Running head: SHOULD PSYCHEDELICS BE LEGALIZED?

Should Psychedelics Be Legalized?

Lazlo Montanaro

Arizona State University: ENG 102

April 17, 2020

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In the modern era medical practices are far superior then even just a hundred years ago.

Various fields of medicine have advanced far quicker than imagined. In the past people used to

be locked up for their mental illness, and they were perceived as insane, or even possessed by

demonic forces. Today the treatment of those people is a lot different, many people devote

themselves to trying to treat these people, but sometimes methods and medication don’t exactly

help these people overcome their mental illness or trauma. A fairly new method called

Psychedelic assisted Psycho-Therapy has recently been in discussion for the treatment of those

that suffer from PTSD, depression, and other mental illnesses. Although the dosage is different

for the problems the person is facing, it is seen that the use of MDMA, also known as ecstasy,

and psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms, and other psychedelics have been beneficial

for those receiving the treatment. For over thousands of years psychedelics have been used by

humans, whether it be for religious or medical practices the use of psychedelics isn’t new in

human history. But the use of psychedelics is somewhat new in Western Medicine, and the

illegalization has stunted its growth. The legalization of psychedelics is much more beneficial

than them being illegal. There are three main reasons why psychedelics should be legalized, their

therapeutic effects, something known as “ego death”, and that psychedelics are no different than

praying or meditating.

Although the potential for psychedelics is high, there are also some dangers to their use.

Though they aren’t addictive one risk people run when undergoing a psychedelic trip is

something called a bad trip. As German Lopez says in his article “A bad psychedelic experience

can result in psychotic episodes, a lost sense of reality, and even long-term psychological

trauma” (Lopez, 2016 para. 19) which only occurs in rare situations. A bad trip can leave

someone psychologically scarred, and maybe even physically. Accidents are another possible
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danger to the legalization of psychedelics. Lopez cites Mark Kleimen, a drug policy expert at

New York University, saying that the risk people run when taking psychedelics is the chance

they will do something reckless that could harm themselves. It’s even said that people will take

LSD and run into traffic or believe they can fly and jump off a building. People will take a large

dose of LSD and potentially do something life threatening or risk getting injured. Accidents and

bad trips have been real dangers to the use of psychedelics, it isn’t just a tale to shy people away

from taking too large of doses, it’s true and it’s scary. But that shouldn’t stop the legalization of

psychedelics. They have many benefits that far outweigh the potential dangers of them and with

proper safeguards people could one day safely use psychedelics in their own home without

fearing legal, mental, and physical consequences.

Firstly, the therapeutic effects of psychedelics are unbelievable. In modern America, we

have many veterans, and a large majority of those veterans have seen some combat overseas.

One of the main problems in therapy is trying to help those veterans that suffer from PTSD.

PTSD is the acronym for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, which is caused by a seriously

traumatizing event. And PTSD can be different in every person, which is why it is so hard to

treat it. Just like marijuana, psychedelics are being considered as a treatment to PTSD. Rick

Doblin is one of the leading researchers in the field of psychedelics, and in his ted talk he gave in

April of 2019 he discusses his results of a study they ran with people that suffer from PTSD. In

the trial, the test subjects were given MDMA, and went through several therapy sessions. At the

end of testing they found that, when using MDMA in therapy, 53% of the patients no longer had

PTSD. And a year after their treatment, in a follow-up, Doblin says that “two-thirds no longer

have PTSD” (Doblin, 2019 12:16). It is remarkable how MDMA, once seen as a street drug, can

be so beneficial to people that suffer from PTSD. In an article written by H. Bush he cited a
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government ran study. In the study participants were shown to have suffered from PTSD “for an

average of more than 17.8 years” and after only three sessions of psychedelic assisted psycho-

therapy over “60% of participants no longer had PTSD” (Bush, 2020 para. 9). Just like in the

study ran by Rick Doblin and his peers, this study also had a 12-month follow-up. And in that

12-month follow-up it was shown that 68% no longer had PTSD. These are just two studies out

of the many that provide scientific evidence to the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics.

Secondly, “ego-death”. Ego-death sounds way more scary and threatening than it actually

is. In reality ego-death is quite beneficial. As said by G. Lopez in his article ego death is an

experience in which “people lose their sense of self-identity” and they are able to detach

themselves from their worldly concerns, such as a fear of the unknown or an anxiety about a life

event, and even addiction. Temporarily these people are able to conquer what is troubling them

mentally, and hopefully feel more at ease with themselves and the world. Psychedelics can offer

a feeling of transcendence, and allow the users to see a much broader universe then just

themselves and their own problems. In a scientific study ran by Matthew M. Nour, Lisa Evans,

David Nutt and Robin L. Carhart-Harris the authors described ego death as a “disruption of ego-

boundaries, which results in a blurring of the distinction between self-representation and object-

representation” (Nour, Evans, Nutt, Carhart- Harris, 2016 para. 2) The loss of ones ego or

identity can result in someone feeling more unified with their surroundings, a main reason why

psychedelics are so beneficial in therapy. Allowing someone to overcome their self-identity and

feel comfortable in their surroundings is one of the main objectives in therapy. To be able to

bring someone to a point where there problems don’t feel as heavy as they normally do. Their

mental roadblocks are destroyed and then they can freely express themselves eventually

overcoming their trauma.

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Lastly, psychedelics aren’t any different than religious practices such as praying or

meditating. In fact it is known in human history that some ancient civilizations used psychedelics

in their religious practices. It is hard to imagine how psychedelics, a mind altering substance, can

be equivalent to praying in a church or meditating in a temple. It’s simple though, people use

these religious practices to bring about an altered state of mind. Which can also be acquired

through psychedelics. In an informative article written by P. J. Sawvel he explains how in

Central and Southern America Native Americans in fact used hallucinogenic mushrooms in

religious ceremonies. The Aztecs would call these mushrooms “teonanacatl” which roughly

translated into English means “flesh of god” (Sawvel, 2003 para. 1). They believed eating the

hallucinogenic mushrooms would allow them to connect with their gods. Which is very similar

to what followers of Christianity believe. That praying and fasting is a way to connect with God,

and provide spiritual guidance and through praying or fasting they are able to reach an altered

state of consciousness. To reach this state, it would take a large amount of time and dedication.

But as James Carney says “psychedelic drug use can be explained in evolutionary terms as a

“hack” that enables transcendent states to be reached quickly.” (Carney, 2016 para. 12) It is

human nature to want to feel that there is a higher power above us all, and whether it is true or

not psychedelics can provide the same feeling in several hours to what decades of religious

dedication can provide. One isn’t necessarily better than the other, they can both provide a

feeling a sanctity while being practiced, but psychedelics shouldn’t be illegal because people use

them recreationally. Psychedelics drug use, in principal, is no different than the religious

practices that millions of people do today to gain spiritual transcendence.

When most people hear someone talking about LSD, ecstasy, mushrooms, or other

psychedelics they immediately think about how they are illegal and dangerous to our bodies and
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mind without even knowing the history or facts about psychedelics. Contrary to what many

believe psychedelics are very beneficial. Not only do they have an astonishing amount of

therapeutic benefits, ego-death is very beneficial even to those that don’t suffer from a mental

illness. Psychedelic use has been practiced throughout human history and has been used and is

still being used in various religious ceremonies around the world. Just because we ourselves are

new to the use of psychedelics and we don’t fully understand it doesn’t mean it is bad. As time

moves on more and more research is done on psychedelics and the future looks bright. Hopefully

someday with proper safeguards and education, people will be able to use psychedelics on their

own time for their own benefits.

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References
Bush, H. (2020). Psychedelic therapy: Fresh promise for mental health. Mental Health Weekly,

30(4), 5–6. Retrieved April 17, 2020 from https://doi-

org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/10.1002/mhw.32207

Carney, J. (2016, June 11). The case for legalizing psychedelic drugs. Retrieved April 17, 2020,

from https://www.businessinsider.com/why-psychedelic-drugs-should-be-legalized-2016-6

Doblin, R. (2019, April). The Future of Psychedelic-assisted Psycho-therapy Retrieved April 17,

2020, from https://www.ted.com/talks/rick_doblin_the_future_of_psychedelic_assisted_

psychotherapy/transcript.

Lopez. (2016, January 7). The most convincing argument for legalizing LSD, shrooms, and other

psychedelics. Retrieved April 17, 2020, from https://www.vox.com/2015/7/24/9027363/acid-lsd-

psychedelic-drugs.

Nour, Matthew M., E., Lisa, Nutt, & L., R. (2016, May 20). Ego-Dissolution and Psychedelics:

Validation of the Ego-Dissolution Inventory (EDI). Retrieved April 17, 2020, from

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00269/full

Sawvel, P. J. (2003). Psilocybin. In S. L. Blachford & K. Krapp (Eds.), Drugs and Controlled

Substances: Information for Students (pp. 400-409). Detroit, MI: Gale. Retrieved from

https://link-gale-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/apps/doc/CX3402000186/GVRL?u=

asuniv&sid=GVRL&xid=d8678891.