Archive for the ‘Psychedelics’ Category
Risk of marijuana’s ‘gateway effect’ overblown
New research from the University of New Hampshire shows that the gateway effect of marijuana, that teenagers who use marijuana are more likely to move on to harder illicit drugs as young adults, is overblown.
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Cannabis may offer relief from chronic neuropathic pain
A new study by McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University researchers provides evidence that cannabis may offer relief to patients suffering from chronic neuropathic pain. The results of the groundbreaking study are published in the latest issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
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Ketamine restores connections between brain cells damaged by chronic stress
Yale researchers have discovered how a novel anti-depressant can take effect in hours, rather than the weeks or months usually required for most drugs currently on the market. The findings, described in the August 20 issue of the journal Science, should speed development of a safe and easy-to-administer form of the anti-depressant ketamine, which has already proven remarkably effective in treating severely depressed patients.
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Ketamine Lifts Depression Symptoms in Bipolar Disorder Within an Hour
People with treatment-resistant bipolar disorder experienced relief from symptoms of depression in as little as 40 minutes after an intravenous dose of the anesthetic medication ketamine in a preliminary study; while the patient group was small, this work adds to evidence that compounds in the class to which ketamine belongs have potential as rapid and effective medications for depression, including bipolar depression. The potential for side-effects makes ketamine an impractical drug for standard use, but it provides a way to test this approach for developing novel treatments that act more rapidly than existing ones.
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Ecstasy-Assisted Psychotherapy May Be a Viable Treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Psychiatric research published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology in 2010 has found that the use of MDMA (more commonly known as ecstasy) during psychotherapy could aid in the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
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Recreational Use of Ecstasy Does Not Cause Long-Term Increase in Aggressive Behavior
The use of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), better known as the club drug ecstasy, does not appear to cause any long-term increases in aggressive behavior, according to research published in Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.
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Case Report: Two Week Peyote-Induced Psychosis Ameliorated by Sleep
According to a case report published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, in 2003 a 54-year-old Native American man experienced two weeks of psychosis after a traditional Native American ceremony involving peyote, which was resolved by 15 hours of sleep.
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Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Has a Positive Influence on the Treatment of Heroin Addiction
It sounds strange that a drug addiction could be successfully combated using another recreational drug, but it appears that certain psychedelic drugs can have a positive influence when combined with psychotherapy. Although much of this research has been conducted before the 1970s and has typically focused on the use of LSD, recently psychiatrists from the St. Petersburg State Pavlov Medical University have tested the use of the drug ketamine.
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Wives Report the Effect of LSD Treatment for Alcoholism on Their Husbands
In 1966, three psychiatrists conducted a study that investigated how much the wives of men who had received LSD assisted treatment for alcoholism thought their husbands had changed.
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Study Finds LSD Treatment is Not Effective
In 1970, a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found no evidence that LSD treatment was effective, but this may be due to the methodological limitations of the study.
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