Psilocybin use implicated in a reduction of intimate partner violence

The recent study by Peter S. Hendricks, Ph.D., University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB), Department of Health Behavior, had been placed on the University of Alabama News website a few weeks ago but is now no longer available.  The reason for this in not known.  Also, the journal this research will be published in is also not yet known.

Still, the information that was once on the website has been preserved by other websites such as MedicalXpress.  MedicalXpress (a great source of the most recent medical news) gives UAB as the source of its information.  Here is a link to the article from MedicalXpress titled Hallucinogens use could protect against intimate partner violence.

The study looked at 302 men ages 17-40 in the criminal justice system. Of the 56 percent of participants who reported using hallucinogens, only 27 percent were arrested for later IPV as opposed to 42 percent of the group who reported no hallucinogen use being arrested for IPV within seven years.

Dr. Hendricks commented that "A body of evidence suggests that substances such as psilocybin may have a range of clinical indications," he said. "Although we're attempting to better understand how or why these substances may be beneficial, one explanation is that they can transform people's lives by providing profoundly meaningful spiritual experiences that highlight what matters most. Often, people are struck by the realization that behaving with compassion and kindness toward others is high on the list of what matters."

I'll keep you posted regarding the publication of this study and hopefully an explanation as to why the information was removed from the UAB website.

From Dr. Hendricks' CV, it is noted that he has shown a lifetime dedication to assisting those with substance abuse issues.  I sincerely hope his recent interest in the use of psychedelics towards this end will not have a negative impact on his career.  This has happened in the past but hopefully the current renaissance in psychedelic research will be allowed to continue as long as the researchers follow their current rigorous scientific standards and ethical behavior.  The science is there to support this research and there is no room in science or medicine for bias.

Twenty years ago, Dr. Henricks most likely would have been fired for promoting research on psychedelics. Now there are groups sprouting up all over the world encouraging like-minded individuals to share their support and experience with these sacred, entheogenic substances (synthetics such as MDMA not included).  A search for entheogens in Meetups highlight this global support.

Update (04/25/2016): Dr. Hendricks article has now been published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology and is titled Hallucinogen use and intimate partner violence: Prospective evidence consistent with protective effects among men with histories of problematic substance use

A recent article in Aggression and Violent Behavior (March/April 2016) by researchers from The University of Western Ontario titled Recreational drug use and human aggressive behavior: A comprehensive review since 2003  backs up Dr. Hendrick's research with the following conclusions:

• Alcohol causes aggression.
• Cannabis is correlated with aggression, and personality mediates this association.
• The research on methamphetamines, opiates, and stimulants and aggression is complex.
• Hallucinogens such as psilocybin reduce aggressive behavior.
• Psilocybin is associated with positive spiritual and mystical experiences.
• Psilocybin significantly alleviates symptoms of obsessive–compulsive disorder.
• Low doses of psilocybin extinguished the conditioned fear response to an adverse stimulus in an animal model of PTSD.
• Psilocybin positively impacts hippocampal neurogenesis.
• Psilocybin was proposed as a potential treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

PTSD is associated with an increase in intimate partner violence. A large epidemiological study of Vietnam and Vietnam-era Veterans that was conducted in the mid-1980s examined intimate partner violence (ranging from slapping and pushing to using a knife or gun), and found that 33.0% of Veterans with PTSD compared to 13.5% of those without PTSD reported intimate partner violence in the past year (1). Considering all of the many positive properties of the therapeutic use of psilocybin, a reduction in intimate partner violence is another benefit to add to the list.  PTSD is not seen just in the military and in Veterans. Soon, due to the coming global climate catastrophe, the majority of the earths population will have PTSD so we best start investigating psilocybin as a treatment ASAP.

For some health care providers, the lack of effective treatments for conditions such as PTSD, addictions, suicidal thoughts, depression, and fear of death leads them, out of compassion and empathy, to assist those suffering by guiding them through psychedelic therapy in violation of the law.  To me, these brave souls are true 'Heroes of the Universe'.  They are heroes as they are giving their live's for a cause great than themselves.  The goals is to provide those suffering with a sense of unity, a shared universal consciousness, which reveals all of our interconnectedness.

I sincerely hope the laws change soon so these compassionate beings do not have to suffer the consequences of unfair and misguided laws.  Psychedelics should be removed from Schedule I classification as they are neither addicting nor lacking in medical benefit.  A recent article in The Atlantic questions whether current psychedelic drug laws violate our basic human rights?

1. Jordan, K. B., Marmar, C. R., Fairbank, J. A., Schlenger, W. E., Kulka, R. A., Hough, R. L., & Weiss,       D. S. (1992). Problems in families of male Vietnam Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal       of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 916-926. doi: 10.1037//0022-006X.60.6.916 (PDF)