The Mystery of Psychedelics

Psychedelics.

I don't know about you, but I spent a good portion of my younger life terrified of them. I thought they'd fry my brain. Lumped in with all the other drugs teenagers were supposed to stay away from, all I knew was that they were bad news.

But in recent years, I've realized that the research tells a different story. So what should we make of this mysterious substance? Well, to say the least, what it does to the mind is a little bit deeper than what all the anti-drug campaigns of my time suggested.

To provide a surface-level explanation of psychedelics (also known as hallucinogens), I could tell you that this second name is relatively self-explanatory. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), there are a variety of different kinds of psychedelics, including LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine. Psychedelics can be used to alter a person's senses and mood. They may cause sensory distortions, or hallucinations, though the effects depend on the type of drug, the mood of the person, and the dose.

That being said, they are widely considered to be a safe drug by the most important standards. According to an article written by Huber, not only are psychedelics incredibly difficult to overdose on, but they aren't addictive. Obviously, there's always the risk of poor decision-making under the influence, but that risk is also apparent in legal substances like alcohol.

Then if the dangers posed by psychedelics are so low, why are they illegal?

According to an article by Nutt, MD, Ph.D., and Carhart-Harris, Ph.D., despite the promise that psychedelics showed in initial clinical research, known recreational use of the substance was tied to the anti-Vietnam war movement, and psychedelics were banned. This halted all of the research being done. The potential that hallucinogens had was tossed to the side.

And what was that promise seen in psychedelics?

Research on psychedelics is starting back up again, and with it, our understanding of what psychedelics can do is broadening. It seems psychedelics have a substantial impact on the mind, and this impact could be quite beneficial. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), combined with therapy, psychedelics may be able to treat anxiety, depression, and even post-traumatic stress disorder. Not only that but the use of psychedelics was correlated with improved emotional stability. Additionally, an article was written by Yaden, Ph.D., Yaden, MD, and Griffiths, Ph.D., suggested that psychedelics could also be used to treat substance abuse disorders.

So with all these benefits, what exactly do psychedelics do?

Well, to answer that question we have to look at our brains. According to one study (Banks et al., 2021), psychedelics create long-term changes to the very mechanisms of how the brain functions through inducing acute effects on gene expression, neurotransmitter and neuroendocrine release, neural activity, connectivity, and perception and cognition. The value of this information is substantial, not just for the treatment of mood and substance abuse disorders, but also for the expansion of our understanding of the brain.

However, we still have so much to learn.

Since there is a major gap in research, so many questions are left to be answered. Psychedelics are still a mystery. But at the end of the day, everything we've seen so far suggests we should keep moving forward.