An article published yesterday (11/29/2014) in the Opinion section of the New York Times (NYT) titled "Can Mushrooms Treat Depression?" revealed how wide-spread and excepted the current research involving the use "magic mushrooms" and other psychedelic substances has become by the general public. The use of psilocybin to treat PTSD has come a long way since 2008, when I first attempted to discuss it with some of the leading DoD Psychiatrists only to be dismissed with a snicker. On one occasion, while bringing the subject up to a DoD civilian PhD Psychologist he frantically looked over both shoulders and whispered "we can't talk about that around here".
I sincerely doubt that any of them had actually read any of the medical literature on the subject at that time but hopefully that has changed. That environment is, unfortunately, a tough nut to crack, at the expense of those suffering from PTSD, forcing them take extreme measures such as dangerous expeditions to the jungles of Peru (Lisa Ling - A Jungle Fix) in an attempt to get effective treatment.
The NYT article published yesterday by Eugenia Bone brings up a very important issue, the classification of psilocybin as a Schedule 1 drug and how that makes medically relevant research on its use in areas such as addiction treatment, cancer related anxiety, PTSD and depression extremely difficult at the expense of those suffering from those afflictions.
This needs to change and it will eventually. Show those suffering from PTSD as a result of serving their country that you really do care. Of course Lawmakers main concern is in not offending any of their supporters, not losing any votes in the next election. Not to worry, the public's attitude has changed, thanks to the responsible, ethical research being carried out at Johns Hopkins, New York University, the Imperial College London, and elsewhere. So, lets make it happen.
New Post 1/26/2015 regarding recent article from Newsweek that is not afraid to say the obvious, that there is a role for classic psychedelics in medicine:
Day Tripping: Benefits Seen in Psychedelics
Culturally, psychedelics bear quite a bit of baggage: Timothy Leary’s call to “turn on, tune in and drop out” became a countercultural slogan in the 1960s, and proved damaging to potential research on utilizing the drug to improve mental health for more than three decades. Perhaps this study will be a turning point in how our culture regards psychedelics and mental health. "I know scientists are supposed to be objective and dispassionate," Hendricks says. "But I'm excited and hopeful. I've seen the data -- it seems to me that psychedelics hold tremendous therapeutic potential."
