Living in San Francisco, psychedelics are unavoidable, whether you choose to consume them or not. On a stroll through the park or walking down Haight-Ashbury, shroom-sellers in mushroom hats and tie-dye will try to usher passersby into a trip.
Serotonergic hallucinogens are a category of psychoactive substances that alter perception, mood and a number of cognitive processes.They do not lead to dependence or addiction and their use predates written history. After the discovery of the drug LSD and the finding of serotonin in the brain, research became intensely focused on the possibility that LSD and other psychedelics worked by mimicking or altering this natural brain chemical. Today, research shows that psychedelics are agonists or partial agonists for certain serotonin receptors, and this could be an innovative thing for the future of psychopharmacology.
Antiwar attitudes and the rejection of social norms were typically viewed as a consequence of drug use, described as “perverting” the minds of the youth. One Harvard professor, Timothy Leary, encouraged students to take drugs, discover their true selves and abandon uniformity. Of course, these messages did not take a liking amongst mainstream cultures, leading to public hysteria and exaggerated reports of drug-induced insanity, chromosomal abnormalities and attempts to fly. But the lack of research on psychedelics in the past half century was not due to a lack of interest. It was a result of political forces that manifested in the US during the 60s and 70s. The usage of LSD and marijuana by so-called hippies who demonstrated against the Vietnam War caused concern amongst the authorities at federal and state levels. Recent clinical studies have emphasized that psychedelics are worth studying. After the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, LSD and all other psychedelics known then were placed into the most restrictive category of drugs, making it nearly impossible to study clinically and ending any significant research into the pharmacology of psychedelics for over 30 years.
Seven thousand years ago, psychedelics were used for healing purposes in religious and medicinal practices unbeknownst to the Western world up until the early 1950s. A mycologist by the name of R. Gordon Wasson was invited by Indigenous healers in central Mexico to help facilitate a healing ceremony, making his experience the first published report of psychedelic use. The psychedelic experience is described as an increased “sense of wonder and reverence, a very positive mood, transcendence of time and space and a sense of ineffability.”
In 1952, there were only 10 publications in the National Library of Medicine, concerning serotonin. Eight years later, there were 300 publications on serotonin, 35 of which focused on serotonin in the brain. In the 1960s, psychedelics were referred to as psychotomimetics, suggesting the negative effect that these drugs create a mental state that is resemblant to psychosis, or a disconnect from reality. However, psychedelic research seeped out of the lab and into the world, becoming beyond the control and patience of society. Later, it was realized that psychedelics did not replicate realistic similarities to psychosis or mental illness, making it more accurate to describe such substances as hallucinogens. The interest behind a hallucinogenic state is no surprise, it offers an opportunity for deeper self-reflection, altered perception and interconnectedness, which has the potential to be effective in treating mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety.
The US Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (CSA) classifies most psychedelics as Schedule I substances, establishing federal regulations and penalties for manufacturing, distributing, and using them. Though these psychedelics are still under federal regulation, numerous city and state governments across the US have liberalized psychedelic regulations. These policies range from their decriminalization of naturally occurring psychedelics right here in the bay in Oakland and California to state-wide regulations on the use of psychedelics as “natural medicine” in Colorado.
If closely monitored, psychedelics could very much be a part of the medicinal practices used amongst psychiatrists because of their ability to facilitate insight, loosen defenses and produce an otherwise mystical experience. Unlike conventional psychomedicinal practices which are administered on a daily basis for longer periods of time, psychedelics are administered only a few times alongside therapy. For these reasons, they should be integrated as a common healing practice under facilitation of a licensed therapist or professional for both psychological and medical uses.
MDMA, a more mild hallucinogen, is easily controlled and has the ability “to facilitate empathy and compassion towards oneself and others.” The substance should be taken in the presence of a facilitator or therapist in order to prioritize the patient’s safety. There are studies that have even demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of “OCD, antisocial behavior, autism, depression [and] profound reactive anxiety.”
It’s more than possible to include psychedelics in the future of psychopharmacology; it’s all a matter of allowing research to continue within a controlled environment. In an age where we explore the benefits of medical marijuana, why not research the impacts of something that navigates psychological exploration alongside it?
