Can Psychedelic drugs treat depression?

The drugs that put the "psychedelic" into the sixties are now the subject of renewed research interest because of their therapeutic potential. In this article a pair of trained therapists allowed a 57 year old (Pamela Sakuda) woman that was depressed from her intensive chemotherapy to take pills of psilocybin- a hallucinogen also known as the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms." Researchers around the world have begun to explore weather these illegal drugs can help treat intractable depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems. Researchers now say that drugs such as psilocybin and ecstasy when taken under supervision can help patients unlock the source of their troubles. Pamela Sakuda took part in one of the studies to test the treatment. After taking the drugs her husband notice the change, he saw her as the happy person she once use to be. Scientist have been investigating the effects of hallucinogens for over 40 year and it was once banned because of the interest college students took of the drug. More studies were made and in a study of 12 people, 10 said that after taking the drug they no longer met the criteria for post-traumatic stress two months later. Although these scientist have shown that this method of releasing stress works, the FDA still doesn't approve of a psychedelic as medicine. Pamela's story was a success until she died of cancer. She recorded a video that explained how the treatment helped her in her final years. " I don't think the drug is the cause of these things," she said "I think its a catalyst that allows you to release your own thoughts and feelings from some place [where] you've bound them very tightly."

Psilocybin derives from the hallucinogen mushroom. Hallucinogen greatly affects our brain, distorting the way our five senses work and how changing our impressions of time and space. When the neurotransmitters in your brain attach to special places on nerve cells, they cause changes in the nerve cells. This communication can be disrupted by chemicals such as hallucinogens, causing you to see the world differently than to would normally see it. Psilocin, the active metabolite of psilocybin acts by interacting with neurotransmitter receptors on nerve cells in the brain to mimics the action of serotonin. After taking this drug the brain quickly develops a tolerance, and taking another dose will require more than usual if you want to experience the same effect.

I believe that this story is important because of the affect it can have on us later. Right now this drug is still illegal to the market. if it becomes legal again for people to use, many would over do it, and our world would be like how it was back in the sixties. the negative effects these drugs surpasses the positive affect. although researchers are trying to say that it will help a lot people over depression, and other mental problem, the side affects can also hurt the body especially the nervous system.