Scientists study possible health benefits of LSD and ecstacy

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Roose

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/23/lsd-ecstacy-health-benefits

A good article by The Guardian that was released on friday

Article is safe for work, its in there for space saving purposes

NSFW:
A growing number of people are taking LSD and other psychedelic drugs such as cannabis and ecstasy to help them cope with a variety of conditions including anorexia nervosa, cluster headaches and chronic anxiety attacks.

The emergence of a community that passes the drugs between users on the basis of friendship, support and need – with money rarely involved – comes amid a resurgence of research into the possible therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. This is leading to a growing optimism among those using the drugs that soon they may be able to obtain medicines based on psychedelics from their doctor, rather than risk jail for taking illicit drugs.

Among those in Britain already using the drugs and hoping for a change in the way they are viewed is Anna Jones (not her real name), a 35-year-old university lecturer, who takes LSD once or twice a year. She fears that without an occasional dose she will go back to the drinking problem she left behind 14 years ago with the help of the banned drug.

LSD, the drug synonymous with the 1960s counter-culture, changed her life, she says. "For me it was the catalyst to give up destructive behaviour – heavy drinking and smoking. As a student I used to drink two or three bottles of wine, two or three days a week, because I didn't have many friends and didn't feel comfortable in my own skin.

"Then I took a hit of LSD one day and didn't feel alone any more. It helped me to see myself differently, increase my self-confidence, lose my desire to drink or smoke and just feel at one with the world. I haven't touched alcohol or cigarettes since that day in 1995 and am much happier than before."

Many others are using the drugs to deal with chronic anxiety attacks brought on by terminal illness such as cancer.

Research was carried out in the 1950s and 1960s into psychedelics. In some places they were even used as a treatment for anxiety, depression and addiction. But a backlash against LSD – owing to concerns that the powerful hallucinogen was becoming widespread as a recreational drug, and fear that excessive use could trigger mental health conditions such as schizophrenia – led to prohibition of research in the 1970s.

Under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act it is classified as a Class A, schedule 1 substance – which means not only is LSD considered highly dangerous, but it is deemed to have no medical research value.

Now, though, distinguished academics and highly respected institutions are looking again at whether LSD and other psychedelics might help patients. Psychiatrist Dr John Halpern, of Harvard medical school in the US, found that almost all of 53 people with cluster headaches who illegally took LSD or psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, obtained relief from the searing pain. He and an international team have also begun investigating whether 2-Bromo-LSD, a non-psychedelic version of LSD known as BOL, can help ease the same condition.

Studies into how the drug may be helping such people are also being carried out in the UK. Amanda Feilding is the director of the Oxford-based Beckley Foundation, a charitable trust that investigates consciousness, its altered states and the effects of psychedelics and meditation. She is a key figure in the revival of scientific interest in psychedelics and expresses her excitement about the initial findings of two overseas studies with which her foundation is heavily involved.

"One, at the University of California in Berkeley, was the first research into LSD to get approval from regulators and ethics bodies since the 1970s," she said. Those in the study are the first to be allowed to take LSD legally in decades as part of research into whether it aids creativity. "LSD is a potentially very valuable substance for human health and happiness."

The other is a Swiss trial in which the drug is give alongside psychotherapy to people who have a terminal condition to help them cope with the profound anxiety brought on by impending death. "If you handle LSD with care, it isn't any more dangerous than other therapies," said Dr Peter Gasser, the psychiatrist leading the trial.

At Johns Hopkins University in Washington, another trial is examining whether psilocybin can aid psychotherapy for those with chronic substance addiction who have not been helped by more conventional treatment.

Professor Colin Blakemore, a former chief executive of the Medical Research Council, said the class-A status of psychedelics such as LSD should not stop them being explored as potential therapies. "No drug is completely safe, and that includes medical drugs as well as illegal substances," he said. "But we have well-developed and universally respected methods of assessing the balance of benefit and harm for new medicines.

"If there are claims of benefits from substances that are not regulated medicines – even including illegal drugs – it is important that they should be tested as thoroughly for efficacy and safety as any new conventional drug."

Past reputations may make it hard to get approval for psychedelic medicines, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

"The known adverse effect profiles of psychedelic drugs would have to be considered very carefully in the risk/benefit analysis before the drugs may be approved for medicinal use," said a spokeswoman. "These products, if approved, are likely to be classified as a prescription-only medicine and also likely to remain on the dangerous drug list, which means that their supply would be strictly controlled."
 
A comment I found regarding the article, another good read.

Once again its safe for work, just in there for space saving purposes.

NSFW:
strange that the article omitted the rave scene from the late 80's to 1992, where the use of ecstasy and lsd increased in the uk substantially, most of the current forms of contemporary popular dance music came from this movement. i remember the late 80's well as it was the time i hit my teens and the use of these drugs had many positive and negative effects but in the end not only did it bring in loads of revenue from the raves and the music being sold, but also helped to reduce the violence in the uk.

one example would be in football, during the late 70's and into the 80's, football violence increased loads and then there was a sea change that was bought about by the music and drugs associated with it. the football fans who got into this, instead of fighting would go to the games drop some pills or a tab and sing, then after go to raves where a lot of times they would see the rival fans and just party. that's just one example, this music scene bought loads of us together and knocked down a lot of prejudice and barriers between people and inside yourself, i've got a far more positive outlook on life and people as a result of being involved.

it wasn't all good tho, i've saw many friends lose the plot as a result of over doing it or just not being ready for after effects, come downs etc, so i think its something where people need to be responsible and understand some people can't take these substances due to the way it effects them mentally or physically, which is the same for alcohol and tobacco. plus there was massive resistance from the government which was conservative at the time and the alcohol industry, as many people had stopped drinking and revenues were down plus pubs were closing, added to the fact we were in a recession.

part of the reason the uk has an increased problem with binge drinking, under age drinking and violence in our town centres and when people travel aboard is because of the backlash to the rave scene and all the propaganda that was involved, they used the old fear tactics and stereotypes about drugs and didn't present the legal alternatives in a responsible manner, just encouraged drinking loads with things like alco-pops, which i think was targeted at youngsters, so the next generation of drinkers would be guaranteed.

thinking about it, i believe the reason these drugs strike fear into our current system and therefore scientists are held back from researching and exploring the effects is because they do give people a sense of freedom, expression, a feeling of oneness with the world, universe and people around them corny i know, make them start to question why things are they way they are, people are harder to program with things like politics, religion, prejudice and other assorted stereotypes. but we need to be mature about this and admit that loads of people enjoy and a lot of times benefit from taking recreational drugs, from people who want to unwind after a long day at work with a drink or spliff, to people who enjoy going out dancing and socialising with, drink, coke, ecstasy and many other substances, plus all the medical benefits some of these drugs bring, as every drug has a risk and side effects to individuals. ok im going to stop now as i've gone on one btw this is just all my opinion, these things need to be debated between us all the pros and cons.
 
A lot of that will be nothing new to many people on here...

A friend I know suffers from frequent migraines - but will be problem-free for about six months after having a dose of shrooms. Unfortunately, thanks to the fascist UK Government, she can't get them legally any more, so she has to suffer again :(
 
LSD: A cure for headaches?

Get your tie-dyed t-shirts ready. The 1960s are making a comeback.

It seems psychedelic drugs like LSD, cannabis and Ecstasy just might really have some medicinal purposes after all. Scientists are looking to these drugs to help sufferers of anorexia nervosa, cluster headaches and chronic anxiety attacks.

One 35-year-old British University lecturer says she relies on biannual doses of LSD to control her drinking problem. She credits LSD with increased self-confidence as well as the ability to stay smoke-free and sober.

Too good to be true?

Critics argue users are merely swapping one drug for another and chalk up the "cure" as nothing more than being too high to feel pain. "As a former drug user, it sounds like an excuse to get high," says former addict Leslie Durkin (whose name has been changed).

But distinguished academics and widely respected institutions are giving drugs like LSD a closer look.

Harvard medical school psychiatrist and researcher Dr. John Halpern discovered that nearly all of the 53 people with cluster headaches who took LSD, or psilocybin, the active compound in those trippy little mushrooms, experienced relief of their symptoms. Now Halpern is researching whether 2-Bromo-LSD, a non-psychedelic version, will produce the same pain-stopping results.

The international appeal

LSD is garnering attention as having medicinal purposes in international arenas, too. Scientists across the pond are exploring the benefits of LSD -- a phrase that warms the hearts of most hippies. And not to be outdone, Swiss researchers are using the drug in combination with psychotherapy to treat terminal patients experiencing end-of-life anxiety. "If you handle LSD with care, it isn't any more dangerous than other therapies," said Dr. Peter Glasser, the psychiatrist leading the Swiss trial.

Nothing new

LSD's purported benefits aren't a new concept. In the 1950s and 1960s, researchers explored possible uses of psychedelics--in some cases using them to treat anxiety, depression, and yes, ironically, addiction. But the mainstream backlash to the hallucinogen put a stop to the research in the more conservative 1970s.

In the U.S., LSD is Schedule 1, according to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. That makes it illegal to produce, possess or purchase it without a DEA license.

Regardless of its legal status, psychedelics are offering many hope. "I've had cluster headaches for over 10 years. If my doctor prescribed it, I'd certainly be willing to try LSD," says Marina Baldwin, an advocate of legalizing medicinal use of recreational drugs.

Even if LSD and other recreational drugs aren't legalized, scientists are hopeful that what they learn about how LSD works will lead to the development of similar, legal drug therapies.

If your doctor suggested it, would you be willing to try LSD to treat a chronic condition? Do you think certain psychedelics should be legalized?

Gina Roberts-Grey
October 27, 2009
Wallet Pop
http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/1...for-headaches/
 
i never started getting cluster headaches until i stopped taking potent 5ht2 agonists semi-regularly. its a shame 5ht1 agonists, like the triptan series (sumatriptan, eletriptan, zolmitriptan, etc), dont do shit for cluster headaches (although they work wonders for migraines)
 
One time I took a tab with a headache I had a not-so-great trip.

Didn't really trip hard (they were good, tested tabs) and just felt out if it for several hours. If anything it made the headache worst.
 
^ Thats weird because I have always been under the impression that LSD has been known as a great cure for headaches for years and years. There is even an episode of 'House' where he drops acid to cure a headache.
 
and it only works on cluster headaches. if someone had cluster headaches they would know it, so there's no reason to take lsd when you have a headache.
 
My dad had cluster headaches for years. So bad he actually contemplated jumping off our hotel balcony when we were vacationing once.

Probably spent close to $100,000 USD over seven years trying every treatment a doctor threw at him. Acupuncture, exercise, medical oxygen, dozens of pills and therapies.

Nothing worked until I gave him some shrooms, and he hasn't had a headache in 3 years :)
 
drug_mentor said:
^ Thats weird because I have always been under the impression that LSD has been known as a great cure for headaches for years and years. There is even an episode of 'House' where he drops acid to cure a headache.
Click to expand...

LSD has also been known to cause debilitating, non stop head pressure, as a comorbid symptom of persistent visual disturbances in very few, but nonetheless legitamate cases.

I find it interesting though that more than a few people report recession of headaches from psychedelic use. Hopefully this can be used as a clue for HPPD research.
 
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