Hallucinogens in therapy

[Mrrzy]

No, I don't mean lay the mushroom down on the couch! I mean, remember the early studies that showed that 1 dose of LSD or psilocybin (sp?), plus direction, made for extremely successful case outcomes - child molesters who never raped again, other criminals showing 0 recidivism, people with psychological issues just stopping having them... can we get the hoodoo off the "but someone might have *fun*!! Yikes!" protestantism and start these therapies again? Is anybody doing them?

[Moontanman]

This is interesting but do you have anything to back up these claims? Case studies? Links?

[freeztar]

I agree with Moontanman. If we are to discuss this topic in a scientific manner (which is required by the site rules), then we need to analyse scientific studies pertaining to the use of psychoactive substances in therapy.

 

I'm familiar with an African plant, Iboga, that has been used to allegedly "cure" drug addictions.

 

Researchers at the University of Miami next month will conduct the first scientific human experiments in the nation on a drug that possibly could cure cocaine, heroin and alcohol addiction. The drug, ibogaine, is found in the root of a West African plant, the iboga. It was used by the Bwiti African tribe in ritual ceremonies. Ibogaine was popular on the streets of San Francisco and New York before the government classified it in 1970 as having no medicinal use. Researchers say that addicts in the Netherlands have reported success with the drug. Researcher Juan Sanchez-Ramos cautioned that ibogaine's potential as a treatment for drug addiction and possible side effects cannot be determined until it has been properly tested.

 

Drug might help cure addictions

 

That article is from 1993 and I didn't search too hard to find it. I also didn't look for more recent studies as I feel that you should undertake the research and present us with some scientific case studies that we can analyse and discuss. :QuestionM

[Jay-qu]

This is a thorny issue, I to have heard anecdotal evidence that LSD can help cure alcoholism.. but I dont know of any published studies.

 

The problem is now-a-days it is near impossible to get permission to do experiments with LSD (I think there is only 1 in the world..) and attempting to do so is considered shooting yourself in the foot, in the scientific community. This is an example of where science is been held back by the government..

[CraigD]

When I studied the subject in school, a key collection on the subject was “The use of LSD in psychotherapy and alcoholism”, Harold Abramson (ed) 1967. AFAIK, it still is.

 

I can’t find an electronic copy of it, so a trip to a decent library (I suspect only colleges and universities, though if your public library is good, it might have copies) will likely be needed.

 

Since the US CSA made it illegal in 1970, effective LSD research worldwide appears to me to have essentially stopped.

 

The gist, as I recall it, was that LSD and similar drugs could be used to interrupt alcohol addiction, but only in conjunction with well-managed conventional “talk” therapies. Many (my favorite was John Lilly) were enthusiastic about the potential of hallucinogens in addiction treatment and other psychotherapy. Critics argued that such therapy, with or without one of many psychotropic drugs, could be as effective, and that proponents of such therapies were allowing their enthusiasm for their approaches to distort their findings.

 

The psychopharmacology of alcohol, LSD, and many other psychotropic drugs are well known. There appears to be no mechanism suggesting that LSD has a direct neurological effect that could prevent alcoholism in a manner similar to how flu vaccines can prevent flu, or the recently tested cocaine vaccine may prevent cocaine abuse, by sensitizing the immune system so that it attacks cocaine in the bloodstream, rendering it pharmacologically ineffective.

 

My personal opinion in on the side of the critics of Lilly and similar researchers. Although I believe hallucinogens may have beneficial uses, I don’t think they’re very effective for psychotherapy or addiction treatment.

[lovemaroon]

I think hallucinogens may play a role in treating some conditions. That said, I believe they cross the line and should be very carefully controlled. So if LSD could cure cancer, sure, but if it might help treat anxiety, probably not.

 

Actually, a popular TV show, Law and Order, recently highlighted ibogan as a treatment for addiction. It made it seem like it was a magical wonder drug that could with one hit permanently treat a serious addict. Felt a little inaccurate.

[Ganoderma]

in my experience and little research of various "entheogens" it is my opinion that these plant, animal and fungal friends are not so much the cure, but a tool to allow ourselves, or others to help us, cure ourselves.

 

example. random joe blow 16 year old white boy party animal chomps down some mushrooms every few weeks probably is not going to learn much expect some neat designs and new colours. where as spiritual, heavy belief driven forest hippy looking to find -something- chomps down mushrooms with intent to learn something is more than likely going to learn something. why?, i believe intent has everything to do with psychedelics.

 

this is backed up through much experience, not just me but millions of other people, unfortunately this rarely appears in the scientific literature as it is rarely openly admitted, hard to classify in rigid terms and seems a little crazy to many.

 

some interesting reading by Henri Michaux. for the scientifically frustrated on mescaline.

 

i think 2 prime examples of hallucinogens used in medicine are mescaline (search peyote ceremony) and ayahuasca (although there are many others). both are used by people, circles, groups and religions to heal, fix, find, search, find, learn etc. and in their own contexts are seemingly quite effective. many scientific papers find them to be fairly effective methods, and some also mention they tend to work in those environments but not in "white peoples busy lifestyle" situations.

 

which brings me back to what i believe to be intent. call it placebo effect perhaps is a good idea. people that go into something believing they are going to find something, or somehow better themselves, generally are going to regardless of what mechanisms they are choosing to use. perhaps hallucinations are just side affects, perhaps there is some underlying deeper meaning to it all. the book cosmic serpent, among many others, gave me a different perspective.

 

some more "scientific" work.....although it seems a little egotistical to only regard published works as valid...even the most repsected of ethnobotanists and others, are admittedly in debt to the shamans and "witch doctors" of the "savages".....who don't have much published but have proven time and time again tehy have a far ......greater?.....or at least more varied knowledge of plants than much of the "modern" worlds science.

 

I have these and many others in either pdf or word, but they are copyright and i am not sure of the rules on posting them here.....idon't mind posting here if a mod say its ok...but it takes time so i dont really want to email it to 100 different people.

 

 

PRIMITIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY IN NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURES: PEYOTISM AND CONFESSION

by Le Barre

 

PETER N. JONES

The Ba¨ uu Institute, Boulder, USA

Abstract

Psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, counselors, and other people involved in the mentalhealth

fields are increasingly working with American Indians who practice various religious ceremonies

and life ways foreign to Western-oriented epistemologies and ontologies. The American Indian

Church and its sacramental use of peyote is one such example. This paper provides a brief history

of the American Indian Church and its use of peyote, as well as the American Indian beliefs behind

the use of peyote and the psychopharmacological data concerning peyote. It is shown that the sacramental

use of peyote by the American Indian Church members is not a deviant hallucinogenic disorder

and that in fact it provides a means of achieving and maintaining health, balance, respect,

and a sense of community among participants and their social relations.

 

 

The Peyote Ceremony Among theAmerican Indians'

By NOLIE MUMEY, M.D., F.A.C.S.

 

 

among others. peyote has been studied and said to be used to treat alcoholism in indians...but again it seems setting plays an enormous role in this type of treatment!