Ayahuasca-Assisted Therapy for Addiction: Results from a Preliminary Observational Study in Canada

Thomas, Gerald; Lucas, Philippe; Capler, N Rielle; Tupper, Kenneth W.; Martin, Gina

doi:10.2174/15733998113099990003

Cited by 271 publications

(238 citation statements)

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“…Ayahuasca is an Amazonian psychoactive brew made from the Banisteriopsis cappi vine and the Psychotria viridis bush, along with a variety of other Amazonian plants (26), which produces an altered state of consciousness involving perceptual and affective changes (27). Ayahuasca is taken in religious and shamanistic settings, as well as in informal treatment centres (26).…”

Section: Ayahuascamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tripping up addiction: the use of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of problematic drug and alcohol use

Morgan

McAndrew

Stevens

et al. 2017

Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences

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 Psychedelic drugs may have their therapeutic qualities due to anti-depressant effects, stimulating neuroplasticity and long-term psychological changes.3 Abstract Psychedelic drugs have been used as treatments in indigenous cultures for thousands of years. Yet, due to their legal status, there has been limited scientific research into the therapeutic potential of these compounds for psychiatric disorders. In the absence of other effective treatments however, researchers have begun again to systematically investigate such compounds and there is now evidence pointing to the use of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of addiction. In this review we focus on human evidence for the effectiveness of preparations used by indigenous cultures in the Amazon (ayahausca) and Africa (ibogaine) and worldwide (psilocybin), and more recently synthetised drugs such as the serotonergic hallucinogen LSD and the dissociative anaesthetic ketamine. Potential mechanisms explored are anti-depressant effects, changes in neuroplasticity and existential psychological effects of these drugs. [Francis Hartigan, Bill W., Chapter 25, p. 190-197 and p. 170-171, St. Martins Press, 2000,] The founder of alcoholics anonymous, Bill Wilson, is reported to have been treated with lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) to help him stay abstinent from alcohol (1) and he credited it with helpful therapeutic properties. Yet the idea that illicit drugs can be used in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction sits uncomfortably with many clinicians and researchers. It can appear paradoxical: illicit drugs are allegedly controlled due to their high abuse potential so it seems unethical to give them to people who already have a propensity for problematic alcohol and other drug use. Will they not then become addicted to the very substances that are being used to treat them?Centuries of practise and decades of research suggest that this is not the case. And now with emerging neurobiological understanding of their mechanisms, these compounds are poised to change the future of addiction treatment. Lysergic acid diethylamideLSD was first synthesised in 1938 from ergotamine, a chemical from the ergot fungus.LSD's psychological effects, usually last between 6 and 12 hours and can vary greatly in content across sets and settings (2). Pharmacologically, LSD is a classic serotonergic hallucinogen, with its psychedelic effects attributed to its 5HT-2A receptor agonism (3).In the 1950s and 60s, there was substantial research into LSD being used as a treatment for alcohol dependence (4). In recent years, this interest has been reignited. A number of review papers and one meta-analysis have reviewed studies from the height of LSD research (5-7) . The meta-analysis (6) combined the results of 6 randomised controlled trials, to assess efficacy of LSD as a treatment for alcoholism (536 participants in total).Across the studies included, 59% of active treatment participants vs. 38% of controls showed reliable improvement during the first follow up (1-2 months) and these dif...

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Section: Ayahuascamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One recent observational study found reductions in alcohol, cocaine and tobacco use, and improvements in subjective wellbeing in a sample of 12 people who were treated with ayahuasca for drug problems (27).…”

Section: Ayahuascamentioning

confidence: 99%

Tripping up addiction: the use of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of problematic drug and alcohol use

Morgan

McAndrew

Stevens

et al. 2017

Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…), suggesting that this approach is not a radical departure from historical practices. That said, rigorously controlled, ethically conducted scientific research into the effects of such drugs on moral learning or other moral outcomes (in concert with appropriate psychosocial and environmental factors) may well be worth pursuing (Tennison, 2012; see also Frecska et al, 2016;Griffiths et al, 2006;Griffiths et al, 2008;Soler et al, 2016;Thomas et al, 2013).…”

Section: Attempted Moral Neuroenhancements Past and Presentmentioning

confidence: 99%