EXPERT OPINION
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The Future is FunModern medicine can work wonders on a host of illnesses and accompanying symptoms, but when it comes to mental health and many neurodegenerative issues, scientists are still searching for solutions. Here we find the shift in social, scientific and regulatory views in the last decade opening up a world of potential.
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Google “Bicycle Day” if you’re feeling a bit lost at this point). Amanda Day is a Magic mushrooms and acid Leaf Nation contributing took hold in American society writer and photographer, based in Eugene and as recreational substances, providing Cannabis but the healing potential was photos & video services. always present. As Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris explains, psilocybin and LSD are hallucinogens that “stimulate a particular serotonin receptor subtype expressed on neurons in the brain.” This receptor is known as serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) the same signal transmitter that, according to the 1st edition of Serotonin Receptors in Neurobiology tells us, “has been implicated in mental disorders with complex etiologies that are still not clearly understood, in processes such as learning and memory, and also in neurogenesis.” These are many of the same functional areas that neurological scientists are still seeking answers to. At Johns Hopkins University, there’s a massive amount of money and time being devoted to finding these answers. A group of private donors has put up $17 million to build “the largest research center of its kind in the world.” The Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research will study the effects of psychedelics on brain functions like behavior, learning, mood, memory and more: Studies of psilocybin in patients will determine its effectiveness as a new therapy for opioid addiction, Alzheimer’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (formerly known as chronic Lyme disease), anorexia nervosa and alcohol use in people with major depression. Universities and organizations like the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies and the Psychological Association says increased by 30% Heffter Research Institute have been looking into between 2000 and 2016. We see it in substance these topics and treatments for some time, so why abuse rates - where the American Addiction Centers the sudden spark in public interest? count 19.7 million afflicted Americans, age 12 and The answer isn’t entirely simple, but we seem to up. And we see it in the faces of family and friends have reached a point in modern American history still struggling around us, with roughly one in eight where a mixture of social unstiffening, high health Americans over age 12 reporting regular antidecare costs, and a DIY lifestyle movement demand pressant use (according to the National Center for new solutions. Each day, more citizens seem eager Health Statistics). to choose non-traditional pharmaceuticals and While the future of treatment seems fuzzy, one explore options in alternative medicine. thing is vividly clear: Our current system is failing The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has those battling the burden of neurological diseases. approved some clinical trials of psychedelics in the Fortunately, research in psilocybin and LSD has past, but the topic has been more widely explored in provided new hope in health care. The promise of recent years. In 2015, a large population study by affordable, non-addictive treatments has sparked the Norwegian University of Science and scholarly and public interest alike. Technology looked at adults in the U.S. For anyone new to the world of Magic mushrooms and “failed to find evidence for a link psychedelics, a brief introduction to the and acid took hold between psychedelic use (lysergic acid main neurotropic compounds (related in American society diethylamide, psilocybin or mescaline) to fungi) may be warranted. Psilocybin as recreational substances, but the and mental health problems.” The is the alkaloid found in “magic mushhealing potential results crushed much of the Nixon-era rooms” that we associate with the psywas always present. skepticism lingering around the dangers chedelic experience. According to the of these drugs. International Center for Ethnobotanical The FDA has since named several other psycheEducation, Research, and Service, there are over delic trials “breakthrough therapies.” This official 180 unique varieties of fungi that carry this particudesignation “is intended to expedite the developlar compound. It’s not the only interesting find in the ment and review of drugs for serious or life-threatfungal world, however. ening conditions.” Furthermore, cities like Denver Lysergic acid diethylamide (better known as LSD) and Oakland have begun to decriminalize psychewas first derived by Albert Hofmann in 1938 from delic mushrooms altogether. It seems that the U.S. another fungus known as ergot. is entering a new frontier. One we can only hope Many years and one famous bicycle ride later, leads to breakthroughs in health and happiness. the world was introduced to “acid.” (Go ahead and
According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s have no known cures. Drugs currently on the market are instead aimed at combating symptoms and slowing disease progression. As of 2016 it was estimated that 5.4 million Americans were living with Alzheimer’s alone. Anyone that has watched a loved one wither away knows the devastation of a neurodegenerative diagnosis, but for the rest of adults not yet confronted with such suffering, a list of other issues takes priority. Among the roughly 17 million adults in America battling depression, the National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 11 million have experienced “severe impairment.” The heft of our modern mental health crisis is weighing heavily on the nation. We see it in the suicide rates - a number that the American
mar. 2020
STORY by AMANDA DAY @TERPODACTYL_MEDIA for LEAF NATION | PHOTO by RENNETT STOWE/CREATIVE COMMONS
