Live data from Hacker News

Magic mushrooms found to lift severe depression in clinical trial

theguardian.com

51–60 of 173 posts

Re: Magic mushrooms found to lift severe depression in clinical trial

#51
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right, I don't react better at all. They should stick with saying "THC and related compounds" instead. Its basically the same argument I have for the thorium folks, do not use "reactor" or "nuclear" in any naming or marketing.

I think the word you're looking for is cannabinoids. You don't call opiates "morphine and related compounds".

True, but morphine and opiates in a known bad along with cannabinoids not sounding much better. Acronyms and "compounds" don't set off the hate generally.

Re: Magic mushrooms found to lift severe depression in clinical trial

#53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know there's been an effort to use the word "Cannabis" as a way to sound legitimate, instead of pot/weed/marijuana. Do you react better to 'cannabis'?

You're right, I don't react better at all. They should stick with saying "THC and related compounds" instead. Its basically the same argument I have for the thorium folks, do not use "reactor" or "nuclear" in any naming or marketing.

The word "nuclear" was dropped from MRI (nee NMRI) to improve its influence. And, surprisingly, I was even able to find significant documentation of this fact [1], I was honestly expecting it to be folklore at best. Though my own research [2] kind of contradicts the idea that 'nuclear' was ever a popular part of the name. Or maybe it was [3], I dunno.

[1] http://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?ar... [2] https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=NMRI%2CMRI%2C+... [3] https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=nuclear+magnet...

Re: Magic mushrooms found to lift severe depression in clinical trial

#54
post #2

From personal experience in my youth, I can definitely say that psychedelics (mushrooms in particular) can help you think in different ways that make your problems seem trivial and imminently solvable. Those changed patterns of thought seem like a revelation at the time -- like the clouds opened and an answer came down from the sky. So I'm not at all surprised with this. That said, this study had only 12 participants…

This seems to be the important quote on the findings: “We can give psilocybin to depressed patients, they can tolerate it, and it is safe. This gives us an initial impression of the effectiveness of the treatment.”

All the legal hurdles they had to pass to make this happen are quite impressive. Hopefully they've eeked open that door a bit for further study.

Re: Magic mushrooms found to lift severe depression in clinical trial

#55
post #23

When I am finishing a mushroom experience I usually have overwhelming feelings of love and am excited to start the next day. My brain is racing with all the possibilities of life and ways I can make things better for myself. People should be coached in how to have a good mushroom experience and what to expect. Nature + fresh fruit + good music + comfy place to sleep has always been a winning combination for me.

That's interesting. I've had the opposite experience when ending my psychedelic experiences. I find that I get overly critical in my introspection and pick apart every perceived flaw, leaving me in a raw and negative mental state. Instead of leaving me feeling refreshed I am drained and dread the idea of going back to being "normal" where I become blind to those obvious flaws and complacent with living a sub-par life…

Sounds exactly like every time I smoke weed. Including that disappointing expectation of becoming sober and blissfully unaware of my flaws. Have never tried any psychedelics, but some of my bad "trips" with weed (sometimes involving delusions and hallucinations) make me wary.

Re: Magic mushrooms found to lift severe depression in clinical trial

#56
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Scientific American My wife got that for a year, and I was quite unimpressed. It's not that detailed, mostly, and there's a lot of not very rigorous editorializing, from what I recall. Also, their 'please renew' campaign was quite deceiptful, sending us some kind of "you owe $$$!!!" notice that was really "you owe $$$ if you want to resubscribe".

> Also, their 'please renew' campaign was quite deceiptful, sending us some kind of "you owe $$$!!!" notice that was really "you owe $$$ if you want to resubscribe". It amazes me how the entire magazine industry is like this. The most staid and respectable publications have circulation departments that make my local used car dealer look like a saint. It's a huge disconnect, and has always bothered me.

I remember when I was subscribing to The Economist, and they had a dark pattern in the process to trick you into paying for another publication. I strongly considered cancelling (and only didn't because I was ordering for other people as well.)

Re: Magic mushrooms found to lift severe depression in clinical trial

#57
post #47
post #34

Legalize, standardize, tax, repeat. Why is it that difficult? People will do anything to keep their grip on (perceived) power - even if it means destroying someone's life. Gov't doesn't really want jobs, or tax revenue at the expense of their jobs. What would cops do if they weren't locking up kids for a joint?

Not everything is a giant conspiracy theory. If society changed to the point where drugs didn't have such a stigma against them, then the politicians would legalize them. They excel at doing things that are popular - be it good or bad things. Case in point Canada with their goal of legalizing marijuana. It's harder to do that in the US because you have more conservative people who see drugs as morally repugnant. My p…

On the other hand, much of the stigma comes from the illegality.

Re: Magic mushrooms found to lift severe depression in clinical trial

#58
post #19
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder what could be given as placebo tho. It is not like you do not notice you are tripping.

I think in Johns Hopkins studies they were using amphetamines, and also they recruited people who were hallucinogenic-naive.

But then you'd have to do a study of amphetamines and depression. It's really tricky to come up with a sham effect in a placebo without destroying the integrity of the control group.

Re: Magic mushrooms found to lift severe depression in clinical trial

#59
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the word you're looking for is cannabinoids. You don't call opiates "morphine and related compounds".

True, but morphine and opiates in a known bad along with cannabinoids not sounding much better. Acronyms and "compounds" don't set off the hate generally.

I don't see a strong argument that "THC" is any better. Everyone knows what THC is.

Re: Magic mushrooms found to lift severe depression in clinical trial

#60
post #34

Legalize, standardize, tax, repeat. Why is it that difficult? People will do anything to keep their grip on (perceived) power - even if it means destroying someone's life. Gov't doesn't really want jobs, or tax revenue at the expense of their jobs. What would cops do if they weren't locking up kids for a joint?

[deleted]
Post reply on HN