Psychedelics

[jeffrey]

What do you think?

In my life i have been exposed to many drugs and abused most of them,it`s inherant of my nature which in itself can be most destructive.Over the years i have read a lot on the uses of illegal chemicals to help with psychological problems,does anyone think such chemicals will ever have a place in modern medicine? can they help,really? Lots of us in our day to day existence get stuck with emotional or psychological problems,we already use anti depressants and other mood altering drugs to combat chemical imbalances in the brain so why not these other chemicals,some of which are far less toxic? Do we still not know enough about the mind to warrant the use of such drugs?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

psychedelics

First, I'd debate your conclusion that the street drugs are "less toxic", on a number of levels, not the least of which is a quality control issue.

Beyond that, most of them, including psychedelics, do more harm than good and are potentially dangerous.

It seems to me that you need to focus more on trying to live in the real world instead of trying to find ways to escape it.

 

[jeffrey]

psychedelics

I agree,
Living in the real world should be and is more of a focus in my life,am i trying to escape,or am i tryung to find an understanding of what the real world is? Is it true that in the 50`s and 60`s LSD-25 was widely distributed to many psychologists and psychotherapists across the world to help them gain some insight into mental conditions? These people then passed on their knowledge to many others in the field,siegmund freud was a habitual user of cocaine and his teachings were well respected.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

psychedelics

Is it true that in the 50`s and 60`s LSD-25 was widely distributed to many psychologists and psychotherapists across the world to help them gain some insight into mental conditions?

No, or at least not exactly. It is true that in the 60s a lot of people experimented with LSD, including some professionals. I don't doubt that some psychologists and psychiatrists were among those. It is also true that there were some research projects during that time looking at potential therapeutic benefits of LSD in the treatment of otherwise resistant (at that time at least) disorders -- none of these panned out and the use of hallucinogens was abandoned as having no value in the treatment of mental illness.