The Challenges of Psychedelic Research
Psychedelic substances are, to put it mildly, a controversial subject. Most of them are as of yet Schedule 1 Drugs in the US, so it is assumed that
- The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
- The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical treatment use in the U.S.
- It has a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.
Nevertheless, it might not have escaped your notice that there has been a massive increase in dialogue around psychedelics in recent years. It has always been highly questionable whether substances like LSD, Psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) or Ayahuasca actually deserved their place on the list of Schedule 1 drugs.
There had once been massive interest and hope in the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances in the research and medical communities during the 50s and 60s. There is very little indication that these substances cause physical harm nor have a potential for abuse that is in any way comparable to that of sanctioned drugs like alcohol and tobacco.
But alas, the hippies and Timothy Leary came, the war on drugs began with full force, and a sudden end was put to almost all research on the topic.
