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The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys

James Fadiman · 17 HN comments
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Psychedelics for spiritual, therapeutic, and problem-solving use • Presents practices for safe and successful psychedelic voyages, including the benefits of having a guide and how to be a guide • Reviews the value of psychedelics for healing and self-discovery as well as how LSD has facilitated scientific and technical problem-solving • Reveals how microdosing (ultra-low doses) improve cognitive functioning, emotional balance, and physical stamina • This year 600,000 people in the U.S. alone will try LSD for the the first time, joining the 23 million who have already experimented with this substance Called “America’s wisest and most respected authority on psychedelics and their use,” James Fadiman has been involved with psychedelic research since the 1960s. In this guide to the immediate and long-term effects of psychedelic use for spiritual (high dose), therapeutic (moderate dose), and problem-solving (low dose and microdose) purposes, Fadiman outlines best practices for safe, sacred entheogenic voyages learned through his more than 40 years of experience--from the benefits of having a sensitive guide during a session (and how to be one) to the importance of the setting and pre-session intention. Fadiman reviews the newest as well as the neglected research into the psychotherapeutic value of visionary drug use for increased personal awareness and a host of serious medical conditions, including his recent study of the reasons for and results of psychedelic use among hundreds of students and professionals. He reveals new uses for LSD and other psychedelics, including microdosing, extremely low doses for improved cognitive functioning and emotional balance. Cautioning that psychedelics are not for everyone, he dispels the myths and misperceptions about psychedelics circulating in textbooks and clinics as well as on the internet. Exploring the life-changing experiences of Ram Dass, Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley, and Huston Smith as well as Francis Crick and Steve Jobs, Fadiman shows how psychedelics, used wisely, can lead not only to healing but also to scientific breakthroughs and spiritual epiphanies.
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I hope that if you do this, you only do it with an trained psychedelic therapist who you like, respect, and trust... and who provides lots of therapy before and lots of integration after.

Unfortunately there's not yet enough known about these substances to predict whether they'll work for a rare condition.. besides, everyone's different, and everyone reacts to these substances differently. They're pretty unpredictable. So it might work for you, it might not.

A lot also depends on how they're used, where, and with whom -- what's known as "set and setting". I'd recommend reading James Fadiman's Psychedelic Explorer's Guide[1] for lots of good advice on this subject.

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

biidthrowaway
thank you for the advice and particularly for the book recommendation. I definitely want to get an excellent therapist who's compassionate with my condition and whom I feel safe with. I have no idea how to find one, but perhaps the therapists open-minded and curious enough to explore psychedelic therapy will be interested in taking on a new challenge like BID. heck, they could write me up as a case study.
pmoriarty
"I have no idea how to find one"

Try asking around at psychedelic conferences or at meetings of a psychedelic society[1] near you.

[1] - https://www.tripsitters.org/directory

"the research and therapy environment is extremely different than DIY"

True, but that doesn't mean that the DIY environment couldn't be brought closer to the therapeutic one.

I strongly recommend James Fadiman's Psychedelic Explorer's Guide[1]. It has lots of great advice on how to use psychedelics therapeutically.

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

"People need to be careful with psychedelics."

Absolutely. Psychedelics are incredibly powerful substances and they need to be treated with respect. Everyone considering doing them should educate themselves thoroughly beforehand and use them in maximally safe, constructive ways. James Fadiman's Psychedelic Explorer's Guide[1] has lots of great advice on how to do this.

"The afterglow wears off pretty quick."

It really depends on the substance and how it's used. Ketamine, for example, commonly needs to be readministered relatively frequently (though some people have lasting effects), while many people get very long lasting effects from between one to three therapeutic MDMA or psilocybin sessions (sometimes lasting for years).

It's people who tend to use psychedelics outside of a therapeutic context, to "party" and/or without constructive intention or post-trip integration that tend to lack lasting effects.. but even then it's not at all uncommon for the experiences to be life-changing.

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

Why psychedelics help some people and not others is one of the most interesting open research questions.

Still, there are ways that you can maximize your chances of getting therapeutic benefit out of psychedelics.

Doing psychedelics with a trained psychedelic therapist that you like, respect, and trust is probably the most effective way.

Something else you can do is read some good guides like James Fadiman's The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide[1] and the MAPS Treatment Guide for MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy[2]

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

[2] - https://maps.org/research-archive/mdma/MDMA-Assisted-Psychot...

Completely agree that it's not for everyone, and that those that do try it should thoroughly (and I mean really thoroughly) educate themselves on what they're getting themselves in to and how to maximize their chances of having a good experience. For this I'd recommend "The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide"[1] by James Fadiman as a good start. Erowid[2] and PsychonautWiki[3] are good for experience reports and reference.

People with pre-existing health and psychiatric conditions, and young people should be doubly careful. The physical and sometimes psychological effects of some substances can be dangerous, especially when mixed with other drugs (alcohol is a particularly bad one to mix with).

Psilocybin mushrooms are some of the safest psychedelics around, but at the very least be absolutely sure you got the right kind (have them identified by experts or grow your own)... and starting with lower doses, in a good set and setting, with someone more experienced than you who you like and trust is prudent. Have some quiet days to integrate the experience afterwards, maybe with a therapist.

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

[2] - https://erowid.org

[3] - https://psychonautwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page

hutzlibu
"People with pre-existing health and psychiatric conditions, and young people should be doubly careful. "

And since we are talking about "depressed" people, that should qualify as a preexisting psychiatric condition.

The problem is, in most places there are no professional therapists avaiable who can (legally) work with mushrooms. And really, long term depressed persons, often have no one around, they can prepare a trip with.

petercooper
The problem is, in most places there are no professional therapists avaiable who can (legally) work with mushrooms.

This is the real sadness to me. So many people seem to start dabbling in various forms of drugs as a way to ail their problems, and if there were qualified people who could help with that (beyond merely dishing out the typical SSRIs, benzos or stimulants) I think a lot of good could be done.

pmoriarty
"in most places there are no professional therapists avaiable who can (legally) work with mushrooms."

Despite that, there are underground therapists who will do just that.. and even licensed therapists will sometimes do so. Discretely ask around and you might be pleasantly surprised.

"really, long term depressed persons, often have no one around, they can prepare a trip with."

There are free, online trip sitters that you can contact here:

https://tripsit.me/

and

http://wiki.tripsit.me

"you could also end up in a hellish, confused world of angst and terror for what seems like an eternity"

This is why it's incredibly important (especially for super powerful psychedelics) to prepare properly, take them in a safe place with an experienced person you like and trust, and integrate the experience afterwards in to your life.

That said, even difficult experiences might ultimately benefit you, if you try to learn from them and integrate them properly (perhaps with the aid of a therapist).

James Fadiman's Psychedelics Explorer's Guide[1] has a lot of great information on making the most of one's psychedelic experience, and doing so safely and constructively.

You could also maximize the chance the experience will be a good and constructive one by doing it in a therapeutic, shamanic, or sacred context.

But make sure to vet whoever you do it with thoroughly, as there have been some abuses by people in power in these contexts before (I'm particularly thinking of reports of rapes by shamen in Peru, and other reports of DMT facilitators shocking users with tazers or forcing water or tobacco snuff up their nose/mouth during the experience).

Be safe people!

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

Drug abuse is a real problem. But not all drug use is drug abuse. It's possible to use drugs constructively, to actually improve your life and that of others (because what you do, how you feel, and how you live your life impacts others).

Mushrooms and other psychedelics have great potentials to improve mental health, if used wisely. There have been studies that show psychedelics successfully being used to treat depression, PTSD, and addiction. This kind of use is the opposite of abuse.

It is possible to abuse psychedelics, but it is rare, and one can minimize the risk by educating oneself thoroughly about them and by using them with a clear, constructive intention, in a quiet and safe setting, with an experienced person you like and trust, and with confidence in the identity of the substance and that you're taking the proper dose. I'd strongly recommend reading James Fadiman's Psychedelic Explorer's Guide[1] for more detailed suggestions.

Like the Prohibition of the 1920's, decades of the War on Drugs has utterly failed to make us safer. In fact, it makes us less safe because people have and will continue to use drugs, but because of the drug war they often are mistaken about the identity of the drugs they're using or the drug's dosage, leading to overdoses and other adverse effects. The War on Drugs also encourages and makes organized crime more profitable and leads to great violence, not to mention the effect of arrests, imprisonment, and killings by police on non-violent drug users and their families.

A tragedy and an outrage is the only way to describe the War on Drugs, and I have a very hard time understanding why anyone who's educated themselves on these issues would support it.

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

mapcars
>It's possible to use drugs constructively, to actually improve your life and that of others

Well, there is a whole lot of other things that can also improve your life. Why go for riskier and less understood ones? I think they should be allowed in some cases but I'm very pessimistic about readiness of society to mass usage.

akiselev
It's important to note that when people talk about drug abuse and its impacts, they are usually referring to heroin and opioids, amphetamines, cocaine and other alkaloids, benzodiazepines, and so on. While some of those drugs are hallucinogenics, none of them are considered psychedelics, which is what the current decriminalization conversation is about.

Magic mushrooms, LSD, and cannabis are in a different universe psychiatrically, addictively, and experientially. It's like comparing viagra to chemotherapy: yeah, a blood thinner carries extra risks for certain subpopulations, but chemotherapy has visibly destructive side effects on the entire population.

mapcars
>which is what the current decriminalization conversation is about.

What makes you think the next demand won't be for other drugs as well?

FisDugthop
Oh look, it's the gateway-drug argument [0] all over again.

The short version is that, for those other drugs that the grandparent listed in their comment, they are already scheduled for medical usage. Only the psychedelics are scheduled away from any legal usage.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_drug_theory

akiselev
Because when Portugal decriminalized every drug, the country saw an increase in drug use that was the same as the increase in other countries that didn't decriminalize [1]

[1] https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article-abstract/50/6/999/40402...

blotter_paper
> Magic mushrooms, LSD, and cannabis are in a different universe psychiatrically, addictively, and experientially.

I'm not trying to hate on cannabis or wanting to restrict its use, but the other two drugs you listed result in hefty tolerances way quicker. Daily LSD or mushroom use at a consistent dose is going to result in very little effect, while weed is a drug that people can keep coming back to every day. The minor physical withdrawal effects are laughable compared to alcohol or nicotine, but people can certainly develop harmful habits with weed in the same way they can with something like social media use. By contrast, LSD abuse is more like "I'm using this in settings that are conducive to personal growth" than "I'm using this all the time and ignoring other parts of my life."

For those of you wanting to pick or grow your own mushrooms, I suggest watching Identifying North American Psilocybin Species by Alan Rockefeller.[1] He's immensely knowledgeable on this subject, and covers some interesting legal issues as well.

Also, keep an eye out for upcoming legislation on legalizing psilocybin and/or mushrooms in your local area. Vote and put pressure on your politicians to make this happen, if you believe it should.

To have the best, most constructive experience, I'd strongly recommend reading The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide by James Fadiman.[2]

No brief summary can do this book or the subject of having a good trip justice, but at the very least be sure to have an experienced person you like and trust sit with you during the entire time you're on the substance, and try to carefully prepare for the experience and don't just do it on a whim at a party or a concert. Though such settings could work out, you will maximize your chance of having a good experience by choosing a safe, quiet space, where you won't be disturbed.

Be sure you don't have any other responsibilities for the day of the trip and perhaps the day after as well. Eat lightly the day before and day of the trip. Some people like to fast a bit, though make sure to stay hydrated. Have a clear, specific intention for the trip, and try to take something you've learned from the trip and make it a concrete part of your life afterwards. Depending on what you want to get out of the experience, you might also want to have some pictures of people you care about and maybe a rose to look at near the peak of the trip. There's a lot more to be said about this, and I'd really recommend you read the guide for more. The Secret Chief Revealed, about an underground psychedelic therapist, is another great resource.[3]

If it is going to be your first time, make it really special. You'll never have a first time with this substance again, and you really don't want to squander the opportunity. Some people spend a lot of time later in life chasing the magic of that first time, and it's never the same.

[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcL-7u80kjs

[2] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

[3] - https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Chief-Conversations-Undergroun...

echlebek
If you pick wild mushrooms be careful. A lot of people eat these by mistake and die. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galerina_marginata
I'd encourage you to read at least the trip reports on erowid[1] and The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide by James Fadiman.[2] You might also be interested in reading LSD, Spirituality, and the Creative Process: Based on the Groundbreaking Research of Oscar Janiger.[3]

Then, if you decide to try it, prepare yourself for a very special journey -- one that you'll only be able to go on once in your life (as you'll never again have a first time with that particular substance.. an experience many chase over and over again later in life, but few ever manage to recapture it). You'll want to be in a safe, supportive environment, ideally with an experienced trip sitter you like and trust, and without any prior commitments for that day and ideally the next. The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide has more specific advice on how to prepare.

[1] - https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd.shtml

[2] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

[3] - https://www.amazon.com/LSD-Spirituality-Creative-Process-Gro...

I believe we lack enough fundamental knowledge to critically analyse it with any sort of certainty, most of what is known comes from theory combined with individual experiences.

This book is often recommended:

https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

HNLurker2
I would love this book if only I could get my hands on LSD in my country without going to prison
mistermann
Psilocybin is a fine alternative, you should be able to find that.
HNLurker2
Nice man.

>For example, a 26-year-old young man in Brasov was detained by DIICOT after being intercepted to order such a thing

DIICOT is like the DEA of my country. I can't get my hand on that

mistermann
I did a bit of googling on various sites and Romania does seem to not have much discussion online.

There is a cryptic message in here that I don't quite understand, I'd try sending this guy a PM (from a mature reddit account that would feel trustworthy to not be a cop). At least he may be able to point you in some direction.

https://www.reddit.com/r/shrooms/comments/7obvvn/growing_kit...

HNLurker2
Wow thanks dude. Here my keybase: hnlurker
mistermann
I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I don't really know what a keybase is!
HNLurker2
The most secure way, an app like WhatsApp but it is secured because of 2 people encryption

You can contact me with the email in the bio if you don't like it (not many people use keybase anyways)

I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about something I rarely hear mentioned to newcomers:

It's very common for one's first or early psychedelic experiences to be really special.. more powerful, more magical, more intense than any later experiences. A lot of people wind up chasing that magic later without success.

Don't squander the opportunity. Prepare yourself well. Think of it as a trip to another planet which you'll only get to take once. Think carefully about why you're going, where you'll be, when you'll go, what you'll bring, how you'll travel, and who you'll travel with. These could make or break the experience.

It's also important to try to bring back and integrate what you learn from your trip. Try to record what you learn in some way: write it down, paint it, draw it, sing it, something... even if you're exhausted afterwards. Like dreams, psychedelic insights are so fleeting. If you don't get them down soon you could easily lose them.

Check out The Secret Chief Revealed[1] and The Psychedelics Explorer's Guide[2] for some more detailed recommendations on preparing for and making the most of your experience.

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Chief-Revealed-Myron-Stolaroff...

[2] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

ramblerman
I'd like to counter this with the opposite advice. Don't read up and create expectations of anything. Like people meditating and wondering when their 'chakras' will activate.

Know just 2 things:

- setting is crucial, pick a place where you are comfortable and won't be disturbed, and people there are very close

- mindset, be in a good mood! if you are stressed or recently lost someone, hold off.

If you get scared of something, move towards it. Don't run, as soon as you accept it, it will vanish.

I don't mean to bash OP but I absolutely disagree that you need to feel this sense of urgency, or importance to capture it all. Just enjoy yourself.

stinos
A lot of people wind up chasing that magic later without success. Don't squander the opportunity. Prepare yourself well

Hear, hear, this is solid advice. How I'd wish somebody would have told me that when starting with all that magic. Problem still being: I likely wouldn't have listened anyway, thanks youth for screwing me over again :P So looking back what I'd really wish now is that I would have waited until I was somewhat more adult and wise, and would have properly prepared myself.. Not that I'm not happy with the good side of what the experiences teached me, but in hindsight I could have avoided much of the bad side of it.

"Was this person insane in the first place? No, I lived 4 years of my life with this guy and he was one of the smartest, most intelligent people I've ever met."

Intelligent people can have mental issues. They can be really good at hiding them too -- both from other people and sometimes even from themselves.

I've read over and over again of people living together for decades, and one day they find out that the other person is a serial killer or an abuser or some other sort of criminal, and they had no idea, even after living their whole lives with them. People are really good at deceiving each other, and often the people closest to them are just in denial, and either overlook or make excuses for behavior and signs that sometime look worrisome in retrospect or when seen by people who aren't so involved.

Psychedelics, especially at large doses, are certainly not without risks. Some people just aren't ready to face what they might reveal. Many people also don't treat them with much respect, viewing them merely as party drugs or sometimes even destructively. There are ways to use them constructively, and ways of maximizing the chances of having a productive experience and of integrating what one learned during that experience back in to one's ordinary life.

For specific recommendations on maximizing the positive potential of psychedelics I'd recommend reading "The Secret Chief Revealed" and "The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide":

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Chief-Revealed-Myron-Stolaroff...

https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

Ketamine is itself a psychedelic.

With all psychedelics, it's very important to integrate the insights you gain during the experience back in to your ordinary life, or they are likely to fade.

It's also important to use psychedelics constructively: with a constructive intention, with an experienced sitter that you trust, in a safe setting. There are lots of other things one can do to prepare. I'd recommend reading "The Secret Chief Revealed" and "The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide".[1][2]

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Chief-Revealed-Myron-Stolaroff...

[2] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

By the way, two good books that go in to much more detail on what makes for a good trip are:

The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide[1] and The Secret Chief Revealed[2]. The latter was written by a therapist who conducted hundreds of therapy sessions with MDMA.

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

[2] - https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Chief-Revealed-Myron-Stolaroff...

There have been some studies on the effect of psychedelics on creativity. A particularly relevant study by Oscar Janiger has been documented in LSD, Spirituality, and the Creative Process.[1] Other studies (including ones on microdosing) are discussed in The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide by James Fadiman.[2]

That said, this is a wide open field that could greatly benefit from more research. I am hopeful that such research will once again become acceptable to the scientific establishment before too long, as a number of studies on other effects of psychedelics have recently been completed with much success.

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/LSD-Spirituality-Creative-Process-Gro...

[2] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

Insofar as programming involves problem solving I believe the answer is an unqualified "yes".

In _The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys_ by James Fadiman, Ph.D a chapter is devoted to discussing the results of a study on the use of the psychedelic substance mescaline to enhance creative problem solving.

http://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeuti...

This study was conducted at the Institute for Psychedelic Research at San Francisco State University.

I'll quote at length from the book chapter: "The participants were 26 men engaged in a variety of professional occupations: 16 engineers, one engineer-physicist, two mathematicians, two architects, one psychologist, one furniture designer, one commercial artist, one sales manager, and one personnel manager."

"Nineteen of the subjects have no previous experience with psychedelics."

The subjects were selected based on their psychological stability and motivation to solve a specific problem they had at work.

They met in small groups for several days before the psychedelic session and were told what to expect and given instructions in the use of the drug-effect for problem solving.

The subjects were given 200 milligrams of mescaline.

After six weeks the subjects were given questionnaires on how the effects of the session had effected their ongoing creative ability as well as how valid and acceptable the solutions conceived during the session seemed to them at that time.

Some (but not all) examples of solutions obtained by the subjects under the drug-effect:

* A new approach to the design of a vibratory microtome

* A commercial building design, accepted by the client

* A mathematical theorem regarding NOR-gate circuits

* Design of a linear electron accelerator beam-steering device

There are several tables full of numerical data. Table names include "Application of Solutions Obtains in Experimental Sessions" and "Work Performance Since Session".

My conclusion: Psychedelic substances can be used to enhance creativity - but as always who is using them and how they go about it makes all the difference.

davidtanner
I just found a short essay by Benny Shanon, http://pluto.huji.ac.il/~bshanon/ , called Ayahuasca and Creativity.

http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v10n3/10318sha.html

Quotes from the above article that I feel are most salient for this discussion of drugs, creativity and problem solving:

"As explained in Shanon (1998b), ayahuasca can also induce very impressive ideations. It is very typical for ayahuasca drinkers to report that the brew makes them think faster and better -- indeed, makes them more intelligent. Several of my informants reported the feeling of potentially being able to know everything; I too had this experience. While, this overall feeling is not objectively provable, my data do reveal some ideations which are truly impressive. Especially let me mention philosophical insights attained by drinkers without prior formal education. Some of these resemble ideas encountered in classical works as those of Plato, Plotinus, Spinoza and Hegel. Significant insights are more likely to be encountered in domains in which drinkers have special competence. Personally, with ayahuasca, I had many insights regarding my professional field of expertise and to which, following further critical scrutiny, I still hold. I have heard the same from other persons."

"Anyone got interesting, concrete data to share rather than anecdotes about Steve Jobs?"

Here are all of the Johns Hopkins studies on psilocybin:

http://csp.org/psilocybin/

You might also be interested in going to Horizons if you're going to be in NYC this coming weekend:

http://www.horizonsnyc.org

It's all of the talks on the latest scientific research on psychedelics for therapeutic use. You can also watch many of their previous talks here:

http://vimeo.com/horizons

As well as many of the talks from the huge MAPS conference that took place last April:

http://www.maps.org/media/videos/

If you're looking to read any books on this, a couple I'd recommend would be:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1594774021/erowid-20

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1594772509/erowid-20

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0892819278/erowid-20

I have an entire page with many more links to this stuff, but it's on Squidoo so if I linked to it then my comment would be auto-deleted. Heh.

edit: Changed Amazon links to donate affiliate fees to Erowid

gwern
Those psilocybin studies are the same ones which led to the study OP cites about psychedelics increasing Openness to experience (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Openness_to_e...), incidentally.
jessriedel
All the studies I've seen either have to do with safety, perceived benefit (self-evaluated), or effect on attitude (openness) as measured by a survey. Do you know of any studies which identify an objectively measurable positive benefit to the subjets? For example: decreased risk of suicide, decreased risk of divorce, increased likelihood of solving a long-standing problem, increased success at work, etc.
Alex3917
"Do you know of any studies which identify an objectively measurable positive benefit to the subjets?"

Deciding whether something is objectively measurable or not has thousands of years worth of philosophical baggage, so I can't really say whether any of these will meet your definition, but for what it's worth:

- Using LSD to treat alcoholism

- Using ibogaine to treat opiate addiction: http://vimeo.com/20118700

- Using psilocybin to treat smoking: http://vimeo.com/15913255

- Self-evaluated life quality in psychedelic drug users vs. non-users: http://www.maps.org/videos/source4/video12.html

- Using MDMA for PTSD: http://www.oprah.com/health/PTSD-and-MDMA-Therapy-Medical-Us...

- Using LSD / Psilocybin for cluster headaches: http://vimeo.com/10918637

- Using LSD for solving long-standing problems. (James Fadiman discusses this in his book that I linked to, and I think also here: http://www.maps.org/videos/source4/video5.html.)

jessriedel
Thank you for the response. Philosophical discussion aside, I think most of us can agree that there is a huge difference in reliability between self-reported results, and the more objective examples I mentioned.

I appreciate the videos, but I'm really looking for controlled studies. (In principle, I'm very open to the idea of using drugs like LSD for the treatment of things like alcoholism or cluster headaches. And I think it's a shame that, given the relative degree of safety associated with these drugs, it's nearly impossible to legally runs such studies. But at the end of the day, there looks like a huge lack of evidence and I'm very skeptical.)

Thanks again.

Alex3917
"I appreciate the videos, but I'm really looking for controlled studies."

Here is the first of probably many controlled studies with 2-bromo-LSD for cluster headaches:

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/06/lsd-alleviates...

The MDMA research on PTSD also has placebo controls. There are several different studies on this, you can probably find them via maps.org.

And James Fadiman writes about actual research done on problem solving in his book, although it isn't really possible to control since each person's long-standing problem is different.

jessriedel
Awesome, thanks!

> Cluster headache attack cessation and remission extension of months or longer in six treatment-refractory patients administered only 3 doses of BOL-148

> Five male patients with treatment-refractory chronic cluster headache and one female patient with treatment-refractory mixed cluster/migrainous headache were administered 2-bromo-LSD (BOL-148) (20mcg/kg) at five-day intervals for a total of three treatments. Sixteen-week outcome data on the five male patients revealed a robust treatment response, with three of the five having no attacks for more than one month, thereby shifting their diagnosis back to the episodic form of cluster headache. Similarly, the female patient reported quiescence of cluster attacks for greater than one month and "significant" improvement in migraine in the following weeks from last dose of BOL-148. This poster presents longterm outcome data on all 6 patients who received BOL-148. In follow-up with these patients, BOL-148 provided significant headache relief that lasted for several months to more than one-year. Data suggests that BOL-148 may function as an important new treatment, though, at present, there is no explanation for such long-term prophylactic effects with no later drug re-administrations. There is some evidence that BOL-148 is affecting epigenetic mechanisms and may open the possibility for a near-cure-like treatment for patients afflicted with vascular headaches.

Incidentally, this is apparently a non-hallucinogenic analog of LSD.

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