The citation of the picture can be found here
Most people know about illegal drugs such as LSD, magic mushrooms, and other familiar hallucinogens. And by everyone they are considered to be bad for you. Is it possible that maybe they have some beneficial effects. There were extensive double-blind placebo-control trials done on the drug that says magic mushroom’s active chemical, psilocybin, helps cancer patients of their fear of dying. A lot of patients develop severe anxiety or depression after being aware of their condition, which is understandable. So there has been clear evidence that it helps treat these conditions, but one of the major problems researchers are having is knowing how it is helping them. They only know that it helps, but they aren’t sure why. They know that the powerful experience effects the brain, but they don’t know how it is effecting the brain in a way the decreases depression or PTSD.
I have noticed that a lot of illegal drugs like marijuana, magic mushrooms, and things that are found naturally have some kind of small health benefit. Overall, they are bad for you and is not recommended for recreational use, but for medical. These drugs can be very dangerous though, magic mushrooms have been know to change the structure of the brain even after someone’s first use. Psilocybin works by combining the same neural receptors in the brain as serotonin which is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for happiness.
Here is a quick Youtube video about the drug and how it effects you.
Right now, there are a lot of restrictions to even researching the drug. It needs to continue to furthermore our understanding of it and be full knowledgeable of the positive and negatives of the drug. Participating in the use of these drugs is not recommended considering the are illegal and they can still be harmful to your body.
I heard that LSD will stay in your system for the rest of your life, and it could become prevalent and make you trip at any time. Although the mushrooms may help cancer patients, do you think it would be ethical to give them to the patients knowing the many adverse effects of the drug?
This is an interesting topic John. After watching the video, I was curious about how they got the study approved at all. Is it ethical to give students drugs? I looked at the IRB’s website , but I could not find anything specific about the drugs. This brings up the question if informed consent is enough when doing studies that can have long term effects.
I was heavily intrigued by this post, as legalization is a hot topic nowadays. The connection you made at the end of your post when you deemed these drugs poor overall but beneficial for medical use. I think you may find interest in a movement involving these drugs that is happening currently. Current and former NFL players are actually advocating for the NFL to allow marijuana for medical treatment. Many former players have come forward confessing that they have played in games after using these drugs to prevent pain and say medical marijuana would minimize the use of painkillers . Check it out in the link below!
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i-team/nfl-players-appeal-league-embrace-marijuana-article-1.2732262