Bad Drugs Are Looking Good
Setup
Ketamine has sometimes been called the “date rape drug” because its sedative properties have enabled sexual assaults — but a groundbreaking study suggests it can also reduce symptoms of depression. Psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin and LSD, can trigger a schizophrenic episode, but their potential to treat addiction, control post-traumatic stress disorder, and prepare terminally ill patients for death is intriguing. And while marijuana is a controlled substance under federal law, 33 states allow it to be sold for medical uses (and 11 say it’s okay for recreation). Researchers are taking a fresh look at the treatment value of drugs with a reputation for danger and making some surprising discoveries.
- 2019 Health
Is there such a thing as a bad drug?
Moderator John Torres, medical correspondent for NBC news, wants to know if the categorization of some drugs as “bad” drugs is warranted, and the panel responds unanimously:
Drugs are never inherently bad, explains Rick Doblin, founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. It’s our relationship to drugs and the properties we choose to associate them with that can become problematic. These relationships are not fixed, says Doblin; they can evolve over time as science and society progress.
The science behind marijuana as a treatment for PTSD
Marijuana is is undergoing a complete reinvention from the days of Reefer Madness, and it’s already showing compelling results as a medicine. Mallory Loflin, research scientist at the Department of Veteran Affairs, is pioneering research into how cannabinoids — the specific compounds found in marijuana — could profoundly change how we treat PTSD.
How it works
Rick Doblin follows up Loflin's explanation with a reminder of the difficulties faced by researchers like Loflin in studying “bad” drugs, marijuana included. Because of their dubious reputations, regulatory quagmires often impede the ability of researchers to effectively study these drugs even in controlled environments.
Drugs are a tool, not a panacea
While it’s true that drugs like ketamine and MDMA have produced incredible results when used to treat some mental illnesses, Dennis Charney, dean of the Icahn School of Medicine, and Mallory Loflin want us to remember that they’re almost always used in conjunction with therapy and other treatments:
Claims about drugs can easily outpace research
Somewhat ironically, some “bad” drugs are shedding their notorious reputations and gaining reputations that drastically overstate their safe and effective usage. The panel explains, using examples from their own research, how this can quickly become problematic:
Learn More
Additional Information
Explore More
Society
For years, Yale undergraduate students have lined up to take a wildly popular course called Life Worth Living. Bucking the highly competitive tone you might expect at an Ivy L...
Global conflicts and health crises have put into stark relief deeply-ingrained gender roles in society. Yet the past years have also seen record-high numbers of women running...
After millennia of human existence, we’re still figuring out and talking constantly about one of our most fundamental behaviors – sex. Despite the sexual revolution of the 60s...
Teenagers and young adults today are dealing with challenges their parents never experienced and couldn’t have prepared for. Nobody has a map and the road to resolution can be...
The unflinching humanity and morality that Martin Luther King, Jr. embodied is part of what makes his legacy so lasting. In addition to his preeminent civil rights work, he sp...
Whether you love setting New Year’s resolutions or ignore them entirely, there’s still a certain mix of nostalgia and excitement over the ending of one year and the possibilit...
Living a happy life isn’t as simple as having a smile on your face all the time. We often think that our negative emotions should be minimized and repressed, but acknowledging...
The human capacity for empathy allows us to communicate, collaborate and understand each other. But we all know empathy isn’t always easy, and we can feel worn down by the eff...
When Duke divinity school professor Kate Bowler wrote her best-selling memoir, “Everything Happens for a Reason (and Other Lies I’ve Loved),” she was grappling with the conseq...
For adults, the pressure to drink at social engagements, work events, restaurants or almost anywhere outside the home can feel constant. Recent research has found that “no amo...
In today’s world, we tend to switch jobs more frequently than previous generations, and are more likely to have multiple jobs. Side gigs where we express passions or find mean...
Finding ways to ground ourselves on a planet too often in turmoil can foster the resilience we need to function at our best. By maintaining close personal ties, learning new s...
Philosophers throughout history have debated what it means to live a good life, and it remains an ongoing and unresolved question. Deep personal relationships, fulfilling work...
You may have heard of Dry January and mocktails, but what is being "sober curious" really about? Sans Bar's Chris Marshall explains the growing movement and shares how he's b...
The United States is a more secular society than many, and the percentage of people who don’t identify with organized religion is rising. Some of the impacts from that shift m...
About two decades ago, NPR host Mary Louise Kelly had her first child and went down the extremely common yet commonly daunting life path of balancing a demanding career with a...
Everyone has a story to tell – and sharing them reminds us of our common humanity. Few know this better than StoryCorps CEO Sandra Clark. Over the last 20 years, the organizat...
It's been a big year for Patagonia, as it celebrated a 50th anniversary and legally restructured to commit all profits to environmental causes. What can be learned from the co...
Artificial intelligence is clearly going to change our lives in multiple ways. But it’s not yet obvious exactly how, and what the impacts will be. We can predict that certain...
Advocates, healthcare providers, legislators, researchers, and venture capitalists are bringing the unique health needs of women to light – from vigorous policy debates on iss...