santo Daime or União do Vegetal. In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court set an important precedent by recognizing the UDV’s legal right to use ayahuasca in their ceremonies.

Despite their legal status, however, there are many who argue that our culture stands to gain much from proper use of these substances. CNN recently reported on the use of psychedelics in Silicon Valley to stimulate creativity and approach problems from new perspectives.

In fact, the use of psychedelics for enhancing creative problem-solving was first demonstrated in a 1966 study that administered mescaline to a group of professionals, including engineers, physicists, architects, and designers. At the end of the session, many of these professionals had come up with fruitful leads or completed solutions that fit the necessary criteria and were accepted for production, publication, or construction.

The study reported that the psychedelic caused a variety of changes that enhanced the creative process, including a heightened capacity for visualization, increased flexibility of thought, and a greater ability to concentrate on the problem.

Perhaps the most important aspect of psychedelics, at least with regards to their usefulness to society at large, however, is their medicinal properties. Presently, research is demonstrating that skillful use of psychedelics involving proper preparation, guidance, and the right setting has the potential to bring about healing and transformative experiences with lasting positive effects, helping to treat depression, addiction, and anxiety-related disorders.

For example, an analysis of research from the ‘60s and ‘70s found that LSD can help in treating alcoholism, and a study using psilocybin to treat alcoholism is currently underway (listen to the testimony of one participant here).

Other studies conducted across the U.S. and Europe have demonstrated that LSD and psilocybin alike can help alleviate anxiety associated with death in terminally ill patients, for which we otherwise have very few treatment options. Patients having undergone this therapy report significantly decreased anxiety, depression, and fear of death, and improvements in their quality of life.

Elsewhere, reports from groups of veterans suggest that ayahuasca may be a promising treatment for those struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. An excellent article by Michael Pollan in the New Yorker gives an in-depth of the therapeutic uses of these substances.

Any integration of these substances into our society would present a unique challenge. While we’re used to having single-function drugs, a class of drugs that can be used as medicine, creative enhancer, spiritual sacrament, or tool for self-exploration necessitates a whole new paradigm.

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If the prohibition of these powerful substances decades ago has taught us anything, it’s about our susceptibility to polarized thinking. The results of the psychedelic research of the ‘50s and ‘60s were readily overlooked and overshadowed once sensationalistic media coverage and drug war propaganda took center stage, which effectively stifled this research for decades.

Could our society’s second major encounter with these substances play out differently? We know much more about these substances now than we did decades ago. Many people now understand that the effect of these drugs is intimately linked to the setting in which they are taken, and the mindset and personality of the user — and this understanding helps them use psychedelics in a way that maximizes their benefits while minimizing the risks.

In addition, millions of people in North America have used psychedelics, and have thus had the opportunity to form their own ideas about them. In a way similar to the way the cultural conversation around cannabis has shifted in a big way, these people may play an important role in shifting the conversation toward a more rational discourse about how to integrate these substances.

Whether psychedelics will remain illegal or will find a more accepted place in our society remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt that the conversation is happening once again. And the development of new therapies for addiction, depression, end-of-life anxiety, and PTSD could alleviate a lot of suffering for which we currently lack effective treatment options.

Gonzo Nieto is a Montreal-based writer and psychonaut. He writes for Reset and maintains a column called Turning Inward in The Link. He's also a board member of the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy and holds a B.Sc. in Psychology & Neuroscience from Concordia University. You can find him on Twitter @gonzebo or check out his website, gonzonieto.ca.

Note: While the conversation around the lesser-known health benefits of illegal drugs is interesting to us, AskMen doesn't condone the use thereof.