By: AIMAN FARHAN PARACHA
Psychedelics are drugs that were once criminalised in various countries, however now are being prescribed as treatment for mental health issues.“The psychedelic(also known as hallucinogens) drugs market in the North American region is estimated to garner the largest revenue by the end of 2033” and “in the Asia Pacific region is estimated to garner the highest CAGR(compound annual growth rate) by the end of 2033”(Nester, 2023) owing to the drastic increase in demand for psychedelics globally. This is largely attributed to the rise in mental health issues globally such as depression and Posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD), particularly in developing countries,(ibid) resulting in a wider range of treatment such as psychedelics, which are now becoming more popular and becoming the subject of recent research, resulting in them now being legalised in numerous countries. Many experts believe psychedelics to be an efficacious treatment for depression and a useful tool for emotional regulation; however, there are concerns about possible addictions and their ability to cause psychological harm.
Many experts believe psychedelics to be a potent treatment for depression. Alan Davis,
Ph.D., adjunct assistant professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, refers to psychedelics as the “gold-standard” for placebo-controlled clinical trials because it is 4 times more effective as a treatment method than traditional antidepressants.(John Hopkins, 2020) He based this conclusion on the findings of a clinical trial conducted by John Hopkins University which showed a more than 50% reduction in depression symptoms at the one-week follow-up and 71% at the four-week follow-up for 67% of the participants; coupled with the fact that after the four week treatment, 54% were no longer considered depressed(ibid). Roland Griffiths, Ph.D. further adds his surprise at the effectiveness of this treatment due to the depression being a broad spectrum, which makes it surprising for it to cure majority of the participants’ depression systems since it is unlikely that the all had the same depressive disorder, highlighting its effectiveness.(ibid) The study this article is based on was conducted at John Hopkins University which is a reputable source. There is also relevant evidence from reputable sources such as the National Institute of Mental Health, increasing the validity of the study. There is also a variety of quantitative evidence used, providing reasoning for the conclusions in this article.The study further As this was published in 2020, It is fairly recent hence relevant today. However, this study has a small sample size of only 24 participants, majority of whom identified as white; therefore this study is not representative of a larger population or different ethnic groups. Another study has been published by pubmed which reiterates this argument as it has shown psychedelics such as ayahuasca, psilocybin, and LSD consistently producing significant and sustained anti-depressant effects.(Muttoni, Ardissino and John, 2019)
Another reason for the use of psychedelics in mental health treatments is that it is shown to help with emotional regulation. A study was conducted in 2024 by Mograbi,
Rodrigues, Bienemann, and Hunley who are professors in psychology in universities in UK and Brzail.It showed that psychedelics such as ayahuasca can have long term benefits to an individual’s emotional regulation abilities with effects coming to surface within 24 hours of taking it including in those who suffer considerably with regulating their emotions, highlighting its quick and long lasting effects. This study also explains the psychology behind this phenomena through Carhart-Harris & Nutt’s bipartite model of brain serotonin function which suggest that one of the serotonin receptors in the brain, namely 5-HT2A, helps individuals with cognitive flexibility and creative thinking, a process in which psychedelics have shown to help with. This allows individuals to interpret sensory information in different ways, allowing the brain to come up with more responses to help make sense of what’s happening around them, helping them deal with their emotions in a much more efficient manner.(ibid) In addition, this study further mentions that MDMA paired Cognitive-Behavioural Conjoint Therapy (CBCT) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has shown to help people with their emotion regulation abilities. This study was conducted recently in 2024, hence is widely relevant today. The authors of this study work in the department of psychology of Pontifical
Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and at Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK, hence have a vested interest in giving accurate information about psychedelics. The study cites sources that have been recently published and are relevant such as the to the main topic of the study such as the study by Wallach et al, published in 2023 which provides an explanation of how psychedelics affect the brain; thus making the findings more credible. The authors further add possible hypotheses and explanations for the findings, making the study more trustworthy. However, this study lacks quantitative data, lowering the credibility of its conclusions. Additionally, according to UBC, another explanation that corroborates the above argument is it that it acts on serotonin receptors in the brain and traditional psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin (magic mushrooms), mescaline and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) result in users experiencing mystical effects paired with changes in perception, emotion, cognition and the sense of self, which establishes a possible causal relationship between hallucinogens and better emotional regulation.(2018)
However, many health experts believe that psychedelics also have the ability to cause psychological harm, particularly when used in an uncontrolled environment. A study by Gokul Raj published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry Showed that a portion of the sample experienced what the author referred to as “bad trips”, which was further investigated using the Challenging Experience Questionnaire(CEQ).(2022)Some participants reported to have felt like crying and to have felt like something bad was going to happen with feelings death and isolation being the most common answers. The most common feeling experienced according to the CEQ was isolation which was experienced by 40.98% of the participants taking the CEQ. Additionally, many of the participants experienced perceptual abnormalities(hallucinations, delusions, disorganised speech and thinking) and two participants even experienced
hallucinogenic post-perception disorder which is a non psychotic disorder that includes persistent visual hallucinations or perceptual distortions after using drugs.(ibid) This study uses quantitative statistical data, such as the CEQ mean being 31.3%, thus strengthening the argument. The study was published in the Indian Journal of
Psychiatry therefore has a vested interest in providing reliable and accurate information on topics related to psychiatry which includes psychedelics. The study was published in July-August 2022 which is quite recent, hence the findings are relevant today. The study also does not have any conflicts of interest and did not receive any financial support or sponsorship, which reduces bias and makes it more credible. However, the study does not mention the number of people who experienced bad trips or the number of people who took the CEQ; in addition to using a sample primarily from India who may be of south asian ethnicity which makes the generalizability of the sample low. A similar study that corroborates this argument was conducted by Evans et al. which studied the adverse effects of psychedelics on humans and found that in a sample of 590 participants, 55% did not take psychedelics after the study and several participants reported psychedelics to have caused significant harm and said to have regretted ever taking psychedelics.(2023)
Moreover, despite being used mainly for its therapeutic benefits, it can be argued that psychedelics are still classified as drugs and hence may be addictive for some individuals.According to Miracle Asia, an addiction treatment centre in Thailand, some hallucinogens affect the chemicals in the brain responsible for a person’s mood, pain perception, responses to the environment, and cognitive skills and hence prolonged use may result in a person becoming dependent on them, causing a possible addiction.(n.d) Furthermore, like most substances, hallucinogens may cause emotional, psychological, and physical symptoms of withdrawal if prolonged use occurs which can last a short period or even a couple of weeks or months depending on the type of psychedelic, the dose, the amount of time used and the individual themselves.(ibid) This source specialised in addiction therefore has a vested interest in providing valid data in order to help individuals overcome their addictions. The article gives the information behind their analysis, allowing the reader to understand their reasoning, making it more credible. However, this article does not cite any studies for the information about psychedelics, lowering the credibility of the argument Susanne Reed, PhD in an article by Addiction Center reiterates this view point by focusing on one hallucinongen in particular, Lysergic acid diethylamide(LSD), a psychedelic drug that can cause a person to become psychologically addicted to the drug’s effects.she further states that an individual’s tolerance for LSD may increase after prolonged use, requiring higher doses to achieve the same results, further worsening an individual’s dependence on the drug, worsening the addiction. (2025)
Some experts advocate for psychedelics to be used in mental health as they are extremely effective at treating depression and are helpful in helping people regulate their emotions, however others argue that their side effects and the possibility of them causing psychological harm overshadow their benefits. Prior to this essay, i believed psychedelics should be legal only in extreme cases and should be used mainly as a last resort due to possible withdrawal symptoms, however upon further research, I discovered that in countries where hallucinogens are legalised, they are extremely regulated and most users report to have positive experiences, particularly when taken with a professional present. Additionally, I discovered that some cultures have used certain plant based psychedelics traditionally for centuries, suggesting its effectiveness and its importance.
To conclude, psychedelics should be legalised under professionals and should be used to treat mental health issues which would otherwise be difficult to treat or in more extreme cases. However, individuals should only be able to buy it if prescribed by a mental health professional and should be taken in a highly controlled setting under the presence of a mental health professional. Moreover, the dosage should be as low and as spread out as possible to minimise possible addiction and participants should be monitored for any signs of possible negative side effects. However, there is limited research on the effect of psychedelics on individuals from non- western countries, particularly for medicinal purposes and i hope future research will include more diverse samples in their studies such as those from asian, arab or african countries africans as individuals experiences with psychedelics can vary with ethnicity and people may be more open to psychedelic use and its legalisation if they were represented in studies testing the effects of psychedelics. Moreover, future research should focus on getting a better understanding of how they function and research more about why they may sometimes vary in their effects.
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