New Study Finds No Link Between Psychedelics & Psychosis
A new study recently published in the journal Psychopharmacology has found absolutely no link between the use of psychedelic drugs and psychosis.
Psychedelic substances are usually found in nature, and within our body.
These include psilocybin, dimethyltryptamin (DMT) and more. (1) Clinical psychologists from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, examined data from the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). After doing so, the researchers found that individuals who have used, and do use psychedelic substances (LSD, psilocybin, peyote from the San Pedro cacti and more) were not at an increased risk of developing mental health problems. More specifically, no risk or link was found between these substances and schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, anxiety disorders and suicide attempts. That being said, correlation does not equal causation, and we have very little science that shows any type of causation when it comes to this type of thing, on both ends of the spectrum. This type of information will definitely turn heads, as nature reports, the belief that psychedelics can lead to mental health problems like psychosis dates back to the 1960’s.
There have always been differing opinions in the world of academia when it comes to psychedelics. “Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behaviour and information processing.
They open you up to the possibility that everything you know is wrong.” – (1) Terrence Mckenna Another study that was published recently by the same authors in the same journal, also found that the “classic psychedelics were not associated with adverse mental-health outcomes. In addition, it found that people who had used LSD and psilocybin had lower lifetime rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts.” (1) “We are not claiming that no individuals have ever been harmed by psychedelics. Anecdotes about acid casualties can be very powerful — but these instances are rare,” he says. At the population level, he says, the data suggest that the harms of psychedelics “have been overstated.” – (1) Matthew Johnson, an associate professor in the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland Psychedelics have a very negative and unnecessary stigma attached to them that usually stems from a place of ignorance and lack of awareness. Offering an opinion based on belief is fine, but it’s far better to keep an open mind and be able to offer your opinion based on research and investigation before condemning something you have very little knowledge about. I personally do not indulge in psychedelics, but I am aware of the research and information that has surfaced, especially within the past decade, showing that these types of substances that nature has provided for us could actually be good for our health (if used correctly), used to treat various ailments as well as play a part in shifting our world view perception for the better. At the same time, I believe they are not needed to do so. Just because something is illegal, does not mean it’s bad, and just because something is legal, does not mean it’s good.
The same thing has happened when it comes to marijuana, but the funny thing is again, on both sides there is no observable science behind these claims. Gives you something to think about, doesn’t it? A four-year study that followed 170 individuals at high risk for psychosis concluded that marijuana use had no effect on the development of the disorder. But again, there are studies done using the same methods that have found opposite results. A study published in the journal Schizophrenia Research looked at alcohol, tobacco and cannabis, the results pointed to alcohol as a contributing factor. Mental illness is a serious issue that many people suffer from, it’s unfortunate that this fact has been abused and used for profit and bogus science. Source: (1) www.nature.com/news/no-link-found-between-psychedelics-and-psychosis-1.16968 .
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