Legalize everything
this post was submitted on 13 Mar 2024
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Psychedelic Therapy
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- in a controlled environment. There’s plenty of people who would not benefit from popping an LSD tab with no sense of set or setting
I’m all for therapeutic use of psychedelics, but most people I know would end up worse after trying LSD without having the right sitter and a planned trip session
make it 25+ and have people attend a mandatory safety class before they're allowed to purchase any, perhaps even a guided "first trip" would be good
I'm glad I did it when I was a teen.
I've always been very empathetic, but a few imperfect acid/mushroom experiences deepened my understanding of empathy and highlighted the significant energy expenditure that comes with it—an aspect I continue to manage carefully to this day. I also realized through these experiences that nothing affects my emotional state more than witnessing someone share their passion for absolutely anything.
These are just a couple examples, and I realize they may seem trivial, but the experiences changed the course of my life. And perhaps I would've reached similar conclusions otherwise, but I was deeply unhappy too, so...
I think we have a tendency to over-inflate the importance of our place here on this planet. It's cool that we get to do this, but it's not important. I wish it were 'ok' for me to introduce my teen children to these experiences in a safe, controlled environment. Especially the 100% of them with worse anxiety than I experienced when I was their age wondering whether I'd make it.
If your concern is collective social wellness, perhaps we should gatekeep religion till 25+, with psychedelics as a prerequisite.
lmao yeah gatekeeping religion would do wonders. But that's not happening.
I was trying to be realistic with my suggestion there. We know for a fact that brains finish up development when we're 25, and you can't ignore the fact that psychedelics fuck with your brain rather hard, be it good or bad - they still do do that. If we were to try and convince "the masses" that LSD is good actually, we'd need to acknowledge that it can be dangerous & suggest appropriate action for mitigating those risks.
I was in a rush in the morning, but if I wasn't I'd also add something like: "and for those who would benefit from psychedelics for the purpose of medical therapy, a doctor's note should allow them to buy them before they turn 25" or something
I would say 18+ with a mandatory safety class and guided first trip for recreational purposes. For medical/psychiatric purposes, I think there should be no restriction as long as someone with an MD is overseeing it.
nah airborne tones of LSD tabs over every towns and let the luckiest survives
Theres more drugs than just LSD, andthey can be for fun too
Like what?
Cocaine.
Got it. A lot of people love cocaine, but it never interested me.
Easy to become very addicted to cocaine. It's like cigarettes ×100.
I heard that cigarettes are the most addictive of all. There are people who smoke one pack a day. And people try to quit, only to relapse at any time. So, I stayed away from tobacco too.
The issue with cocaine is that it's more harmful than tobacco short-term.
It can do wonders. I have a (semi) quarterly ritual - one I'll be partaking in soon to coincide with the Vernal Equinox - of taking a large dose of psilocybin and diving into my own psyche for an afternoon. Its hard to explain the way it helps to change thought patterns.
With the right set going in you can really see the harmful ruts you've fallen into, recognize their manifestations and reroute. My last trip, during the winter solstice, snapped me out of a depressive episode I'd been battling for a year. It helped me see that I'd been spending my time and effort trying to live a life I'd long since stopped being excited for, for reasons unrelated to my depression, and it helped me feel empathy towards myself, so I could move forward on a new path, at peace.
It wouldn't have happened had I not been working on getting myself out of that rut for weeks prior through art, self reflection and seeking support, but it truly came to fruition after breaking down the barriers of my mind, destroying my ego for an afternoon, travelling through time and space and coming out the other side renewed.
One dose of 6 g of mushrooms made my depression go away for several months. I also had a harrowing and terrifying trip, and I can totally see why some people have a psychotic break after taking them.
If tripping at a specific time of the year puts you in a good headspace, so be it. Roll with what your beliefs are. (My point is about ensuring that a person should always be in a comfortable state when using psychedelics for self-repair. There is a chance that a person may confront some very uncomfortable things so every little bit helps.)
Still, I like that psychedelics are self-regulating for the most part. Quite honestly, I can only handle a super-deep trip every few months. Other than that, a few grams on the weekends, if my schedule allows, is ok with me.
It has really helped my anxiety, depression and helps keep my alcoholism at bay. (I don't count days, but I haven't had a drink in almost 2 years? Dunno.) Psychedelics are awesome tools for self-reflection, for sure.
Yeah once every 3 months seems to be about the sweet spot for me. The Solstice/Equinox thing is mostly just a way of preparing myself mentally. It flows with the changing of seasons and gives a naturally occuring cadence to it.
Body chemistry works on a cadence, so there is that. Dopamine and serotonin (and most neurotransmitters, speaking generally) have their own ebb and flow over the course of the day and likely through the year as well.
Again, there is a mild point to be made here and I am trying to leverage your choice of words with my own personal perspective. (It's a bit redundant, TBH. I just feel the need to elaborate a little more for anyone else reading.)
To my understanding, most psychotropic medications (all classes of drugs designed to alter brain chemistry) are intended to work in concert with our natural cycles. If there is one thing that I know with certainty, is that SRIs, SNRIs, etc., absolutely must be taken on a consistent schedule for this reason, regardless of what a person's state of mind is at any particular moment.
It makes logical sense that psilocybin and other psychedelics that function similar to, or better than, existing antidepressants may need to be taken on a regular basis as well. This is the theory behind microdosing, anyway. (I personally believe it may be more complicated and/or nuanced than what microdosing proponents say, but that is neither here nor there.)
I have anecdotal evidence to the contrary
From the article:
Compared with experiences with forms of LSD purchased illegally on the street, the study’s grade of MM120 did not appear to induce “bad trips,” Karlin said.
“LSD is difficult to manufacture with high purity and tends to degrade quickly in the presence of light and water,” Karlin said. “We’re manufacturing it to pharmaceutical industry standards, a highly pure version that is also shelf stable. So that’s a critical difference.”
Most adverse effects in the study were rated as mild to moderate by participants, occurring mostly on the day of the study, Karlin said. Those included euphoric feelings, illusions and hallucinations, anxiety, abnormal thinking, headaches, dizziness, nausea, excessive sweating, vomiting, numbness or tingling of the skin, and pupil dilation.
I do worry a bit whenever these articles come out that people will just read the headline, go out and procure some hallucinogenics for themselves, and then not have a good time because they didn't read the fine print.
I wish I had read this 20 minutes ago before I started this
O7
And that’s why we need to legalize it all - so we can study it and have non-anecdotal evidence.
what ? because you think they have no way of experimenting on it because it's illegal for common folks ? Someone needs to visit a lab once it seems. I mean how the fuck do you think they got this results ?
You are correct about legalization. However, having it as a schedule 1 drug severely limits the testing that can be done with it. Schedule 1 drugs are seen as drugs with no medical value therefore there is no need to work with them for medical purposes. It is the same reason marijuana isn’t legal. You can’t really test with it but people would point to it not having any long term studies as the reason it is not legal. It is a circular argument used by conservatives and liberals that are endorsed by pharmaceutical companies. The scheduling of drugs was politicized by Reagan to surppress the liberal movements that grew in the 60s and 70s.
That’s not how anecdotal evidence works.
I didn’t say about anything about how it works, simply that we need research, randomized controlled trials, actual data on all of psychedelics. Which means they need to be legalized first.
already done. First what do you think they do to ban them ? Second they are banned for sale to the public but experiments are done regularly
Research, randomized controlled trials and actual data will lot remove anecdotal evidence.
That’s not how anecdotal evidence works.
Anecdotal evidence is derived from personal experience. And is usually contrary or constrictive of what has been researched.
I’m well aware of how it works. Are you saying that anecdotal evidence should be given the same weight as randomized controlled trials? Research doesn’t remove it, but it sure carries a lot more weight.
My point about legalization still stand regardless of what type of evidence we are talking about.
Immediate? LSD takes an hour to kick in for me.
it's immediate in therapy time
I became a cruel asshole on lsd and later found out I potentially had dissociative identity disorder lol.
Yes, top comment always has to be the "but what about my extremely bad trip which caused me to go psychotic/peel myself like an orange/jump out of a sixth story window".
When will people let go of this 1980's D.A.R.E. bs?
I didn't downvote you, just in case.
I don't know if it's my app or what, but Lemmy tends to show the latest comment first, then it shows the rest sorted by votes.
And the latest comment is usually unreviewed and is as dumb as you would expect.
So, pay no attention to those people, friend.
So, pay no attention to those people, friend.
I've been on boards since a few years before Reddit was a thing.
I get my entertainment from "those people" quite often in fact. Arguing them is often infuriating, but also somehow deeply hilarious.
Thanks tho, but I wasn't sorting by latest according to the timestamp. Edit no wait maybe I was.
No, I meant that even though you sort by most relevant, Lemmy still shows you one single unmoderated comment first. Kinda strange, but it is what it is.
Oh yeah, I'm also part of the old guard. I don't take those people seriously either. Although sometimes I'll reply just to warn other more naive readers if the comment is wildly inaccurate or dangerous. For example, if someone says "drink bleach to combat covid," I'll reply "To anyone reading this. Don't listen to that troll. Drinking bleach will kill you!"
LSD ain't for everybody but as long as you're having a good time who cares about anybody else?
Nah, it's definitely not for everybody, but when used responsibly, there's really no risk of a "bad trip" in the sense the phrase is normally used.
What causes bad trips is perhaps taking LSD first time, being slightly tipsy from some drinks, having eaten a heavy meal earlier in the day, in an unfamiliar place, and then at 6 am while you're still tripping you start feeling kinda bad because you're not drunk anymore and you'd like to go to sleep but you can't because you're still tripping and you want to go home and everything is bad and that anxiety then is enhanced by the experience.
Just remember "set & setting". To ensure "a good trip", live somewhat healthily for a week, light exercise, eating okay, no alcohol for a week or so. And also, watch positive things to reflect on when you're tripping, instead of watching some depressing news shows about how horrible the world is.
I know you just made an offhand comment, so I apologize for the somewhat tangential ranting.
Not an offhand comment just telling you you're wrong. LSD isn't for everyone
Oh, an argument is it?
Well, the science disagrees with you.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8905125/
Our review shows that medical risks are often minimal, and that many – albeit not all – of the persistent negative perceptions of psychological risks are unsupported by the currently available scientific evidence, with the majority of reported adverse effects not being observed in a regulated and/or medical context.
The "minimal" risks being the anxiety enhanced by being on LSD. Something which is really easy to avoid with proper preparation, set and setting.
It's like you'd say "alcohol isn't for everyone" because you know so many people who just went crazy, vomited and didn't remember anything the next day in a massive hangover. Because they didn't know how much or how fast to drink.
But if there's someone who knows to pace that person and occasionally offer them water (and make sure they've eaten before start drinking), then you can be rather sure that they'll have a pleasant evening and little to no hangover.
It's a tool. And like tools, you need to know how to use it. And then you need to use it responsibly.
Nothing in excess
You just proved my point thank you.
Risks are minimal not nonexistent
LSD isn't for everyone.
I get the feeling I'm arguing with an AI bot so I'm going to ignore you now
The "risks" being possible mild anxiety and discomfort. Oh no.
And that doesn't depend on the person as much the set and setting.
Ofc not everyone needs psychedelics, but there aren't people who are somehow completely differently affected by them, intrinsically.
Everyone who needs it should have it, as it's a very promising breakthrough in the treatment of addiction and mental health issues.
https://allintherapyclinic.com/what-is-psychedelic-assisted-psychotherapy/