The Truth About Psychedelics

Should psychedelics be legal?

You might be hearing about states and countries legalizing psychedelics. In 2020, Oregon became the first US state to decriminalize psilocybin and legalize it for therapeutic use. In 2022, Colorado followed suit. Researchers have recently been touting the benefits of psychedelics for health conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, cancer-related distress, and the list goes on. However - like cannabis - psilocybin is still illegal under US federal law.

Given that ongoing fight, you might have questions. I know I do. Are psychedelics the next weed? Is that a good thing? Are psychedelics dangerous? Do they actually have scientific benefits? How do psychedelics work? In this episode of Huge If True, we find out.

Chapters:
00:00 The big debate about psychedelics
02:16 What are psychedelics?
03:35 What do psychedelics do?
05:47 The history of psychedelics
06:46 The War on Drugs
09:09 New research on psychedelics
10:05 How do psychedelics work?
11:09 Psychedelics for PTSD and depression
12:21 Are psychedelics legal?
14:10 Why psychedelics are huge if true
15:15 What is Huge If True?

Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked.

Additional reading and watching:

Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM and 35mm prime
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX

Music: Musicbed and Tom Fox

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Welcome to the joke down low:

Q: Anyone know any jokes about sodium?
A: Na.

Use the word “na” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one who read to the end :)

[DavidAlbert-dv]

I’ve had a truly positive and amazing results with mushrooms. It was incredible!

[FrankColeman-st]

Exploring psilocybin was a profound journey for me, it was the beginning of my path towards healing after years of battling heroin addiction. I'm 3 years clean now and i must tell you, the experience was incredibly therapeutic. It felt like a gentle unraveling of the knots in my mind, lifting the heavy fog of depression and anxiety that had plagued me for so long.

[pyeghsn]

Psilocybin saved my life. I was addicted to heroin for 15 years and after Psilocybin treatment I will be 3 years clean in September. I have zero cravings. This is something that truly needs to be more broadly used in addiction treatment.

[spirit]

My parents have both done therapy sessions involving psychedelics. My dad used to be constantly angry and snapping at everyone if you don't do exactly what was said right away and mom has progressively gotten afraid of her own shadow. After the sessions, I told my dad for the first time I'm taking a break from school. I fully expected retaliation and him to make me suffer. What I got instead, was advice on how to handle my mental health and not give up on school. He's pushing me to go to therapy and my whole family to get the help we need. It isn't a miracle drug. The drug is not what made this change. However, it helped him get new incites in to what we're feeling, how he feels about everything amd everyone, and how he chooses to see the world. Mom just had her first session but she's making small strides to betterment. I feel like I lost my family a long time ago and now I feel like I'm getting them back again. It's truly a time to be alive.

[kemosambul]

I have stage 4 cancer, and I have legally used psychedelic therapy to treat my end of life anxiety. (I'm the first Canadian to legally do this) I've had some extremely good results from this treatment, and I can personally verify that it is usually effective for about 6 months for me.
Thanks for helping to get good information out that might aid others who are struggling.

[JonathanFernsby]

Psychedelic therapy is just one of those great leaps in the mental health space. It’s wonderful and the fact they serve recreational use and health as well.

[christainfitz]

Phsychedelics helped me quit illicit pills addiction, I was messed up I was depressed and a danger to myself. Good videos and help like this should be seen always.

[APOLLINAIREBARTHOLOMIEU]

Psychedelics are just an exceptional mental health breakthrough. It's quite fascinating how effective they are against depression and anxiety. Saved my life.

[BrownGeorge-pwxo]

I was severely traumatized years ago as a teenage. Got diagnosed with ADHD. Spent my whole life fighting ADHD. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my mom recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 6 years totally clean. Much respect to mother nature the great magic shrooms.

[oliviamartinez]

Psychedelic mushrooms really healed me years back.
These are great healing compounds! When used in proper context.

[adamwest]

I had been going to therapy for about 18 months to help with depressions, anxiety, anger and alcohol misuse, while only making a little progress. I took acid at a festival and then everything that I'd been trying to change just 'fell into place'. It's hard to describe but to me it felt like someone turned a key and the door I'd been pushing on for so long just flew open. Everything fell into place instantly.

[JamesE.Holmes]

Nature is magical and healing. what a beautiful experience

[holly]

I would love to see your research, writing, and filming process. You're an amazing journalist.

[sirgalahad]

I have struggled with ADD/ADHD for most of my life, and I am in my late 50's. After failed efforts of trying Ritalin and Adderall, and dealing with negative side effects of those drugs, a close friend talked me into micro-dosing LSD. In desperation, I tried it. It has completely changed my life. I am a completely different person. I kept it secret from my closest friends for almost a year, but people who had known me for years talked about how I seemed like a different person, someone who was comfortable in their own skin, relaxed, self assured, thoughtful, measured. They would always joke by saying "What ever you're taking I want some of that" and I would just smile and not tell them what had changed me lol. I fear that these types of treatment will never be legal because the corrupt pharma companies have too powerful of a lobby in Washington. Pharma companies want people to remain sick. Their worse fear would be for our population to become more healthy.

[Itsjettondon]

DONT DO PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS IF YOU ARE NOT READY!!! I don’t know how to stress this enough, if you are anxious at all before you trip it is best not to take the risk, you need to know what you are going to do while you are tripping before you begin your trip (your going to forget but it’s good to have a game plan if you get bored or start having a bad trip), and always have a trip sitter. Only take about 100 micrograms or 1 tab of acid at the most for your first time and it would probably be better if you did less. If your doing shrooms start with 1-1.5 grams. Normally if you want a true psychedelic experience on shrooms people say take 3.5 grams. DO NOT TAKE A FULL DOSE UNTIL YOU HAVE ALREADY TRIED THE PSYCHEDELIC I cannot stress this enough. You are not ready for it. Start slow follow those rules and I promise you will have a good time.

[znkxezk]

Psychedelic therapy is just one of those great leaps in the mental health space. It’s wonderful and the fact they serve recreational use and health as well. Can’t say I don’t trip once in a while.

[MarkBrown-vddr]

Psychedelic is the answer to most severe anxiety and depression. The use of magic mushrooms completely helps one get over depression and makes you feel like yourself.

[realDonaldMcElvy]

Convince the government they can tax this, they will make it legal overnight.

[jimmyb]

Your enthusiasm about all things science is contagious. Even your ad was enthusiastic and I forgot to skip thru it.

[LeCatte]

As a person who has social anxiety, I can see how this can really help! Imagine if you have an irrational fear of people because of your past experiences, which might not be significant to others but to you personally has become a point of trauma. What I would give to be able to reset my brain and clear it of the irrational fear I have of just so many things... Fears that I don't even understand fully why it happens, just that I feel its to do with how my brain decided to rewire itself due to past trauma. If you could hit the reset button on all that, imagine the years not wasted trying to rewire the brain, and instead just hit reset and start fresh! Quality of life improvement, hell yeah!