Psychedelic Drugs

Has anyone here tried such drugs or know others who have?

I don't have such experiences, but there is a Hungarian antipsychiatrist psychologist who lives in Canada always speaks about legalising LSD for medical purpose and LSD trips. His teacher was Ronald D. Laing.

IMO these trips could be scary sometimes.

From the Daily Mail, 1st of April 2020:

Hippy hippy fake - Why getting ‘high’ on LSD may just be a placebo effect

It was the drug of choice for hippies looking to turn on, tune in and drop out during the late Sixties. But LSD may not have been as mind-blowing as many revellers who took it believed, researchers claim.

A study has found that those given a placebo – an inert tablet such as a sugar pill – can be persuaded they are undergoing the same mind-bending experience as they would if they had taken hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD or magic mushrooms. It means some who believed they had ‘taken a trip’ may have felt high due merely to the atmosphere of the party or event they were at. The same may apply to the ‘ rave’ drugs taken at acid house parties in the Eighties and Nineties.

The research, by scientists at McGill University in Montreal, suggests that ‘trippy’ experiences can be brought on by the expectation you are about to get high.

To test whether psychedelic effects could be induced by a placebo, Canadian researchers gave 33 volunteers – who believed they were taking part in a study of the effects of drugs on creativity – the fake LSD at a four-hour psychedelic party with DJ, colourful paintings and light show. To convince participants they had been given a hallucinogenic, there were ten whitecoated staff, a security guard and several actors who behaved as though they had taken a psychedelic substance.

When asked near the end of the study, 61 per cent of the volunteers reported some effect of the drug, ranging from mild changes to symptoms resembling taking a moderate or high dose of an actual drug. Several of the volunteers said they saw paintings on the walls ‘move’ or ‘reshape’ themselves. Others described themselves as feeling ‘ heavy... as if gravity [had] a stronger hold’, and one described having a ‘come down’ before another ‘wave’ hit her. Several were certain that they had taken a psychedelic drug.

Samuel Veissiere, a cognitive anthropologist who teaches at McGill’s Department of Psychiatry and supervised the study, said: ‘These results may help explain “contact highs” in which people experience the effects of a drug simply by being around others who have consumed it. More generally, our study helps shed light on the “placebo boosting” component inherent in all medical and therapeutic intervention, and the social influences that modulate these enhancing effects.’

Psychedelic therapy is now seriously being used to treat depression.
If I was going to buy stocks, I would definitely invest in it.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/10/psychedelic-drug-boom-in-mental-health-treatment-nears-reality-.html

A psychedelic drug boom in mental health treatment comes closer to reality
PUBLISHED MON, MAY 10 20217:30 AM EDTUPDATED FRI, MAY 14 20219:59 AM EDT
Eric Rosenbaum
@ERPROSE

KEY POINTS
New results from a clinical trial using MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder showed the promise of a stigmatized drug to treat mental illness at a time when Covid-19 has raised global awareness of the toll of mental health conditions.
Companies like Compass Pathways, which uses psilocybin for depression, and Atai Life Sciences, backed by Peter Thiel, are researching a variety of ways to treat mental health with alternative and psychedelic therapies.
Decriminalization and legalization of drugs like “magic” mushrooms in places including Denver and Oregon may lead to broader public acceptance, but the emerging alternative drug industry is focused on patients most in need and where current psychiatric medications have failed.

The best way that I understand the way it works is, like a snow globe. . .
You shake it all up and then the brain somehow resets itself.
Like electroshock therapy but not so invasive.

I've read about trials of psilocybin combined with psychotherapy to treat depression. In America there's also a derivative of ketamine that's used but it's not licensed in Britain. I've not seen any good evidence for the effectiveness of drugs like Prozac but loads of money gets spent on them.