Last updated : November 18, 2024
It’s growing closer to the November election and marijuana legalization in Florida isn’t the only measure on the ballot that pertains to drug legalization. Massachusetts Secretary of State, William F. Galvin, recently released news that citizens of that state will be asked whether or not they think psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin mushrooms, should be decriminalized to use as a possible treatment for patients suffering mental health disorders.
The organization, Massachusetts for Mental Health Options (MMHO), advocates for access to mental health treatment through the use of natural psychedelic medicine therapy. It created Question 4 hoping to gain support for legalization to allow patients suffering from mental health issues to use these types of drugs as treatment. The drugs would only be administered under the supervision and guidance of a trained and licensed professional strictly at regulated therapy centers.
The three patient groups that could benefit from such treatment are:
- Veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Patients experiencing end-of-life anxiety
- Those suffering from other “difficult to treat” mental health conditions
The measure stipulates that retail sales of psychedelic mushrooms and other drugs shall remain prohibited.
Is there proof treatment works?
The Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research is actively exploring ground-breaking treatments using psilocybin. Psilocybin is a naturally occurring compound found in “magic mushrooms.” It penetrates the central nervous system. Ongoing studies aim to prove how being in that state of mind allows positive long-lasting therapeutic benefits to be obtained from just one dose.
Preliminary findings state that receiving psilocybin-assisted therapy, along with supportive psychotherapy, is effective in treating patients suffering major depressive disorder symptoms for at least a month—and in some instances, the effects of treatment lasted for a year.
In addition to mental health disorders, the Johns Hopkins team has trials in progress using mushrooms to treat substance abuse issues as well. There are studies to determine the benefit of treating patients with alcohol disorders and nicotine addiction too. Future studies involving using mushrooms for treatment include opioid addiction, Alzheimer’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, and anorexia nervosa.
Another positive outlook
Nature published the results of its study online entitled, “Psilocybin unsynchronizes the human brain.” Seven adults, who had at least one prior experience using psychedelics, volunteered. Each took either 25 milligrams of psilocybin or the placebo, 40 milligrams of generic Ritalin. The volunteers received at least three brain scans before taking the drugs, at least one scan between one and three hours after taking them, and were scanned for three weeks after.
Scan results showed that those who had taken psilocybin had widespread changes in the brain. And, especially, in the areas associated with the present moment and identity. The changes eventually wore off but were evident up to three weeks after the experience.
During the experience, researchers asked participants to match spoken words to images. Say, the volunteer was shown a picture of a bird and was expected to say “bird”—and were able to do so with 80% accuracy. However, doing so reduced the impact of the psilocybin on the brain.
Did problem-solving encourage living in reality, then?
It’s still unknown why performing the task caused a reduction in how the psilocybin affected the brain. But what if having to perform a skill—matching the picture to a spoken word—overrode the drug to allow for the brain to solve a problem? Does that say something important about teaching coping skills to solve problems rather than turning to drugs as the solution?
We think it’s worth digging deeper.
In the meantime, researchers will continue working to discover the reason for the psilocybin reduction. There’s still a lot to uncover about the effects of psychedelic drugs on the human mind. Scientists remain hopeful that eventually, prescribing these drugs will allow the brain to break free of old thinking patterns resulting in life-changing experiences for suffering patients.
Perhaps, in the end, they will determine that those suffering from mental health disorders and substance abuse issues can recover without the use of drugs at all. Many pharmaceutical drugs prescribed as the “solution to the problem” are addictive. It would take a big commitment on everyone’s part, but one worth standing behind to the best of our ability.
Living life drug-free is worth striving for. If we can help someone we know achieve that status by letting them know they aren’t alone, and that someone cares, we should volunteer for the job. Nobody wakes up one day and decides they want to aspire to become a drug addict. Many refuse to believe they have a problem with drugs or alcohol until everything spirals out of control.
If you’re an employer who discovers that an employee is using drugs, make sure they realize that you care about their well-being. And encourage them to seek help. It could be the catalyst that gives them the will to dig in and beat the addiction.
