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Title: Psychedelic Science Just Got a Big Boost
Source:
StoptheDrugWar
URL Source: https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicl ... ychedelic_science_just_got_big
Published: Sep 11, 2019
Author: Staff
Post Date: 2019-09-12 07:58:10 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 7565
Comments: 33
The accelerating field of psychedelic research just got turbocharged. Thanks to a group of private donors, one of the nation's premier universities is moving forward with plans for what's believed to be the first such research center in the country and the largest of its kind in the world. Psilocybin-containing magic mushrooms. (Greenoid/Flickr) The move comes as renewed scientific interest in the therapeutic uses of psychedelics has mushroomed in recent years, led to a large degree by Johns Hopkins researchers, who have been at the forefront of psychedelic research in the 21st Century. In 2000, Johns Hopkins researchers made a breakthrough, becoming the first in the country to win regulatory approval to restart research on psychedelics in healthy people who had never used such drugs. That resulted in a 2006 publication on the safety and long-lasting positive effects of a single dose of psilocybin, which jumpstarted a renaissance of psychedelic research worldwide. Researchers linked to the university have published studies on psychedelics in more than 60 peer-reviewed journals, finding therapeutic benefits for people suffering from conditions ranging from nicotine addiction to depression and anxiety associated with terminal diseases. Those studies helped pave the way for contemporary studies on the treatment of depression. Other Johns Hopkins research has resulted in safety guidelines for psychedelic research that have helped researchers at other universities around the world win approval for studies, while yet more research has dealt with the thorny problem of measuring how psychedelics affect mystical, emotional, and meditative experiences. And now, get ready for much, much more. The new center will provide support a half-dozen neuroscientists, experimental psychologists, and clinicians, as well as five post-doctoral scientists—all with expertise in psychedelic studies. Most of the research is going to center on psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms. "The center's establishment reflects a new era of research in therapeutics and the mind through studying this unique and remarkable class of pharmacological compounds," said Roland Griffiths, the center's director and professor of behavioral biology in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Department of Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "In addition to studies on new therapeutics, we plan to investigate creativity and well-being in healthy volunteers that we hope will open up new ways to support human thriving." "I am thrilled about this magnificent opportunity that has been provided by enlightened private funders," said James Potash, a professor and director of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. "This center will allow our enormously talented faculty to focus extensively on psychedelic research, where their passions lie and where promising new horizons beckon." Because there is no federal funding for such research, private funders have been lined up to cover the first five years of the center's operating expenses. Those funders are the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation and four philanthropists: Tim Ferriss, author and technology investor; Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress; Blake Mycoskie, founder of the shoe and accessory brand TOMS; and investor Craig Nerenberg. "We have to take braver and bolder steps if we want to help those suffering from chronic illness, addiction, and mental health challenges," said Alexandra Cohen. "By investing in the Johns Hopkins center, we are investing in the hope that researchers will keep proving the benefits of psychedelics—and people will have new ways to heal." The center's faculty will train graduate and medical students who want to pursue careers in psychedelic science, where there have historically been few avenues for career advancement. "This represents the largest investment to date in psychedelic research, as well as in training the next generation of psychedelic researchers," said Ferriss. "I sincerely hope this ambitious Johns Hopkins center will inspire others to think big and establish more psychedelic research centers in the U.S. and overseas, as there's never been a better time to support such important work." And a new era dawns.
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 4.
#1. To: Deckard (#0)
Maybe you can sell magic mushrooms to school children.
The drug warrior was shitting your forum up, since his eviction from FR, with pro marijuana articles. Now that weed is becoming legal, everywhere... he’s now pushing mushrooms. Soon he’ll be posting the awesome health benefits of cocaine, heroin and meth. His AGENDA, has never changed.
Oh. lookie here. Another idiot who didn't read the article before posting his bilge. You two clowns are a real hoot. Yeah - using psilocybin mushrooms in a controlled setting to treat a variety of mental health issues is soooo wrong. < / sarcasm > Seriously, what is wrong with you two? There's nothing in the article that even suggests legalization or use other than for specific medical purposes. Of course, you'd both probably want to go back to a time when electro-shock therapy was the norm for treating mental illness.
#5. To: Deckard, GrandIsland, A K A Stone (#4)
(Edited)
You two clowns are a real hoot. Add another to your count – I’m in … Knowing you and fully realizing the inherent uselessness of the articles you continue post – Salute,
Which is what you are doing here – continuing your despotic promotion for the use of drugs. Salute,
I think they don't understand that, in therapy, using enough to get high and hallucinate means you are doing it wrong. In fact, you can make more problems than you started with if you dose these too highly. Don't fret much, Deckard, we will win this battle against Big Pharma the same way we won it against the Pot Cops. They'll lose and be bitter about it but a new era has come and real scientists are doing studies and real therapists are using these drugs therapeutically. It's not all hippies tripping and MKULTRA/CIA clandestine experiments which is where these things got such a bad reputation with the older generation. The naysayers and nannies, laying awake at night worrying about someone doing something they disapprove of, aren't going to go away any time soon but they are going to lose. I think they already have and that the tide has shifted strongly against them.
Yep. The same path legal recreational marijuana took. Phony research conducted by biased researchers paid by a front company funded by investors with a drug legalization agenda. Hey, why not? It worked for marijuana. What doesn't work is your feigned surprise that others would question it.
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#3. To: A K A Stone (#1)
The accelerating field of psychedelic research just got turbocharged.
#4. To: GrandIsland (#3)
(Edited)
Replies to Comment # 4. Oh. lookie here. Another idiot who didn't read the article …
all I needed to do was to read the title.
Gatlin
#7. To: Deckard (#4)
Of course, you'd both probably want to go back to a time when electro-shock therapy was the norm for treating mental illness.
Speaking not as one of the both to whom you refer, but speaking for myself – I would not mind returning to the days of yesteryear when people like you did not constantly promote drugs as an elixir to be used for everything.
Gatlin
#11. To: Deckard (#4)
Yeah - using psilocybin mushrooms in a controlled setting to treat a variety of mental health issues is soooo wrong. < / sarcasm >
#16. To: Deckard (#4)
Seriously, what is wrong with you two? There's nothing in the article that even suggests legalization or use other than for specific medical purposes.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 4.
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