Jul. 11, 2006 - 19:45 MDT

OLD HAUNTS

Sometimes I do wonder, just what our society is up to and the reasons therefore. I also wonder why some things were condemned out of hand when their use was demonstrated as being of value.

An article by Malcom Ritter of the Associated Press discusses such things. Quoted here in full:

HALLUCINOGEN STUDY SEEN AS LANDMARK

From mushrooms, psilocybin changed lives, subjects say

NEW YORK -- "People who took an illegal drug made from mushrooms reported profound mystical experiences that led to behavior changes lasting for weeks -- all part of an experiment that recalls the psychedelic '80s"

"Many of the 36 volunteers rated their reaction to a single dose of the drug, called psilocybin, as one of the most meaningful or spiritually significant experiences of their lives. Some compared it to the birth of a child or the death of a parent."

"Such comments" just seemed unbelievable," said Roland Griffiths of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, the study's lead author. "But don't try this at home," he warned."

"Almost a third of the research paricipants found the drug experience frightening even in the very controlled setting. That suggests people experimenting with the illicit drug on their own could be harmed," Griffith said."

"Viewed by some as a landmark, the study is one of the few rigorous looks in the past 40 years at a hallucinogen's effects."

"The researchers suggest the drug someday may help drug addicts kick their habit or aid terminally ill patients struggling with anxiety and depression."

"It may also provide a way to study what happens in the brain during intense spiritual experiences, the scientists said."

Funded in part by the federal government, the research was published online today by the journal "Psychopharmacology".

"Psilocybin has been used for centuries in religious practices, and its ability to produce a mystical experience is no surprise. But the new work demonstrates it more clearly than before," Griffiths said."

"Even two months after taking the drug, pronounced SILL-oh-SY-bin, most of the volunteers said the experience had changed them in beneficial ways, such as making them more compassionate, loving, optimistic and patient."

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Not paranoid, but just wondering what led the federal government into partial funding of that research ? What new thing is on the grill ? Damnable news articles tell more than can be seen and heard on TV, but still don't tell enough.

Johns Hopkins is a very respected organization, there must be something of worth to be found out by this research. I guess one can get an idea from the things suggested that might be helped by the use of psilocybin -- such as helping drug addicts kick their habit, aid terminally ill patients struggling with anxiety and depression. Also mentioned is, "It may also provide a way to study what happens in the brain during intense spiritual experiences."

Worth looking into, it seems to me, is why almost a third of the test subjects reported the drug experience frightening. Yet others found the experience uplifting and profound. Could the ones who were frightened have some psychological problem to begin with ? Worth looking into what makes the difference ?

Remarkable how in recent years "old grandma's remedies" and witch doctor's potions are now being touted as something of value to society, and how some things we have been accustomed to using are being shot down as harmful.

Possibly in effort to find something of value, run some of the old stuff through tests and see what flops up. Scientists seem to be returning to the OLD HAUNTS . . . . . . . . . .

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