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March 2009 
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rhobherto
Dean Chamberlain portrait of Dr. Albert Hofmann
A good death
After a 40-year virtual ban on research involving psychedelic drugs, scientists look anew at their potential in treating pain and anxiety
The Boston Globe
May 15, 2006
By Scott Allen, Globe Staff
Diane never smoked marijuana, and she disapproved of her mother's past drug experiments. But cancer made the 33-year-old teacher ready to try anything that might help: she hoped she would find a cure in herbs from a Tibetan doctor or in the hands of a faith healer deep in the Brazilian rain forest.
Then, as the pain and fatigue of advanced colon cancer left Diane increasingly bedridden, she just wanted the strength to get out of bed.
That's when she found ecstasy, the illegal drug people often take at all-night dance parties. Though ecstasy is addictive and can damage hearts and brain cells, some researchers say the hallucinogen can also inspire deep feelings of well-being and intimacy with others.
For a few hours at a time as the ecstasy took hold, Diane would leave her disease behind and walk in the park, sing with her parents, or talk about death without fear, her mother said.
Ecstasy ''was the only thing that controlled the pain and her breathing," said Diane's mother, a Boston-area resident who asked not to be identified because last year she helped provide the illegal drugs for her daughter, whose middle name was Diane. ''She was emotionally and spiritually uplifted" when she was on ecstasy. ''She was her funny, witty self."
Forty years after widespread abuse led to a virtual ban on medical research involving psychedelic drugs, experiences like Diane's are leading scientists to take a second look. Though ecstasy, LSD, and ''magic mushrooms" are now known by their partying reputation, psychedelic drugs were once seen as a promising treatment for schizophrenia and other mental conditions.
Already, researchers in Miami are giving heroin addicts a hallucinogen called ibogaine in an attempt to reduce withdrawal symptoms. Rape victims in South Carolina take ecstasy in a study designed to help them talk about their ordeals. And soon, Dr. John Halpern at McLean Hospital in Belmont will begin giving ecstasy to people with advanced cancer to help them cope with the pain and anxiety of dying.
[complete article with "notes and corrections"]
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies main page
other accounts of healing
Access: Public
Nice post.
I just want to add one note of warning for those who use ecstacy as described above, ritually, or recreationally – the stuff destroys serotonin cells in the brain. Big time.
Taking twice as much alpha lipic acid as X, about 30 minutes before taking X, can eliminate the damage to serotonin cells in the brain.
This is not an endorsement of recreational drug use. However, I fully support the responsible use of entheogens and hallucinogens for therapeutic reasons.
Peace,
Bill
good point! indeed, there have been predictiions of a generation of ravers dooming themselves to a dismal fate, and of a very serious and looming healthcare crisis, stemming from the widespread abuse of “ecstacy.”
I'm a huge fan of sensory deprivation tanks. My housemate when I was in grad school had one in our house as part of her massage business. I used it once or more a week for months, and I often combined it with holotropic breathwork.
I support the safe use of hallucinogens in therapeutic and ritual settings, but not for recreational purposes. It will likely be a while before some of the more potent drugs will be available to researchers again. But Grof's (and others) research certainly showed the usefulness of the drugs.
Peace,
Bill