By Sam Tracy
March 29, 2010
For many years, society has accepted the use of potentially dangerous
drugs, like opiates and steroids, for medical purposes. Society
admits that while they can be detrimental to one's health if taken
recreationally and irresponsibly, a trained professional can help
patients use these drugs to treat a wide range of afflictions.
Marijuana is currently making a transition from a drug that was
viewed as purely recreational for a length of time to one that is now
recognized by fourteen state governments as being useful for medical
purposes. It is about time that psychedelics are admitted into this
group of medically useful drugs.
"Psychedelics" are a group of drugs that alter the user's state of
consciousness, changing the way the mind perceives incoming stimuli.
The most popular of these drugs include lysergic acid diethylamide
(LSD) and MDMA, a major component of ecstasy. While there are many
different subclasses of psychedelics, they all alter the user's
perceptions of their surroundings.
It may come as a shock that such powerful and taboo drugs could be
used for medicinal purposes. But there has been a great deal of
research, both in the 1960s and today, that has shown them to be
effective in treating many illnesses Psychedelics can help
individuals overcome alcoholism, help terminally ill patients with
therapy and can supplement the therapy of people with post-traumatic
stress disorder.
Alcoholism is a horrible disease that afflicts nearly 14 million
Americans. It can lead to a host of other health problems, including
pancreatitis, brain damage and many types of cancer. Interestingly,
early studies of alcoholics using LSD in a controlled medical
environment have shown promising results. There was a 50 percent
success rate in helping alcoholics overcome their addictions and LSD
has been proven to be non-addictive, therefore mitigating any
concerns that patients would move from one addiction to another.
Statistics aside, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson,
came out in support of using LSD to help overcome addictions to
alcohol, saying that altering perceptions was sometimes necessary to
help patients change the way they think about alcohol.
There have also been many studies supporting the use of psychedelics
as a part of therapy for terminally ill patients. A 1965 study at
Spring Grove State Hospital in Maryland asked terminally ill patients
if their feelings of tension, pain, depression and fear of death had
changed after undergoing therapy that included LSD. About one third
had very positive results, one third had somewhat positive results
and the remaining third felt no change.
If any drug is capable of helping two-thirds of terminally ill
patients come to terms with their situations, it should be used to do
so. No one should be allowed to prohibit terminally ill patients from
doing everything they can to deal with their conditions. The argument
that drug prohibition is meant to protect individuals quickly falls
apart for patients with only months left to live, as they will not be
able to experience the potential long-term side effects of these drugs.
The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, or MAPS,
is currently conducting some promising research regarding the use of
MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder. In September 2008, the
organization tested twenty-one subjects, all afflicted with PTSD due
to sexual abuse or experience in war; the study has revealed positive results.
MAPS is a large and legitimate organization, whose research is far
more credible than that done in the 1960s. They follow strict
regulations required of drug tests, like using placebos as controls.
Psychedelics are in the same league as morphine and other drugs, when
taken for medicinal purposes. While they can obviously be abused,
they can also be highly beneficial for people afflicted by terrible
conditions. We must overcome the taboo of using drugs that are
currently illegal and make sure that any resources we have that could
help alcoholics, the terminally ill or veterans with PTSD are put to
use. Social stigma should not prevent these people from getting the
treatment they need.
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