Mainstreaming Psychedelics: From FDA to Harvard to Burning Man

All psychedelics agonize the Seratonin 2A receptor and have been proven to attenuate the mother of all headaches, cluster headaches. I've known patients that use LSD, psilocybin, etc. for treatment of unmanageable cluster headaches for which oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate in high doses can't even ameliorate. Enough Actiq and the suffering patient will OD but the fact that a large number of people find almost zero relief from the strongest narcotic in America's arsenal and DO find relief from these hallucinogens will hopefully open the door for them to be re-scheduled from CI to CII, which is by def. what CII drugs are intended for; potential for abuse but HAS medical value. The irony here is that hallucinogens have no potential for habituation b/c all psychedelics have no impact on the limbic dopamine system and thus ZERO propensity for addiction. In other words, no dopamine floods any synapses when LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin variants are ingested. AA/NA (Hazelden) zealots like to point to the fact that hallucinogens aren't addictive but they are 'gateway' drugs, whatever that means. I'm a libertarian and I feel strongly that if there are chemicals that we know about that are unavailable to the general public b/c of bureaucratic racism and stigmas inculcated into our brains over generations but clearly have medicinal value (cannabis anyone), then such stifling of medical modalities is EXECRABLE......
 
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good news, however i wonder as to what exctent psychedellics can ever be"mainstreamed"..
allow me to explain, cuz whilst i LOVE psychedellics they do have some very real probblems for some and they all basically stem from one thing- the ego dissipation of acid.
when ego dissipation happens on MDMA, the good mindset "forced" on you by the drug pretty much lets it happen to you can get fully into the full extents of the high, and by "you" i pretty much mean anybody (have u ever met someone who hasnt like a medium-high dose of good quality pills? i havnt lol).
however with acid, the ego dissipation is just as present (if not stronger then MDMA) however the "set" and "setting" aspect of the drug means that this can either be a great thing and your mind reaches places never before possible, or if people have to strong an ego and try to hold on they will basically hate it and have a bad trip.
now, the reason im rambling on like this is beacause for that reason, some people will NEVER EVER appreciate lsd whilst actually on it, even if they have as much knowledge beforehand about the drug as humanly possible- what can i say, some people like their ego lol.

so heres what extent i think lsd can ever be mainstreamed, and compare it to both the scientific (psychological) and recreation mainstreaming of MDMA..

oh yeah one thing- i never used to view MDMA as a psychedellic, until i got into the PLURRY rave scene (i.e happy hardcore) and realised they both take you to the same PLURRY vibe and goodness , but in different but remarkably similar ways (btw i hate the use of the word PLUR, not because i hate the scene but because that word is a bit to corny and easy to pay out on-yes, unfortunately i cant help but care what some ppl think.. not all, but some lol)

scientific LSD

+has great potential, lsd takes away the subjective views of everyday life and allows us to view life objectively, making us able to incorporate ways of thinking into our life in order to improve it (e.g. fix relationships etc.). plus, once you love the magic of lsd and can appreciate it, it will pretty much always take you there if the dose is right (not MDMA :( )

- lsd can be very unpredictable for those unprepared. now , assuming in a clinical setting those takign the drug will be as informed as possible, remember this-how prepared can you be for acid before you actally take acid? (not very, unless youve done other psychs imo/e). bad trips can still happen... plus on top of this, i didnt learn how to use the acid way of thinking until my 5th or 6th trip, all of my first trips were mental roller coasters lol. to stop a bad trip you can use valium/xanax to relieve any anxiety-now most "true" psychonauts believe this completely kills the trip, but ime it doesnt- once you know how to use the psych. headspace you can use it sober, so even if ur not visualling and thrown into the trip, you can still use the acid headspace to fix ur problems. however, most taking it for therapy will not have tried it before (i assume, because most ppl who know acid can fix head problems do it themselves/with friends), so they will not be able to use that headspace and it will essentially kill the trip... at least they didnt have a bad trip, however they didnt get anything for the psychotherapy and will probably be reluctant to try it again..

MDMA clinical
+ i cant really think of any negatives lol.. good headspace, empathy, ego dissipation.. what isnt there to love about MDMA (until you learn the bad side effects of abuse as so many of my friends have).. i can see this being used very well to fix problems
- now i assume clinical settings will not encourage frequent use of MDMA (i.e, frequent councelling sessions) but if they do then the participants will likely lose the magic of MDMA and such sessions would not be able to happen for a long time til the brain recovers..

ok so basically MDMA wins due to ease of use, but LSD can win if the participants arent scared of it lol..

and just for fun, recreation LSD v MDMA

LSD
+ just look at what the fuck sprung up in the 60s- the hippy stereotype killed the fuck out of it, but you have to admit it was fucking awesome--free love, colourful trippy shit and the most open and loving scene in the world.. what killed it? abuse... lsd cant be abused, but those who abused it killed it for everyone-- imo a bad trip can only happen if u think theres a chance ur gona have a bad trip, and as it got more mainstream the thought would have appeared in the mind that you could have a bad trip so ppl having one would have come more common... and those who took it too much but lvoed it eventually burnt themselves out... however in saying that, that LSD-sprung culture still exists and lives on (just look at this site/bush doofs) for those who didnt abuse it and treated it right ( but still enough to lvoe rthe fuck out of it lol)

MDMA (i know MDMA is very mainstream, as in anyone i know these days would take a good pill, but im using the rave scene as the way to explain it)

late 80s. early 90s. new drug going around- slang term ecstasy-it must be fucking good. and it is, and to get into that scene back then must of been fucking mainstream because the fact of thr matter most ppl think PLUR is fucking gay, but on good clean MDMA you appreciate it and if it suits your personaltiy, you lvoe it a little too much. problem is, the more you take MDMA to keep urself in that scene (i.e if it wudnt normally suit your ego) the less you get into that scene, because your brain cant possibly keep you in that mood- you didnt know that, if u were using LSD for the same puropse it would work, but for some reason MDMA doesnt give you the high it used too (we all know why now, but back then i assume most ppl wudnt). you get over the fucking scene, and when ur brain has recovered and you COULD get back into it, you dont because ur over that PLUR shit.. then there are those of us who space out MDMA use to keep the magic and whatnot, but we r the one who love the scence enough that we would let LSD take us to that magical place so even if MDMA dies for us (brain just cant do it), then LSD can..
. i mean i know i personally could do it sober, its just so much more fucking fun when the drugs to it for you(would you agree?? ;) )
oh yeah and i forgot about the state of mother fucking pills these days- you basically cant introduce ppl to the MDMA scene properly becuz its so hard to get- its around every month or two, but way too few and far between for my liking).. lol the pill scene is fucking huge (i.e), but what meant to be in them has long gone underground and only those in the know actually get MDxx consistantly.. (unfortunatley ive lowered my standards- i wont take a pill that has anything in it but MDxx-used to be MDMA only but who the fuck am i to be choosy, at least some good cooks produce qualityish pills)- if u didnt notice i now treat the pill scene and MDMA scene as two seperate things, most ppl are too fucking stupid to seek out good pills these days- i used to care, now i just know theyre missing out but im still happy so fuck it (and theyre stupid enough to be happy so we all win) (i still force my friends to eat good pills tho lol, or i try anyway.)

so basically what i think is, the 60s hippy scene and the 90s rave scene pretty much had the same damn vibe, and either drug could have made it happen, it jsut so happened LSD happened in the 60s and MDMA in the 90s.. and thats why the scene of both drugs lives on, however they trained to be mainstream and failed for different reasons..

ok sorry for the rant and rave, but its beenon my mind for the past two days cuz ive been up on LSD+weed then speed+valium at 6+ hours , and i really wanted to hear what other ppl on here think cuz i think ull understand where im coming from... i could be completely wrong, please correct me if not, but these are what my thoughts on it are...

p.s. i understand if u cbf to read it, but i really think it might b worth reading lol (im still high btw but thats probably apparent huh?)
 
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pirat3 said:
lulz, he makes some good points but he still sounds to me like a hippy and a doctor had a baby.
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Ha I feel like its hard for anyone who has strong feelings for furthering use/acceptance/whatever of drugs has a hard time not sounding like either an acidhead or a complete nerd. This opinion comes from both an acidhead and a complete nerd. =D
 
Wow! This video indeed made my night! Rick Doblin did a superb job at articulating a sensible strategy to integrate psychedelics into mainstream culture through medical uses. There is 0 doubt in my mind that psychedelics can help people evolve spiritually and emotionally.
For those too lazy to view the whole hour long video, I jotted down some notes to give the gist of this great lecture (watch it!).

• In terms of evolution, humankind has gone really far intellectually (as typified by work at Google and other places) but we are lagging far behind in spiritual and emotional development as is evident by humankind's impact on this planet where we are eradicating species and destroying ourselves with pollution, war, killing species, injustice, etc. We are unable to wield the power of the intellect that evolution has bestowed upon us in a just manner.
• Psychedelics are one tool amongst many to help in accelerating the emotional and spiritual dimension of the human existence.
• Psychedelic research has taken a huge hit by the War on Drugs because research looks at a substance in an unbiased way which is the opposite of what enforcers of the War on Drugs want and on which basis the War on Drug is perpetuated.
• MDMA most likely to be turned into prescription medicine first because it is much less likely to induce a negative reaction in patients. Therapists also like it because it is more controllable.
• MDMA helps reduce fear thus allowing PTSD patients to be able to process difficult emotions (e.g. soldiers returning from war).
• All studies so far on MDMA are “Phase II” pilot studies (they’re small but help in evaluating methods).
• Funny ecstasy cartoons: http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/e/ecstasy.asp
• US-based MDMA study shows outstanding outcomes compared to Zoloft or Paxil.
• Swiss-based MDMA study also shows statistically significant results.
• US and Swiss studies are enough to make MDMA a legal prescription drug.
• There are studies for end-of-life anxiety and depression. This is important because we will all one day die so it helps to connect with the mainstream culture.
o Aldous Huxley took LSD at his death bed because it helps in surrendering.
o Laura Huxley wrote “This Timeless Moment” about Aldous Huxley’s psychedelic experience on his death bed.
• Studies at Harvard about Psychedelics and the Mystical Experience completed in 2008.
o Psilocybin given to people which they rated as top 5 mystical experiences of their life.
 Points to the abridgment of human rights to have such an experience. This is due to the War on Drugs.
• Study in Switzerland about mystical experiences on psychedelics.
• In the 1960s, there was a backlash because the culture wasn’t ready.
o Proponents of psychedelics in 1960s exaggerated their benefits and minimized the risks.
o Tim Leary identified with the counterculture which is bad because the mainstream culture doesn’t like that.
o Psychedelics got people to get involved in social justice and that is why the backlash really happened against psychedelics.
• MAPS presence at Burning Man festival to help people deal with psychedelics and show people a vision of a non-prohibitive culture. They have a psychedelic therapy tent.
• MAPS main work is with the FDA for non-profit drug development.
o Mainstream drug companies uninterested in psychedelics because they are off-patent and they are not administered too many times.
• MAPS starting a new study with Veterans with PTSD and MDMA as a treatment tool.
• The Washington Post Magazine has cover story on MDMA calling it the Peace Drug.
• MAPS overall strategy: Incremental change.
o Reintroduction/reintegration of psychedelics into our culture must be done gradually, so as to not catalyze a counter reaction similar to what happened in the 1960s.
• Doblin: There can be a backlash against MAPSs’ research but there is a great need for this in our culture all over the world with the rise of religious fundamentalism, etc.
• “Phase III” studies will be required for FDA which will require ~300 people. Current studies are Phase II only.

MAPS site: http://www.maps.org/home.html
 
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acidicweed_69: Good post! Exactly what would come out of your combo of substances you were on when you wrote it! :)

I'd agree with you that LSD can "take you there" repeatedly while MDMA has much lower repeatability due to the loss of "magic." I like MDxx but I find LSD to be much more suited to me because I know it is quite non-toxic and just a magical place, not even a drug.
I'd love it if the rave scene became more acid-oriented rather than X because some people abuse ecstasy while it's much harder to abuse acid. Still, each person can and should decide on their own which substance they prefer... it should not be prescribed by the gov't. This War on Drugs is a throwback to humanity's Dark Ages.
 
Al_S_Dee said:
Still, each person can and should decide on their own which substance they prefer... it should not be prescribed by the gov't.
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What is wrong with the FDA prescribing psychedelics? That seems better to me than having them as a Schedule I substance. Personally, I think it is about time that the FDA started looking into medication that provides the cure for problems, instead of the cure for the symptoms that problems create.

Hopefully in the future we will be looking at legalized medical marijuana, along with the use of MDMA and other psychedelics for use in psychotherapy along with psychedelic therapy. I would also love to see Ibogaine utilized for the treatment of addiction, maybe I will live to see that day ;-)
 
Al_S_Dee said:
acidicweed_69: Good post! Exactly what would come out of your combo of substances you were on when you wrote it! :)

I'd agree with you that LSD can "take you there" repeatedly while MDMA has much lower repeatability due to the loss of "magic." I like MDxx but I find LSD to be much more suited to me because I know it is quite non-toxic and just a magical place, not even a drug.
I'd love it if the rave scene became more acid-oriented rather than X because some people abuse ecstasy while it's much harder to abuse acid. Still, each person can and should decide on their own which substance they prefer... it should not be prescribed by the gov't. This War on Drugs is a throwback to humanity's Dark Ages.
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thanks, im glad someone made the effort to read it :D

whilst i dont think the rave scene will ever fully shift to LSD, it would be interesting to see the results i.e change in culture and music
 
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