Psychedelic Medicine

Explores the potential of psychedelics as medicine and the intersections of politics, science, and psychedelics

• Explores the tumultuous history of psychedelic research, the efforts to restore psychedelic therapies, and the links between psychiatric drugs and mental illness

• Offers non-technical summaries of the most recent, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies with MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca

• Includes the work of Rick Doblin, Stanislav Grof, James Fadiman, Julie Holland, Dennis McKenna, David Nichols, Charles Grob, Phil Wolfson, Michael and Annie Mithoefer, Roland Griffiths, Katherine MacLean, and Robert Whitaker

Embracing the revival of psychedelic research and the discovery of new therapeutic uses, clinical psychologist Dr. Richard Louis Miller discusses what is happening today in psychedelic medicine--and what will happen in the future--with top researchers and thinkers in this field, including Rick Doblin, Stanislav Grof, James Fadiman, Julie Holland, Dennis McKenna, David Nichols, Charles Grob, Phil Wolfson, Michael and Annie Mithoefer, Roland Griffiths, Katherine MacLean, and Robert Whitaker.

Dr. Miller and his contributors cover the tumultuous history of early psychedelic research brought to a halt 50 years ago by the U.S. government as well as offering non-technical summaries of the most recent studies with MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca. They explore the biochemistry of consciousness and the use of psychedelics for self-discovery and healing. They discuss the use of psilocybin for releasing fear in the terminally ill and the potential for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of PTSD. They examine Dr. Charles Grob’s research on the indigenous use and therapeutic properties of ayahuasca and Dr. Gabor Mate’s attempt to transport this plant medicine to a clinical setting with the help of Canada’s Department of National Health.

Dr. Miller and his contributors explore the ongoing efforts to restore psychedelic therapies to the health field, the growing threat of overmedication by the pharmaceutical industry, and the links between psychiatric drugs and mental illness. They also discuss the newly shifting political climate and the push for new research, offering hope for an end to the War on Drugs and a potential renaissance of research into psychedelic medicines around the world.

Dr. Richard Louis Miller, MA, PhD, has been a clinical psychologist for more than 50 years. He is host of the syndicated talk radio show, Mind Body Health & Politics. The founder of the nationally acclaimed Cokenders Alcohol and Drug Program, he has been a faculty member at the University of Michigan and Stanford University, an advisor on the President’s Commission on Mental Health, a founding board member of the Gestalt Institute of San Francisco, and a member of the national board of directors for the Marijuana Policy Project. He lives in Fort Bragg and Wilbur Hot Springs, California.

About the Author

INTRODUCTION
What’s Happening in America?

ONE
LSD: A Powerful Tool

The Biochemistry of Changes in Consciousness
David Nichols, PhD

LSD Brain-Imaging Studies
Amanda Feilding

Observations from 4,000 LSD Sessions
Stanislav Grof, MD, PhD

The Condensed Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide
James Fadiman, PhD

TWO
MDMA: Heart Medicine
Drawing a Map from “X” to Rx
Rick Doblin, PhD

Pioneering Government-Approved Research
Charles Grob, MD

Demonstrating MDMA’s Safety and Efficacy in Treating End-of-Life Anxiety
Phil Wolfson, MD

MDMA for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Michael Mithoefer, MD, and Annie Mithoefer, BSN

THREE
Psilocybin

Spiritual Psychopharmacology
Roland Griffiths, PhD, and Katherine MacLean, PhD

Seeking Solace for the Terminally Ill
Charles Grob, MD

Psilocybin and Depression
Amanda Feilding

FOUR
Ayahuasca: Teacher Plant

Hard Science in the Amazon
Charles Grob, MD

Plants Meet People
Dennis McKenna, PhD

The Science of the Sacred
Rick Doblin, PhD

FIVE
Psychiatric Prescription Drugs: Tired Soldiers

Questioning the Psychiatric Paradigm
Robert Whitaker

Resisting the “New Normal” of Overmedication
Julie Holland, MD

EPILOGUE
FDA Approval by 2021?

An Optimistic Forecast
Rick Doblin, PhD

Acknowledgments

Index