Popular figures like Gwyneth Paltrow and Johnny Tabaie speak up on psychedelics, with significant events in research and new legislation.
Gwyneth Paltrow, CEO of Goop is well-known for giving a broad range of opinions on her website. In March 2019, she spoke to the New York Times, saying psychedelics are the next big thing in wellness but she had never used them. ”I think how psychedelics affect health and mental health and addiction will come more into the mainstream. I mean there’s undeniably some link between being in that state and being connected to some other universal cosmic something.” People may have persecuted her with comments on Goop but is she is on to something here: Denver Colorado City Council decriminalized psychedelics such as peyote, ibogaine, and psylocybin in May 2019, and Oakland California followed suit on May 28th 2019.
Cities are already talking to federal lobbyists to encourage decriminalization of these substances for medicinal uses. Now the states of California and Oregon are working towards decriminalizing these substances at state level. But there is rightful concern over the fact that this may not be safe, especially when substances are consumed without proper medical supervision.
A new trend in the US, yet thoroughly explored elsewhere in the world:
Johnny Tabaie, who is well-known to be ahead of the crowd, has been involved in the administration of these substances for years before US states started to legalize it. He was asked to what he attributed a fatality rate of ZERO with Americans who entered rehab treatment and said the following: “We are all fighting against the opioid crisis, with the US president taking the lead. Whilst I am excited about future research opportunities, I will say that people should be very careful and should not take Ibogaine without the supervision of an emergency doctor – and certainly not without strict pre-screening. This is precisely why we managed a zero-fatality rate with something that requires careful medical attention”. (Johnny Tabaie, founder of The Holistic Sanctuary)
The move by these two cities in California and Oregon may shock people who were, for decades, socialized to believe that these substances are evil because they are mind-altering. The move did not come out of the blue. It is the result of pressure from groups such as Decriminalize Nature Oakland.
Since the 1960s when psychedelics were banned, people have always contested that these substances are effective for the treatment of depression and anxiety. The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is busy studying ibogaine-assisted therapy and ayahuasca-assisted therapy for depression and anxiety, among several other psychedelic substances. They suggest that using psychedelics together with psychotherapy can bring relief to depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Psychedelics are the past of wellness but now, there is a resurging trend indicating it may well become the future of wellness. For thousands of years people worked closely with nature and they turned to nature for food and medicines. A lot of ancient medicinal wisdom was suppressed when certain substances were banned simply because they are mind altering. That prevented any research to prove that the claims made by the ancients were correct. Any other herb that had medicinal properties was then classified as a supplement and sellers were never allowed to make medicinal claims. Yet, up to 87% of current mainstream medicines, including morphine an aspirin, are extracted from herbs. This did not stop people from buying these “supplements” in order to improve their health and even reverse certain medical conditions. As a matter of fact, supplements are a multi-billion-dollar industry.
The reason why the supplements industry is huge and it keeps growing is that people are no longer ignorant about their health. They are taking control of their health by taking health supplements and they are turning to supplements for treatment because some supplements, such as CBD oil, are proving to be very effective, if not more effective than pharmaceuticals. And, they do not have adverse side effects. People with chronic pain who are taking CBD can confirm this.
Now we have seen medical cannabis being legalized by one nation after another because of its long list of claimed health benefits. That in itself is a miracle. The move by Denver Colorado and Oakland California is a bold step to bring psychedelics back with the provision that they are used for medicinal purposes. That is another miracle in the holistic health sector. People did not expect to see that happening, and it will take them time to realize that this is a major step in bringing ancient healing wisdom back. It is natural for people to expect major research into the use of these substances for physical and mental health problems. Already ibogaine is being used for the treatment of withdrawal symptoms of drugs and research into its effectiveness is ongoing. (1). It will be interesting to find out what these substances can do for the long list of health problems that plague society right now. The question now, is how quickly the US will fund proper research to find the facts.
References 1. MAPS. (2017, Jun). The Federal Government Should Fund Clinical Research into the Uniquely Effective Treatment Ibogaine to Treat Opioid Addiction
