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BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY
Psychedelics: Voodoo or Science? Warren Zhu
What images pop out when you hear L SD, DMT and Magic Mushrooms?
Hippies running around naked with flowers around their neck ? Or freshmen parties streaming with vomit and chants? Ye s , y e s , y e s . T h e r e c k l e s s u s e o f psychedelic drugs is almost invariably tied to the Hippie movement star ting from the 60s, and most have been criminalised since then. Most would silently walk away from the hippies chanting love and peace and sex ; it all seems pretty voodoo and nonsensical. But what if I tell you that psychedelics have been shown to do the following:
1 . Relieve
death anxiety from cancer patients (80% of cancer patients demonstrated clinically significant reductions in anxiety)
2 . Suppress depression 3 . Alleviate alcohol/tobacco
addiction (80% after 6 months, 67% after 1 year for tobacco)
4 . Improve OCD symptoms 5 . Increase the personality
trait of Openness to Experience, which correlates with creativity and empathy
Why do these drugs under the ‘Psychedelics’ umbrella have such a huge effect ? Is it just bad science or is there really something behind these infamous Hippie drugs?
