> If you mean Hallucinogens, they have been studied extensively and don't seem to be medically useful.

That's not true at all. "Hallucinogens" is a group of drugs so wide that it already includes many drugs already used in conventional medicine. Just go through the many drugs on this list[1] of hallucinogens, you'll quickly find references to potential medical benefits.

Just "potential benefits" though, since there hasn't been nearly enough research done on most of them yet. A lot of them haven't been scientifically studied at all, the basic work Shulgin did is the only things we know about them.

The most common hallucinogens (mushrooms, LSD, MDMA) were considered as very promising by many in the field until research of the potential benefits of them essentially was banned for decades due to the drug war, but that has begun to change now. [2][3][4]

Recent research indicate that certain hallucinogens may be very useful in treating a variety of medical issues - like depression, anxiety, alcoholism, cluster headaches, PTSD, etc etc. [5][6]

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Hallucinogens

[2] https://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/11/psychedelics.aspx

[3] http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/articles/research-psychedeli...

[4] http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/science/brain/high...

[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybin#Medical_research

[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lsd#Therapies

There have been ongoing studies as recently as 2010. The issue is Hallucinations are considered a significant side effect, so you need a vary large benefit to over come it or a low enough dose people don't notice.

PS: You just linked several recent studies which hardly supports the 'completely suppressed' due to drug war argument.

A: Hallucinations are not always that common. You can have intense experiences without actual visual hallucinations.

B: While they made me a side effect, it seems the benefits come from having experiences, not as ongoing medication like SSRIs. That is, people can have a deep experience, possibly have audio and/or visual hallucinations, then recover for a day and have a significantly different outlook on life.

B: That's not quite true, there is ex some LSD research around pain management where people where far from having hallucinations.

Guys and Gals, I'm pretty sure this person typing above is a BOT.

I should have clarified, and have done so now, that I meant that research was stopped for a long time. Since the early '00s research has finally begun again:

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/11/psychedelics.aspx

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/science/brain/high...

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/articles/research-psychedeli...

> The issue is Hallucinations are considered a significant side effect, so you need a vary large benefit to over come it or a low enough dose people don't notice.

Considered by whom? The "cost"/benefit balance is entirely a matter of opinion, and in my opinion the choice should be left to the sufficiently educated patient. If there are compelling reasons why the patient shouldn't be making that choice, I'd be interested to learn them.

You are so ill-informed. Read the book "DMT", from one if the top psychedelic researchers, who states that not only are psychedelics understudied, that much of the research that's been done in the past is not easily accessible. He calls it one of the biggest losses of psychotherapy research

> If you mean Hallucinogens, they have been studied extensively and don't seem to be that medically useful.

LSD and Mushrooms can be an effective treatment for cluster headaches (a debilitating disease which is said to be "The most painful medical condition known to science").

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_headache

Interestingly, the effect lasts for weeks after the dose is taken (and the hallucinatory effects have worn off).

This is of interest to me because my wife is disabled by chronic refractory migraine, a close relation to cluster headaches.

Stories like this

http://news.sciencemag.org/brain-behavior/2011/06/lsd-allevi...

make me deeply regret the current political/conceptual barriers to research on psychotropic compounds. I think we're missing opportunities to help quite a lot of people.

Sorry to hear that. AFAIK it's legal in most places to buy spores and grow your own, and dosage is relatively easy to control. Maybe time for a mycoculture project?

It's legal in the US (in all but three states I believe), because the spores do not contain psylocin/psylocybin. Once you start to grow them though, you could be charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Don't let that stop you though GP! It's a fun project and very satisfying to see your mushrooms finally sprouting up after a month or two of work. The risk of getting caught is low, and even if you somehow did, it would probably still be worth the penalty if they have a positive effect on your wife's headaches!

> If you mean Hallucinogens, they have been studied extensively and don't seem to be medically useful.

Eh? Studied extensively? Last time I checked they're all schedule I and haven't really been studied since the 70s. On top of that, in the few recent studies that have focused on them, hallucinogens do seem to be medically useful. MDMA for PTSD, psilocybin for terminally ill patients, etc.

MDMA's most infamous use that I am aware of, and which you didn't mention, is for the temporary but complete relief of the symptoms of Parkinsons. In addition I'm sure it would also be ideal for fostering empathy and discussion to come to terms with the imminent loss of terminally ill loved ones. I believe the Swiss have looked in to it for marriage counseling.

It also depends on your definition of "medically useful".

Psilocybin is certainly good for what ails me...

I'm very interested in what it would be.

Psilocybin is the most effective treatment for cluster headaches, and is known to be effective at treating depression as well. LSD has been shown to have significant potential for curing alcoholism.

See this study from Johns Hopkins:

http://www.heffter.org/research-jhus.htm

takeaway: Psilocybin may have a long-term anxiolytic effect.