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I thought this weeks discussion was really interesting. One thing Elliot brought up in his post above that I didn't think of was using these drugs on children. I don't think I could support that because of the obvious hallucinatory effects and the possible trauma that a child could encounter with the use of these drugs. Children who are depressed are difficult enough between the SSRIs being potential suicide-encouragers and their cognitive, emotion, and mental immaturity, that adding another factor like psychadelic drugs into the mix is just dangerous.

I am currently taking psych of trauma, and when dealing with veterans (and other trauma victims) with PTSD, their traumatic memories are almost inescapable. Thus, I think the hallucinatory effects of these drugs are similarly dangerous as in the case of small children. Also, the results of these drugs seem to be greatly dependent on the spirituality and openmindedness of the patient, and I think that with some people with PTSD, these are not going to be very prominent characteristics. Perhaps there can be some type of program designed to ease patients in to use of these drugs therapeutically (I think this was talked about briefly in class), and I'm wondering what exactly this would consist of. However, tor discussion on CBT two weeks ago really hit home to me; it's not about the drugs and it's not about the talking, it's about both simultaneously. In most psychiatry sessions, I think, the drugs and talk therapy go hand-in-hand, but with administration of these drugs, a good deal of preparation would need to take place. Is that enough? What might happen if a patient is given these drugs before he or she is ready? Drugs that induce a mind-altered state should obviously be treated with strict care, but is that enough? Are the effects worth risking for all the potential damages? More often than not, revisiting the trauma is more traumatic than the actual experience; having so little control over where the patients mind is actually roaming can have enormously dangerous consequences.

I was also very surprised that none of the prison inmates who were given the magic mushrooms wanted more after that. If it is such an overwhelming, eye-opening, spiritual experience, what about it makes people not want to revisit? Perhaps its the right about of intensity where people enjoy it but also know their limits. this seems to be a problem with alcohol consumption (also briefly mentioned in class). Because alcohol has been around for so long (and because it is much cheaper to buy), it would be near impossible to outlaw it. However, it seems to be much more dangerous than these psychadelic drugs. Questioning why the government was so set on outlawing LSD so quickly is beyond my scope of the issue. However, I would like to talk more on the topic of how government regulation of drugs is decided, what bases and what credentials are needed for a schedule one drug, etc.