Hannah Garrett

English 3

May 10, 2017

Ms. Calfee

Hallucinogens Research Paper

All hallucinogens are bad. At least thats what your mom will tell you as a little kid. Are

they all bad though? This drug is currently illegal in America, but with studies done around the

world it has shown positive potential in the medical field. Hallucinogens may be known for their

negative effects, but with a controlled amount of the substance it could 1have profitable effect in

the world.

You may be wondering what hallucinogens even are. Hallucinogens are a type of drug

that alter your sense of reality. These drugs were first used in many religions. They would use

these drugs for worshiping ceremonies and to help heal themselves. They believed that these

drugs brought them spiritual visions (Haglage). Hallucinogens, like many drugs, are categorized

based on the effects they have on users. The main groups hallucinogens have are the following:

dissociative, deliriant, and psychedelics (Blackwell and Manar). A dissociative make you believe

that you are out of your own skin known as an out of body experience. Psychedelics on the other

hand cause visions where you think you see things that arent there. Lastly, a deliriant make you

have major confusion in which you start talking to people who arent even there.

Hallucinogens do make you feel better, but some people that take this drug can have bad

trips. Bad trips usually include behaviors like a schizophrenics and moods like fear and

paranoia (Anon.). Another negative affect that comes with taking this drug is that you never
know what ingredients have been used to make the drug (Anon). The only way to know what is

in it is if a pharmacist distributes it which is rare since they drug is illegal (Anon). This can lead

to serious medical conditions and the possibility of death if you take some without knowing what

is in it. Also, using hallucinogens according to Weekly Reader, can lead to addiction. With

addiction leads to long term usage which can cause users to have flashbacks that last a few

seconds to minutes (Monroe).

Although there are negative effects, hallucinogens do have positive effects that we know

of. With research done around the world, hallucinogens have been shown to have more positive

than negative effects when used in the medical field. In an analysis of using a type of

hallucinogen for medical conditions like anxiety and PTSD, it showed that there is potential for

this drug in the medical field (Haglage). This is shown when Haglage stated, In 2014, Swiss

researchers studied the therapeutic benefits of LSD-assisted therapy in reducing anxiety in 12

patients who had been diagnoses with life-threatening illnesses. One year later, nearly all of the

12 patients showed sustained reductions in anxiety with no adverse reactions. Haglage also

shows another case of this when she said, In another study, 12 participants diagnosed with late-

stage cancer--and corresponding anxiety--were put in a randomized trial in which half received

psilocybin-assisted therapy (the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms") and half received a

placebo. Those that were given psilocybin showed a "significant reduction" in anxiety as well as

an improved mood. Nearly all reported zero negative side effects. This is just proof that these

drugs can help in the medical field with little to none side effects that can harm the patient.

Not only does this drug help with medical break throughs, in a personal account from a

rape victim named Lisa she writes about how the drug helped her get rid of her fear she had since
she was raped in her younger years. Lisa took MDMA and ever since she has had stopped fearing

that she will get hurt. Lisa also used to have very bad dreams and since then shes only had one

dream since. In this dream she fought her rapist and woke up before she hurt him. Even though

Lisa knew this was illegal she did it anyway because she had a chance to feel better. With this

primary source from the account of Lisa, we know that there is a chance that rape survivors can

possibly stop living in fear and have a great life with the help of this drug.

If these miracle drugs would at least have more in-depth research they could be used for

more beneficial mental and physical health breakthroughs. If the drugs are made and distributed

in a controlled environment and monitored very closely this could be a huge breakthrough for

doctors and patients everywhere. With this happening the government could tax the drugs to

patients who take it and make money off of this drug. The government could additionally be in

charge of what ingredients go into this drug so there are very limited chances of side effects that

could harm the user. Also the patients that get prescribed this drug should be given a very

limited amount and are only aloud to refill it after a certain period of time. Along with that the

patients that get prescribed anything should first be check out to make sure they dont have a

history with drug abuse. Although there are many steps to try and make sure this drug safe for

the public, this could be the future of medicine everywhere.

Even though these drugs do have negative side effects, so does every medication youve

ever taken. The fact that the positive effects can outweigh the negative effects shows that its

worth a try at least. There have been way to many studies that have shown beneficial effects to

just ignore the fact that this could help out everywhere in the world with medical diseases like

PTSD. This is a very important topic to talk about because this could help millions of people, but
everyone chooses to ignore it because ever since theyve grown up theyve heard it was bad and

will ruin their lives forever. The fact that weve grown accustom to these beliefs is malarkey and

we shouldnt always believe what weve been told.

 Citation

"Hallucinogens." World of Health. Gale, 2007. Student Resources in Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.

"Hallucinogen." UXL Encyclopedia of Science. Ed. Amy Hackney Blackwell and Elizabeth

Manar. 3rd ed. Farmington Hills, MI: UXL, 2015. Student Resources in Context. Web. 14

Apr. 2016.

Lisa. "Ecstasy Helps Heal the Trauma of Rape." Rpt. from "MDMA (at a Rave) Helps Heal

Trauma from Sexual Assault." 2000. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Apr.

2016.

"Mental Health's New (Old) Secret Weapon: Psychedelics." Daily Beast 8 Sept. 2015. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.

"Targeting the Truth About Hallucinogens." Current Health 2, a Weekly Reader publication Apr.

2000: 32. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.