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Lucy in the sky with doctors
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of Boston Globe
Posted: October 31st, 2017
http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2017/10/14/lucy-sky-with-do...
A nascent movement of activists working to reframe psilocybin as both a medicine and as a tool for personal or spiritual growth [thinks] researchers and policy makers should be able to discuss, in a dispassionate way, the medical or recreational use of hallucinogenic drugs a subject that not long ago was unthinkable. The Boston Entheogenic Network (BEN) ... formed last year. Instead of the more familiar, more polarizing adjective psychedelic, BEN uses the term entheogenic - meaning generating the divine within - to describe multiple methods of achieving altered states of consciousness. Proof of medical usefulness was the first step toward marijuanas legalization. Could it be the same for hallucinogens? In fact, medical applications for psilocybin abound. Recent studies have found that MDMA seems to be a remarkably useful tool in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, when combined with psychotherapy. In August, the FDA designated the drug as a breakthrough therapy, meaning that it may have substantial advantages over existing PTSD treatments. Other studies suggest psilocybin has promise as a treatment for anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, microdosing - the regular use of tiny amounts of LSD or other psychedelics not to hallucinate but to improve creativity and mood - has become a Silicon Valley trend. Advocates for psychedelics have come a long way from Learys indiscriminate call for young people to turn on, tune in, and drop out, but many still believe these drugs could change the world.
Note: Read more about how MDMA has been found effective for treating PTSD in a therapeutic context. Articles like this suggest that the healing potentials of mind-altering drugs are gaining mainstream scientific credibility.
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