Should Psychedelics Be Legalized And Are They Medicine?

Posted on September 12, 2022 View all news

The legalization process does not stop with marijuana. The pro-drug agenda is taking the next step to legalizing all drugs by asking Colorado voters to create another for-profit drug industry by increasing access to psychedelic drugs by creating state “Healing Centers” or places where the public can readily purchase them. This will add more confusion and complexity to the growing addiction, mental and physical illnesses, and the regulatory nightmare that has resulted from states legalizing cannabis for profit.

Clever marketing has made it difficult for people to find accurate education and to understand the impacts of marijuana and legalization, and those who support marijuana decriminalization are usually blindsided when full commercialization seems to follow. The push to legalize psychedelic drugs is following the same playbook used to legalize cannabis: create empathy for those suffering legal consequences of use, call it medicine and exploit possible medical applications, normalize use, deny risks, and finally legalize widespread use and heavily commercialize sales.

Oregon has already started this process for drugs classified as psychedelics but should undereducated voters who don’t know the risks really be deciding what is and isn’t medicine?

Please click below to read our exclusive balanced discussion on psychedelics.

Should Psychedelics Be Legalized And Are They Medicine?

“The most relevant risks, in my opinion, involve the psychological effects…which can be unpredictable and sometimes lead to intense emotional reactions including anxiety, paranoia, disorientation, and the risk of unusual beliefs and erratic behaviors while under the influence.”

~ Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Right now, psychedelic drugs are a hot news topic.

Aaron Rodgers, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, claims that drinking ayahuasca helped him have the “best season” of his career.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson admits that smoking toad venom changed his life.
Television personality Sharon Osborn says that taking ketamine allowed her to overcome her depression.
Actor Seth Rogan recalls doing mushrooms at age 13 “had pretty deep effects”.
Most recently, a small study suggests that psilocybin therapy may help curb excessive drinking.

Is all of this as good as it sounds, or are psychedelics just a little bit too good to be true? After all, we’ve been promised “miracle drugs” before – remember what Big Pharma used to say about opioid painkillers?

To help separate scientific fact from fiction and data from anecdotes, let us take a closer look at what psychedelics are, how they work, and both the proven risks and supposed benefits.

What Are Psychedelic Drugs?

“You don’t want to melt your brain with no direction or form for it to solidify back to.”

~ Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD

Psychedelic drugs are a subclass of hallucinogens that alter the user’s consciousness and cause visual, psychological, and auditory changes to their perception. They can even trigger a loss of reality, also known as a “trip”. The most common experiences reported by users include:

Altered senses
Hallucinations, especially visual (which is a symptom of psychosis and often frightening)
Warped perception of time
Bliss or euphoria
Feelings of a mystical experience

Examples of Psychedelic Drugs

Currently, there are several substances being touted as the “next big thing” by supporters of expanded psychedelic legislation.

Ayahuasca

Traditionally used in shamanistic rituals for at least 1000 years, ayahuasca is a tea brewed from certain plants native to South America. The active ingredient is dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, which is known for its rapid onset of intense effects.

Supposed Potential Benefits

A 2016 article published in Frontiers of Pharmacology theorized that DMT may play a role in boosting immunity, neuroprotection, and neuroregeneration. Moreover, the authors suggest that DMT has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that may help prevent “diseases of civilization”, such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.

Finally, a 2021 article in Neuropharmacology concluded that “DMT may be considered as adjuvant therapy in acute cerebral ischemia management”, i.e., strokes.

At the current time, however, DMT has no approved medicinal use in the United States and can have serious adverse effects.

Adverse Effects and Risks

There are several adverse side-effects associated with ayahuasca use. These effects appear to be dose-related effects, meaning their severity increases with the amount consumed.

Increased blood pressure
Rapid heartbeat
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Dizziness
Agitation
Paranoia
Chest pain
Cardiac stress
Worsening of chronic pain

Fatalities due to acute intoxication after ingesting ayahuasca have also been reported.

Legality

DMT is an illegal controlled substance, the plants containing it are not. In the United States, the use of ayahuasca during ceremonies is permitted under the Religious Freedoms Restoration Act.

Ibogaine

“We just don’t see the merit of ibogaine, because I don’t think anyone wants to take medicine and have the risk of having a heart attack.”

~ J.R. Rand, Founder of Mind Medicine

Made from the bark of the iboga tree native to Central Africa, ibogaine has been used for rituals and folk medicines by Pygmy and Bwiti tribes. Use triggers a dreamlike state that can last for several hours.

Supposed Potential Benefits

The most-mentioned supposed benefit of ibogaine is its potential to help treat Substance Use Disorder, especially addiction to opioids such as heroin, prescription painkillers, and fentanyl. It is theorized that ibogaine helps reverse the changes to the brain that support drug-seeking behaviors, as well as encouraging an introspective mindset that allows the user to reexamine the roots of their addiction.

Because of its adverse effects and the need for more research, ibogaine has no approved medicinal or therapeutic use in the United States.

Adverse Effects and Risks

Ibogaine has a number of serious adverse side effects, including:

Ataxia – A loss of muscular coordination, resulting in difficulties in standing, walking, speaking, and voluntary eye movement.
Dry mouth
Nausea
Vomiting
Irregular heartbeat
Abnormally long heartbeat interval
Fainting
Seizures
Cardiac arrest

The risk of serious side effects and even death is highest among people with pre-existing cardiovascular disease.

Legality

In most of the world, ibogaine is either a controlled substance or completely illegal.

Ketamine

“The last thing we would want to do as a field would be to promote the use of a substance to treat depression that turns out to have tremendous abuse liability, and that would end up creating a cadre of depressed patients who are now, in addition to that, substance abusers.”

~ Dr. Charles Nemeroff, PhD, Psychiatry Department Chair, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin

When used medically, ketamine is an FDA-approved aenesthetic. It is considered safer than opioids and ether because unlike those drugs, it does not suppress breathing or heart rate.

Supposed Potential Benefits

Esketamine, a specific form of the drug, is used as a therapy for treatment-resistant depression or suicidal ideation. Sold primarily under the brand name Spravato, it is a tightly-controlled medicine that is only administered “under the supervision of a health care provider in a certified doctor’s office or clinic”, per the FDA.

However, esketamine and ketamine are not the same drug, and in February 2022, the FDA issued a warning against self-treating at home, saying “Ketamine is not FDA-approved for the treatment of any psychiatric disorder.”

Adverse Effects and Risks

Ketamine is also a popular club drug of abuse. When taken recreationally, “Special K” triggers a dissociative state and hallucinations that some people find pleasurable. Because the effects are of short duration, abusers often binge to prolong the “high”.

A tolerance to ketamine quickly develops, meaning the abuser has to take increasingly higher doses to achieve the same results. This worsens the adverse health effects and triggers withdrawal symptoms when the person tries to quit.

Dizziness
Inability to concentrate
Blurred vision
Hypertension
Changes in body temperature
Psychosis
Liver damage
Kidney problems
Bladder complaints

Bladder disorders are especially prevalent, occurring in up to 30% of people who frequently use ketamine. Because ketamine damage can lead to the loss of up to 90% of the bladder’s capacity to hold urine, a 2013 article in Urological Science called ketamine a “murderer of young bladders”.

In some cases, the damage may be irreversible, and removal of the bladder may be the only option. Further, removal of the bladder can cause sexual dysfunction in both men and women.

Legality

Ketamine is classified as a controlled substance in the United States.

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (aka “LSD” or “Acid”)

“I don’t believe it has any benefit. I think it is more of a fad than anything else.”

~ Dr. David E. Nichols, PhD, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina

LSD is a fast-acting, long-lasting psychedelic drug. The effects are felt within 30 minutes and can last up to 20 hours. Originally synthesized in 1938, acid enjoyed enormous popularity in the 1960’s, becoming synonymous with the counterculture movement.

Currently, there is a resurgence in the use of LSD, increasing by 223% for adults ages 35 – 49 between 2015 and 2018.

Supposed Potential Benefits

A 2012 meta-analysis found that a single dose of acid helps reduce alcohol consumption among excessive drinkers. Some claim that LSD can also be taken to combat depression.

However, a study just published in the February 2022 edition of Addiction Biology did not show any therapeutic benefit of microdosing LSD. Dr. Harriet de Wit, PhD, the lead author of the study, said, “The results were a little bit disappointing in that we didn’t see any dramatic improvements in mood or cognition, or really any lasting changes on any of the measures that we looked at.”

LSD currently has no approved medical uses.

Adverse Effects and Risks

There are a number of adverse side effects associated with LSD use, including:

Increased body temperature
Rapid heartbeat
Hypertension
Nausea
High blood sugar
Sleeplessness
Dilated pupils

The most serious risk of LSD use is long-term psychological problems.

For example, people who have schizophrenia may experience worsened symptoms or psychotic episodes when they use LSD.

There is also the issue of flashbacks, where the individual can still experience hallucinations and other effects for weeks and months after the drug has worn off. These can be so severe as to impair the person’s daily life and ability to function.

Some degree of hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) affects up to 1 in 20 LSD users.

And while LSD is not considered addictive, users do develop a tolerance, and taking higher doses significantly increases the risk of adverse reactions.

Legality

Under the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances, LSD is illegal in all signing countries, including the United States.

3, 4-Methylenedioxy Methamphetamine (aka “MDMA”, “Ecstasy”, or “Molly”)

“The data are clear that it’s moved out of the club scene. We are now seeing the drugs used by everybody. Parents can’t just say, “My kid doesn’t go to clubs, so I don’t need to worry about it.””

~ Dr. Alan Leshner, PhD, former Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse

Ecstasy is the most popular “party drug” in America, so-called because they are frequently used within the subculture of people who go to nightclubs, raves, and music festivals.

Because of its profound effect on the central nervous system, MDMA is classified as a stimulant, but it also has psychedelic properties – hallucinations, altered perceptions, and a distorted sense of time.

Supposed Potential Benefits

In 2017, the FDA granted approval for limited research on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Currently, the drug is in Phase 3 clinical trials.

However, a recent Swiss study conversely found that using MDMA did not lead to any significant reduction in PTSD symptoms.

Farris Tuma, who heads traumatic stress research at the National Institutes of Health, is skeptical, saying there is currently no explanations or plausible theories that explain why the drug’s effects on the brain might somehow improve therapy.

“They’re a long way between where they are now and this becoming a standard clinical practice,” he says.

Adverse Effects and Risks

“…MDMA is a potent and selective serotonin neurotoxin in animals…Hence, there is growing concern that MDMA may also produce neurotoxic effects in humans.”

~ Professor George Ricaurte

Despite the public perception that MDMA is a “safe” alternative to other drugs like cocaine or methamphetamine it is still an illicit drug that can trigger a host of unpleasant—and even potentially dangerous—side effects. This can happen even after the first use.

Dilated pupils
Blurred vision
Muscle or joint stiffness
Involuntary teeth clenching, to the point of lockjaw
Increased body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure
Hot flashes
Chills
Sweating
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Sodium imbalance
Dehydration
Inability to focus
Anxiety, to the point of panic attacks
Depression
Irritability
Aggression
Inability to sit still
Restless legs
Poor impulse control
Brain lesions
Impaired memor
Shortened attention span
Decreased motivation and pleasure from everyday life
Insomnia
Loss of appetite
Decreased sex drive
Erectile dysfunction
Reduced pleasure from sex
Higher risk of sexually-transmitted diseases
Seizures
Unconsciousness

The greatest physical dangers come from increased body temperature and dehydration. Fatalities have been reported, as well as severe organ damage, especially to the heart, brain, and kidneys.

Legality

As of this writing, MDMA is classified as a Schedule I substance and is illegal in the United States.

NBOMe

“…one of the real concerns about the NBOMe series is it acts at a very low dose, in micrograms instead of milligrams. That means if you aren’t aware of the dosage of what you’re taking, then you may end up not just overdosing, but you could end up with 10, 20, 50 times the dose…”

~ Dr. Monica Barratt, Drug Policy Modeling Program, University of South New Wales

Often taken as as an alternative to MDMA or LSD, “N-Bomb” is a completely synthetic psyhedelic first developed in the early 2000s. It is extremely potent, and the effects can last over 12 hours

Supposed Potential Benefits

NBOMe has no therapeutic value. In fact, it is called a dangerous drug that can terrify users for “hours on end”. Even proponents of psychedelic use are warning people to stay away.

Adverse Effects and Risks

This is relevant, because some people who take Ecstasy or acid for their supposed benefits might be tempted to use NBOMe as an alternative, and that substitution can have serious consequences:

Loss of reality
Agitation
Seizures
Hypothermia
Blood clots
Heart problems
Kidney dysfunction
Organ failure
Death

Legality

NBOMe is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance and is illegal in the United States.

Peyote

“I’ve tried it a long time ago, with hashish and peyote. Fascinating, yes, but no good, no. This, as we find in alcohol, is an escape from awareness, a cheat, a momentary substitution, and in the end, as destruction of it.”

~ Conrad Aiken, Pulitzer Prize winner

The peyote plant is a spineless cactus native to Mexico and Southwest Texas. Indigineous North Americans have used it for nearly 6,000 years as a medicine and as part of religious ceremonies. Its active ingredient, mescaline, is the oldest known psychedelic.

Dried peyote slices, or “buttons” are consumed, and the strong hallucinations can last up to 12 hours.

Supposed Potential Benefits

Because Substance Use Disorder has historically been believed to be linked to serotonin deficiencies, some researchers theorize that mescaline might help treat alcoholism and drug addiction and perhaps even depression.

But that theory may need to be revised, because a brand-new study just published in July 2022 found no link between serotonin imbalance and depression.

As of this writing, no clinical trials involving mescaline therapy have been conducted and the FDA has not granted approval of mescaline as a treatment for any physical or medical condition.

Adverse Effects and Risks

WebMD advises that Peyote is unsafe, with such health consequences as:

Headache
Changes in vision
Dizziness
Uncontrollable drooling
Increased respiration
High blood pressure
Rapid heartbeat
Nausea and vomiting – to the point of esophageal bleeding

Individuals with preexisting mental health or substance abuse problems are at greatest risk of psychological issues like fear, paranoia, or emotional instability. The disturbance can be so bad as to trigger psychotic, suicidal, or homicidal behavior.

And while peyote is not associated with physical addiction, some users may suffer severe psychological dependence.

Legality

Peyote is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance and is illegal in the United States. However, due to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, non-drug use is permitted during bonafide religious ceremonies of the Native American Church.

Psilocybin (aka “Magic Mushrooms”)

“Combined use with alcohol and use within risky or unfamiliar settings increase the risks of harm, most commonly accidental injury, panic, short-lived confusion, disorientation, and fears of losing one’s mind.”

~ Dr. Adam Winstock, MD, Founder of the Global Drug Survey

Found in over 200 species of fungi, psilocybin has been used in spiritual rituals since before recorded history. Once ingested, psilocybin’s effects are felt quickly, but their duration is relatively short, lasting between two and six hours.

Supposed Potential Benefits

According to the first controlled clinical trial of its kind, just published in August 2022, psilocybin helps people with Alcohol Use Disorder drastically reduce their problematic drinking.

And in 2016, two separate studies found that a single dose of psilocybin boosted the morale of cancer patients by easing their anxiety and depression.

In June 2022, the FDA granted approval for Phase 2 clinical trials to determine if synthetic psilocybin is a safe and effective treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

As promising as all this sounds, there are limitations to that research – the trials and studies were extremely small. For example, the clinical trial was the largest of its kind, but it only involved 93 people, and just 80 cancer patients received psilocybin for their emotional pain.

Another major problem is that researchers do not yet understand the precise mechanisms by which psilocybin affects the brain. As Dr. Chris Stauffer, who leads psilocybin clinical research through Veterans Administration Portland Health Care, says, “Ultimately, we don’t really know yet how this treatment works.”

Adverse Effects and Risks

Psilocybin mushrooms have a very low potential for dependence or overdose. But that does NOT mean that magic mushrooms are inherently safe – far from it. There are still serious risks to the individual. The mushrooms contain psilocybin, a powerful psychedelic. Possible effects include:

Panic attacks (1 in 4 users)
Confusion
Paranoia
Disconnection from reality
Mania
Depersonalization disorder – estrangement from self
Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) – ongoing psychedelic visual disturbances
Flashbacks – randomly re-experiencing the drug’s effects
Psychosis

When psilocybin is used with alcohol, the negative effects are magnified. These “bad trips” can lead to self-injury, fatal accidents, or suicide.

In people who have or are vulnerable to schizophrenia, the use of magic mushrooms can trigger psychotic episodes so severe as to require hospitalization.

Legality

At the Federal level, psilocybin is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance and is illegal. However, several states have already updated their laws or may soon:

Oregon – In 2020, Oregon became the first state to legalize psilocybin for mental health purposes.
Colorado – In 2019, Denver became the first city in America to decriminalize the possession of psychedelic mushrooms for personal use. This November, state residents will vote on whether or not to legalize psilocybin through the Natural Medicine Health Act.
Washington – In 2021, Seattle decriminalized psilocybin. Now, lawmakers are working on a bill that would extend the measure statewide.
Connecticut – This year, legislation was approved funding a pilot program offering psilocybin-assisted therapy to qualified patients.
California – A proposed bill to legalize psilocybin for mental health purposes failed to get the required signatures and will not be on the ballot this November.

Salvia Divinorum

“Most people don’t find this class of drugs very pleasurable. So perhaps the main draw or reason for its appeal relates to the rapid onset and short duration of its effects, which are incredibly unique. The kinetics are often as important as the abused drug itself.”

~ Dr. Jacob Hooker, PhD, molecular imaging expert

Native to the Sierra Mazateca mountain region in Oaxaca, Mexico, salvia can be smoked, chewed, or brewed in a tea to trigger an altered state of consciousness. It has traditionally been used by native shamans in religious rituals.

In modern culture, however, salvia is abused recreationally for the dreamlike trance it induces.

Supposed Potential Benefits

In folk medicine, salvia is used as a diuretic and to treat headaches, rheumatism, anemia, and diarrhea.

Because salvia is an opioid agonist, there are some who believe that it can help treat stimulant dependence.

Finally, a 2016 study suggests that salvia may have promise as a treatment for Alzheimer’s, although the authors stress that more research is needed.

Currently, salvia is not an approved medication for any medical condition.

Adverse Effects and Risks

Used in its natural form in traditional shamanistic rituals, salvia has few serious side effects other than the hallucinations common to most psychedelic drugs.

Modern preparations are much more concentrated, and therefore far more potent. Bad trips on salvia have been described as “terrifying” and can cause the person to engage in self-harming behaviors.

Legality

Although salvia is not classified as a Schedule I controlled substance at the Federal level, it is illegal in almost half of the states. Salvia is also listed as a drug of concern by the DEA.

Psychedelic use By the Numbers

Although many people have the misconception that psychedelic drugs were mainly used during the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s, they are still widely used today. With the anecdotal misinformation spread on the web and the incautious push for expanded legalization, the abuse of psychedelic drugs may soon increase dramatically.

How big is the problem?

According to the Global Drug Survey (GDS), here are the percentages of people who have used the following psychedelics within the past year:

MDMA – 26.3%
LSD – 16.4%
Magic Mushrooms – 15.7%
Ketamine – 13.7%

More importantly, the 2021 GDS reveals that psychedelic use is on the rise globally, with increases seen with every drug over the past 7 years.

A Few Words about Microdosing

“You will find a claim of everything, probably up to and including improving your golf swing…So far, no study has found really any evidence to pick up even a little signal of the benefits of microdosing.”

~ Dr. Matthew Johnson, PhD, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research

Microdosing is a term used by drug entrepreneurs to normalize and promote the practice of using very small amounts of psychedelics

The idea behind microdosing is borrowed from the “minimum effective dose” principle used by the pharmaceutical industry. This means taking the lowest possible dosage that still produces the desired posissible benefits in hopes to not triggerany adverse side effects.

Psychodelic promponts claime a “microdose” is roughly between one-tenth and one-half the “normal” dosage, depending upon the substance without defining was normal dosage is or knowing who may have a bad trip. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states: Experiences are often unpredictable and may vary with the amount ingested and the user’s personality, mood, expectations, and surroundings. roponents of microdosing claim that psychedelic drugs can alleviate a long list of conditions – from anxiety to bipolar disorder to migraines to menstrual cramps to poor athletic performance, among others.

But it is also important to note that tales of these benefits are also subjective and anecdotal. There is a decided lack of verified, large, peer-reviewed scientific research supporting these claims.

Dr. Johnson goes on to say, “The scientific basis is pretty shaky right now. Its benefits are plausible and very interesting, but the claims of ‘everything fits together and goes right and you’re in a good mood and in the flow’, well we all have those types of days regardless of any pharmacological intervention.”

Are Psychedelics Medicine?

“The challenge is once you move from a stance of not arresting people to sanctioning the use of (psychedelics) for therapy, then the onus is on you to get it right. That’s the practice of medicine; you are using a drug. There is a responsibility there. Are they going to have all the safeguards that we and our colleagues use?”

~ Dr. Matthew Johnson

The best thing you can say about psychedelic drugs is that some of them might offer limited therapeutic value for some medical conditions some of the time for some people, especially when they are used as part of a larger medically-supervised treatment plan that includes counseling and other forms of treatment.

That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for legalization.

It simply cannot be stressed enough that unsupervised self-medicating with potent – and very often illegal – psychedelic substances to treat mental illness is enormously risky.

This is particularly true since there are very few peer-reviewed scientific studies that support the use of psychedelics as medicine. Users can accidentally take an unknown and unregulated substance or take too much of a powerful psychedelic and cause themselves severe physical or psychological damage.

The Bottom Line About Psychedelic Drugs

“There are a lot of companies getting into the drug business, either with psychedelic drugs or drugs like cannabidiol. And really, there’s not much empirical support to back up their claims. So I think we have a responsibility to investigate and validate the claims.”

~ Dr. Harriet de Wit, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago

Despite the individual anecdotes, the safest way to move forward is by the same trusted route taken whenever ANY new medication is developed. It is a lengthy, exacting, and necessary process, one with no shortcuts.

In the end, it just may be that effective new medications may eventually be developed from psychedelic drugs, but we cannot rush the approval process without a lot more research. Again, remember that misinformation created the opioid crisis.

In Colorado, where the Natural Medicine Health Act will soon be put to a vote, residents speak out against this policy in CPR News.

Sharon Anable daughter who was killed by her boyfriend in 2017, claims he was experiencing a bad trip or psychotic break triggged by psilocybin mushrooms. Sharon states to CPR News“Under the influence of (the mushrooms), my daughter did not recognize the very dire situation and real danger she was in,” she said.

Connie Boyd said it best when she urged caution:

“My fear is that (Colorado is) going to legalize mushrooms, and ten years from now, there’s going to be a bunch of really sick people. And the State, ten years from now, is going to say: ‘Oh, gee, we’re sorry.’”