Psychedelic Drugs Essay

Although America and the rest of the world have progressed in medical science and technology, it seems that many medical conditions are becoming more prevalent in the general population. According to the CDC, mental illnesses have progressed to an all-time high, and over 25% of the American population is affected on an annual basis. Some of these instances are easily treatable and a part of life such as dealing with grief from the loss of a loved one; some may be much more deeply rooted and have a much higher chance of occurring with a family history of mental illness. A hidden secret that has only recently been explored in great depths is the treatment of targeted medical conditions with the use of illicit substances, namely hallucinogens. Despite the biggest barriers to continuing research being the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) schedule of psychedelic drugs, lack of funding, common misconceptions about the drugs, and a history of abuse and irresponsible users, these drugs actually do hold some merit in their potential use as medication. Psychedelic drugs should be made available to the medical field for testing and prescribing for conditions they are able to treat. This can be done either through rescheduling of the drugs on the DEA controlled substances list, or with federal deregulation and decriminalization for medical use. These drugs are more effective than current treatment, they are safer than current treatments, and they open up the possibility of discovering additional treatment alternatives.

Varsha Dutta’s article explains that “The word ‘hallucinogen’ is alternately used as psychedelic, and has its roots in Greek, which literally means ‘to wander in the mind.’ Since these drugs do not actually produce true h...

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...lts, and the lasting results compared to other options. The results of the medical trials that have been performed show success rates that are astronomically higher than the current treatment options. Even with incredibly painful conditions like cluster headaches, LSD and psilocybin are the only drugs that have been proven to not only halt a cluster headache attack, but that can also put the patient in a state of remission for future attacks. The rescheduling or decriminalization of these drugs for medical uses opens up the medical field to researching more treatment options in the future, both with psychedelic drugs and other new drugs. Less restriction on patient care, especially in a controlled medical setting, has almost no negatives, and it may allow for an eventual cure for many conditions that are currently not treatable or have limited treatment options.