Over the years, psychologists and civilians have been interested in psychedelic substances. While many people use psychedelics as just a fun, one time experience, there has been research conducted that has shown they have therapeutic value. I have been very interested in these findings and think that psychedelics could help many people.

Psychedelics like magic mushrooms and LSD have been used since the 1930’s when the CIA used LSD to perform experiments on people to see how it affects people; however, according to History.com, they gained popularity amongst every-day people in the 1960’s.

According to Cristina Magalhaes, an associate professor of clinical psychology at Alliant International University in Los Angeles, “Combined with talk therapy, some psychedelic drugs like MDMA or ecstacy, psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) and ayahuasca may improve symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.” 

Since the popularization of psychedelics in the 60’s, people have heavily stigmatized the use of psychedelics and a “hippie drug” or as something lazy people do. The stigma around psychedelics has prevented these advancements to be taken seriously. 

Since people have discovered the medical benefits of psychedelics, there has been an increased interest in the field of psychedelic medicine. One of the jobs within the field is being a trip guide. Being a trip guide means you administer the psychedelics and guide the trip that the patient is experiencing to make sure that it is safe and is staying on track.

Ayelet Waldman, out of Connecticut, got diagnosed with a mood disorder and was experiencing extreme depression and suicidal thoughts. She started microdosing with LSD every three days and she said she is now more cheerful, productive and efficient. Her suicidal thoughts have completely disappeared. 

Doctor Bossiss From Johns Hopkins University published his findings that a one time dose of psilocybin can treat anxiety and depression in cancer patients. This new finding has helped several people. 

The FDA has allowed some trial runs of illegal psychedelics such as magic mushrooms. The trials have been done in safe controlled settings. The results have been very promising. 

These medical advancements have caused questions as to whether or not we should legalize psychedelics. So far, Denver is the only place in America to decriminalize magic mushrooms, but hopefully we will see legalization happening across the United States soon. I would highly encourage people to vote to legalize psychedelics since the medical side of them is so promising.