Psychedelics are being held up as a potential solution to the growing need for mental health treatment. But, magic mushrooms are not magic bullets.
(AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Alberta’s new policy on psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental illness may set a precedent that moves Canadians one step closer to accepting psychedelics as medicinal substances.
Some people take the new drugs to prolong sex.
PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images
People in Nigeria are creating new drugs either because they can’t afford more traditional narcotics, because they’re not controlled or because they’re strong.
Now restrictions are easing, some people who have not used alcohol or other drugs recently may start to use them again, and need to be aware of their reduced tolerance.
Impurities are often added to recreational drugs to mask poor quality.
Sebastian Leesch/EyeEm via Getty Images
There’s buzz about MDMA – yes, the same ingredient in the street drug known as Ecstasy – being a game changer in the treatment of PTSD. A psychiatrist who treats PTSD says, “Not so fast.”
The TGA is currently evaluating a proposal to legalise MDMA and psilocybin for the treatment of mental illness. But there are a few reasons Australia isn’t quite ready to take this step.
‘Pingers’ usually contain MDMA. But assuming you know exactly what’s in them can be dicey.
From shutterstock.com
Drug slang can help researchers understand drug trends. But if you’re taking a drug called by a street name, make sure you know what it is.
Research over the last decade has shown MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to be effective in treating PTSD from military combat, sexual assault and childhood abuse. Now researchers are trialing MDMA with couples and finding promising results.
(Shutterstock)
MDMA is better known as the party psychedelic Ecstasy or Molly. Used clinically, together with psychotherapy, it reduces symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and shows promise with couples.
Just around 3% of teens have used MDMA (ecstasy) in the past year.
Franz Pfluegl/Shutterstock
Few teens use MDMA and scare tactics, like those we’ve seen recently, are unlikely to reduce existing drug use further.
If NSW takes on the coroner’s recommendations, it will be among the most innovative and evidence-based states in Australia on drug policy.
from www.shutterstock.com
A person’s drug experience can be influenced by many different things, such as heat, access to water and dosage.
Festival goers bring their phones. So why not use them to receive tweets about high-dose drugs in circulation, as the UK is doing?
from Vinnikava Viktoryia/www.shutterstock.com
New research shows some festival goers are willing to take a dodgy pill regardless of the test result. So, let’s use pill testing to educate them and others about reducing their risk.