YuLin Zhen, Photography Editor
Once vilified under the pretense of the War on Drugs, psychedelic substances are gaining popularity among researchers as promising treatments to mental ailments.
Psychedelics are a type of substance that induces an altered state of consciousness. Examples of psychedelics include LSD, psilocybin and DMT. These substances have been used by humans for centuries according to Paula Bizzi Junqueira of the Chacruna Institute.
“In Brazil, we have Ayahuasca religions that are not so alternative, they are over 100 years old, so they are well integrated into society,” says Junqueira.
Psychedelics played a notable role in the counterculture movement of the 1960s, a movement calling for a liberalization of societal values. Supporters of this movement frequently used and supported recreational drugs, leading to the ban of some types of psychedelics in the late 1960s and the complete ban of most under the Controlled Substances Act of 1971.
After decades of hibernation, educational and governmental institutions are approving studies within the space of psychedelic medicine for the first time since the original declaration of the War on Drugs. Many potential uses for psychedelics have already been established.
“We’ve done quite a bit of work over the last eight years on using psilocybin,” says Dr. Christopher Pittenger ’94, a professor of psychiatry at Yale.
Psilocybin, commonly known as mushrooms, can alter short-term perception, followed by a long-term benefit for psychiatric symptoms such as depression, addiction and OCD, according to Pittenger. Pittenger’s team has recently published a study on work investigating psilocybin’s effect on OCD, with more follow-up studies to come.
Many other studies have been conducted in finding the effects of psychedelics on certain mental conditions. Researchers are also investigating the mechanisms of these substances, but “there’s a lot we don’t know,” according to Pittenger.Psychedelic research isn’t just a topic of interest to Yale. Dr. George Greer of the Heffter Research Institute says that the institute is currently funding projects investigating the use of LSD with patients who abuse opioids, as well as more technical research into the biological mechanics of psychedelics. And many other studies about psychoactive substances have been completed and are currently ongoing, with […]
Mind-altering remedies: inside the new wave of psychedelic research
