A few days ago, Kevin visited Mycoboutique with a friend. Among other purchases, he brought to the register a captivating book: How to Change Your Mind, in which Michael Pollan explains how hallucinogens, particularly psilocybin, are now being used to treat various psychological distress cases. Psilocybin is found in many species of mushrooms, the "magic" mushrooms that have been consumed ritually for millennia. The visitor candidly mentioned that he had been a drug addict and that, for the past three months, he had freed himself from this addiction by regularly taking microdoses of psilocybin. "Every morning, I wake up gloomy, but I regain my enthusiasm as soon as I take my capsule," he said.
On November 1, 2019, at McGill University, two psychologists, Ingmar Gorman and Elizabeth Nielson, and Simon Amar, a psychiatrist, discussed the evolution of therapies based on MDMA (ecstasy) and psilocybin. Unlike psilocybin, MDMA is not a hallucinogen and affects different areas and pathways of the brain, but appears to produce similar effects in their patients.
The therapeutic potential of these substances has been studied for years. They were pushed into illegality in 1985 in the U.S., leading to the formation of MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), which now supports strictly regulated research. In 2002, an initial publication reported encouraging results with subjects suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Positive results accumulated with subjects having various psychological disorders, leading to the approach being recognized as a major breakthrough (Breakthrough Therapy) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2018.
Under the new approach, treatments are short-term and conducted under the close supervision of psychotherapists. The targeted behaviors seem to share a repetitive nature. This could help break the vicious cycle characteristic of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, alcohol and drug addiction, conditions often treated with neuroleptics that have unwanted side effects. Schizophrenia and bipolar disorders are not targeted.
Researchers anticipate the legalization of these drugs in the U.S. for medical purposes within three years. However, reservations remain since, despite encouraging results, the mechanisms are not fully understood. Professional supervision and a controlled environment will be required for the foreseeable future.
Does Kevin understand the risk he is taking by using unsupervised microdoses purchased online?
