Science

Why the FDA is high on a marijuana drug

“It’s a watershed event to get FDA approval,” says Sasha Kaplun, vice president for corporate development at Auxly Cannabis Group Inc., an investment partnership in Toronto. Approval should help alleviate skepticism among some physicians about the plant’s medical uses, Kaplun says. At the company’s headquarters in London’s Mayfair district, a preferred locale for hedge funds, the…

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Could psychedelics transform mental health?

*British Museum Queen Elizabeth II Great Court ​ “[Psychedelics] have a revolutionary potential, and that’s not an exaggeration,” says Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, who will lead the study. Now UK researchers are about to take part in the first major trials into whether one of these hallucinogenic drugs could be more effective than a leading antidepressant…

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Can magic mushrooms treat cocaine dependency?

Scientists at the University of Alabama–Birmingham’s (UAB) School of Public Health are now conducting a clinical trial to see whether psilocybin can help break cocaine addiction. “Our goal is to create a tool or drug that provides significantly better outcomes for individuals addicted to cocaine than those that currently exist,” said Sara Lappan, Ph.D., a…

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Drug researchers find brain effects of MDMA have been misread all along

The paper, published May 7, 2018 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, shows evidence that harmful long-term effects of MDMA are probably caused by very high doses that most people don’t actually take. -Study’s authors were led by Balázs Szigeti, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Edinburgh, In the Global Drug Survey, which includes recreational ecstasy use data…

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Psychedelic drugs change brain cells in ways that could help fight depression, addiction and more

The study, led by UC Davis chemist David E. Olson, was published Tuesday, June 12th, in the journal Cell Reports. The discovery of this neurite-promoting property could shed light on why these chemically distinct drugs all appear helpful in treating depression, anxiety, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, Olson said. In test tubes as well as…

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Fears and evidence clash in the battle over kratom

“Since kratom can be grown in your backyard, pharmaceutical companies can’t monopolize it — unless the government outlaws it.” HERE “They (the FDA) kind of cast aside some of the scientific literature that actually models or observed it in actual receptors,” he says. According to Grundmann, that research shows that although kratom binds to opioid…

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Inaugural kratom leadership summit showcases collaboration between scientists, advocates, community

More than 50 leading kratom vendors and advocacy groups gathered to discuss the future of kratom in America at the first Kratom Leadership Summit on Monday, April 30, 2018. Henningfield told attendees that the FDA and those fighting to ban kratom are misguided in their understanding of the plant’s effects and its purported opioid-like qualities.…

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The prohibition of psychedelics… [hinders] the evolution of humanity

At the outset of the study, 27 professionals from various fields were given three tests which objectively measure creativity … Several days later they took the tests again. Except this time they were under the influence of 200mgs of mescaline. Their scores improved dramatically … Creativity drives societal and technological progress. Psychedelics markedly increase creativity.…

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Psychedelic drugs appear to fundamentally reorganize the brain — and they’re starting to turn into approved treatments

*images not intended for use as an identification guide Like a May shower, the studies on psychedelic drugs’ potential therapeutic benefits came — first as a sprinkle, then a steady downpour. …that spate of published research on psychedelics now seems to be leading to the development some promising potential treatments … [In 2017] researchers studying…

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