A new study reveals that getting high on psychedelic drugs like LSD or psychoactive mushrooms does not heighten the risk of developing mental health issues. This is based on the analysis of more than 135,000 individuals, where 19,000 of them confessed of the intake of psychedelic drugs.
Data analysis to find the correlation between the use of psychedelic drugs, and psychological distress, anxiety, depression or suicidal mentality did not give out any evidence of any association between these two. The data was collected from the U.S. National Health Survey from the year 2008 to 2011, according to the report published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.
Neuroscientist Teri Krebs at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and clinical psychologist Pal-Orjan Johansen of EmmaSofia conducted this analysis.
Johansen said, “Over 30 million U.S. adults have tried psychedelics and there just is not much evidence of health problems.”
According to Krebs, alcohol and other substances have higher chances of risks, and psychedelic drugs are not addictive like alcohol.
A former study did not present researchers with any association between LSD and magic mushrooms or better known as ‘shrooms’ amongst youngsters, with any neurobiological damage.
Krebs also pointed out that “Drug experts consistently rank LSD and psilocybin mushrooms as much less harmful to the individual user and to society compared to alcohol and other controlled substances.”
As surprising as it may be to regular folks, LSD and mushrooms are both significantly appearing as legitimate therapeutic methods for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and other diseases of the brain which can possess negative impact on the quality of life.
Some researchers have questioned the method of using psychedelic drugs for medical treatments and are not totally on board.
“Are psychedelic class medications ready for prime-time? I don’t think so,” says Dr. Howard Forman, medical director of the Montefiore Medical Center’s Addiction Consultation Service. But “might they become essential parts of the psychiatrist’s toolbox in the future given proper oversight? That can’t be ruled out,” he says.
Even with the results Johansen agrees that there is the likelihood of psychedelic drugs posing negative effects on the mental well-being of different types or groups of individuals.
Nonetheless, he says, “With these robust findings, it is difficult to see how prohibition of psychedelics can be justified as a public health measure.”
Krebs adds, “Concerns have been raised that the ban on use of psychedelics is a violation of the human rights to belief and spiritual practice, full development of the personality, and free-time and play.”
