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I was in the MAPS MDMA for PTSD study

psymposia.com

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Re: I was in the MAPS MDMA for PTSD study

#21

Post by cnp »

Every time articles like this appear on Hacker News it fills me with joy. I have personally watched a much older person heal extensive personal trauma with just one MDMA session, and to this day I regard it as a miracle that seemed impossible prior to the treatment.

MAPS is just entering into their Stage III research process after being granted a "breakthrough therapy" by the FDA (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-designates-mdma-as-breakthr...) and need all the funds they can muster. The tech community can really step up here. If you have it in you, donate what you can: https://store.maps.org/np/clients/maps/donation.jsp?campaign...

Re: I was in the MAPS MDMA for PTSD study

#22

Post by wu-ikkyu »

corporateslave3 wrote: post #16
TheAdamAndChe wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On one hand, I understand that psychedelics should be more studied than they currently are. On the other hand, I understand why they were originally banned. In a country that valued a monoculture and having a single way of life, psychedelics spurred a complete revolution with regards to social and cultural norms. It was seen as destabilizing, and a threat to the American way of life. Nowadays, our country is very dif…

Was the threat to the traditional American way of life really the reason they were made illegal? It seems more likely that it was due to the unknown and possibly dangerous nature of the drugs. As a society we have always outlawed drugs that can drastically alter perception (aside from alcohol).

>It seems more likely that it was due to the unknown and possibly dangerous nature of the drugs.

The benign physical effects of plants like cannabis were well established by the government's own studies. The science was purposefully ignored because it did not align with the political goals of the Nixon administration.

Re: I was in the MAPS MDMA for PTSD study

#23

Post by vongomben »

coretx wrote: post #10
twalla wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably around the same time the alcohol, pharma, and private prison industries stop throwing money at lobbyists if I had to guess.

Revolutions happen when people cease to give a fuck. Stop being afraid for those who govern you and stop blaming the powers who govern. Constructive alternatives exist. There is brain-interfacing equipment at my desk worth 1000 USD tops. I buy MDMA, shrooms and similair substances for a couple of EUR per Gram and don't fear the possible consequences. What I desire though, is people who responsibly join me on my ventu…

Can you expand a little more the brain interfacing device part?

Re: I was in the MAPS MDMA for PTSD study

#24

Post by metalliqaz »

tome wrote: post #8
WhitneyLand wrote: post #5

For decades, there has been a near complete effective block on medical research for certain classes of drugs. Timothy Leary and that kind of 60’s stuff chilled legitimate science. Only recently have small changes started to happen, to the point the government, the flipping FDA, has started to think Ectasy (MDMA) might be a viable treatment for some of our most horrible mental illnesses. So many people wonder when sci…

> For decades, there has been a near complete effective block on medical research for certain classes of drugs. In the US. One wonders why such a study wasn't carried out in a less puritan country.

It's because the real reason that testing these drugs is illegal isn't USA puritan values/laws. It's because they aren't patented.

The synthetic opioids that drug companies are dumping on the population these days are many times more dangerous, but they make a profit for big companies, so they are legal.

Powerful drug companies influence research worldwide. They want no competition from drugs that would be generic from day one.

edit: missing words

Re: I was in the MAPS MDMA for PTSD study

#25

Post by [deleted] »

striking wrote: post #13
ArchReaper wrote: post #4

It's a shame that it took so long before we started to truly study the positive uses/effects of drugs like MDMA and Psilocybin. I wonder how long it will take society to really drop the "DARE/DRUGS ARE BAD" mentality and start having more rational discussions about this stuff.

IIRC, DARE had a slight opposite effect in communities where it was pushed hardest.

[deleted]

Re: I was in the MAPS MDMA for PTSD study

#26

Post by pizza »

tome wrote: post #8
WhitneyLand wrote: post #5

For decades, there has been a near complete effective block on medical research for certain classes of drugs. Timothy Leary and that kind of 60’s stuff chilled legitimate science. Only recently have small changes started to happen, to the point the government, the flipping FDA, has started to think Ectasy (MDMA) might be a viable treatment for some of our most horrible mental illnesses. So many people wonder when sci…

> For decades, there has been a near complete effective block on medical research for certain classes of drugs. In the US. One wonders why such a study wasn't carried out in a less puritan country.

iirc the united nations ratified american drug laws in the 60s/70s

Re: I was in the MAPS MDMA for PTSD study

#27

Post by mistermann »

cnp wrote: post #20
TheAdamAndChe wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a world power and leader of most democratic nations(at the time), sentiments and legislation started in America generally spread to most other nations under its influence.

This is quickly changing.

China doesn't seem too keen on drugs either.

Re: I was in the MAPS MDMA for PTSD study

#28

Post by [deleted] »

coretx wrote: post #10
twalla wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably around the same time the alcohol, pharma, and private prison industries stop throwing money at lobbyists if I had to guess.

Revolutions happen when people cease to give a fuck. Stop being afraid for those who govern you and stop blaming the powers who govern. Constructive alternatives exist. There is brain-interfacing equipment at my desk worth 1000 USD tops. I buy MDMA, shrooms and similair substances for a couple of EUR per Gram and don't fear the possible consequences. What I desire though, is people who responsibly join me on my ventu…

[deleted]

Re: I was in the MAPS MDMA for PTSD study

#29

Post by metalliqaz »

wavefunction wrote: post #9
WhitneyLand wrote: post #5

For decades, there has been a near complete effective block on medical research for certain classes of drugs. Timothy Leary and that kind of 60’s stuff chilled legitimate science. Only recently have small changes started to happen, to the point the government, the flipping FDA, has started to think Ectasy (MDMA) might be a viable treatment for some of our most horrible mental illnesses. So many people wonder when sci…

The sad thing is that the repressed authoritarians who want to control everyone and prohibit drug use would likely benefit greatly from some recreational psychotropic experiences under the right conditions. And society would be better off as well for their experience. Or maybe they're wound too tightly, I could be wildly optimistic.

You're confusing the public-facing values authoritarians claim to have vs what they actually believe.

They use things like religion, scapegoats, and wars (on drugs, terrorism, communism, etc) to whip up support. But it's just a tool. Absolute power for themselves is all they believe in. Many of them are drug users, I'm sure.

Re: I was in the MAPS MDMA for PTSD study

#30

Post by moretai »

I feel like there has to be a good amount of people in the world who take psychedelics on a regular basis. At least more so than your average person. I'd imagine they are still broken, shattered, and lost individuals. Maybe some people have accessed some secret knowledge on their trips. But for the vast majority, I doubt that's the case.

I am not saying that there is no benefit, especially for an extreme case like this. That relief these people get, a chance to exist without the confusion and pain, and just feel like love.

But the high you get is a distraction from the pain you are feeling. It's not the taking of MDMA or Psilocybin that fixes the issues. It's the integration. It's the "lessons" you learn from your experience.

But are you learning, or are you just finally looking at what you didn't want to all these years? Do you need to take psychedelics to look?

I think we should keep researching, because we should see what is at the end of this tunnel.

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