Psychedelic Medicine [Two Volumes] New Evidence for Hallucinogenic Substances as Treatments - by

A book by Michael J. Winkelman and Thomas B. Roberts

Reviews:

• This is one of the few recent books that treat this subject in a scholarly way and is recommended for all medical and academic libraries. Public libraries should also purchase it because such material is scarce in other books.
  —Library Journal November 15, 2007
• 
  
• When hallucinogenic drugs are mentioned, one is more likely to think of drugs of abuse, mind-altering drugs, or drugs subject to governmental regulation than of drugs that may have a therapeutic application. For this reason, this two-volume treatise serves a useful purpose not only in providing an update on the limited number of hallucinogenic drugs that already have some therapeutic application (based on relatively limited research), but also by covering the history of these mind-altering drugs and the cultural, social, political, legal, economic, and ethical factors that have encumbered research on these compounds. The work is well organized, with chapters written by medical and legal professionals active in the field.... Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers.
  —Choice January 2008
• 
  
• Psychedelic Medicine: New Evidence for Hallucinogenic Substances as Treatments....in two volumes, brings together much of the contemporary knowledge related to hallucinogens in a way that it will appeal to the scientific community, and will contribute to the increasing interest that is being paid to this group of drugs....These weighty tomes, of well over 750 pages between them are clearly very well presented. The layout is clear, the syntax is formal and accomplished, the chapters are extensively referenced, and the index is detailed.
  —Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 2008
• 
  
• [T]his extensive two-volume tome currently serves as the authoritative reference text on psychedelic medicines, particularly with regard to the advances made in the last ten years....No corners have been cut with the essays either, each of which have been written specifically for this book and, collectively, they offer a comprehensive range of insights to this anthology. Although almost wholly positive, this treatise on the possible benefits of psychedelic agents in the treatment of psychological disease still offers a reasoned and balanced approach....Psychedelic Medicine has a great deal of timely information to offer physical and mental health professionals and students, as well as all those working in recreational drug research, policy, treatment and intervention, whether involved with psychedelics or not.
  —Drugs and Alcoholism Today June 2008
• 
  
• [W]e are in the second stage of a three-stage process of psychedelic re-evolution. The first stage ended in demonization, now we are in the reconceptualization phase, and eventually will move to the integration stage. Psychedelics have reached middle age, as have my fellow baby boomers. It is up to us, with the help of scholarly research and publications like these volumes, to educate society about the value of psychedelics.
  —The Erowid Review July 14, 2008

• Endorsement From Harriet de Wit, PhD
  Professor, Department of Psychiatry
  The University of Chicago: These books are a comprehensive and scholarly review of the current status of the therapeutic potential of hallucinogens. The contributors represent an outstanding group of scientists, scholars and clinicians, most of whom have had direct experience using and administering these drugs in either therapeutic or religious contexts. The result is an impressive collection. The authors provide scholarly historical reviews of the use of these drugs, as well as detailed instructions and advice for the clinician on how to administer these drugs safely and effectively in a therapeutic context. The authors provide a balanced view and acknowledge the many risks and pitfalls of improper use of these drugs. Likely to be of interest to scientists, clergy, mental health professionals, and anyone interested in the mind. It provides an up to date review of the status of hallucinogens in modern medicine, as well as a historical review of their status in the past. It is highly recommended.
• Endorsement From Professor Jonathan D. Moreno,
  University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics: Until they were caught up in the cultural revolution of the 1960s, hallucinogens were being seriously examined by top researchers for their potential to alleviate many human ills. The contributors to these volumes make a persuasive case that science should now do more to pursue these questions.
• Endorsement From Stephen Ross, M.D.
  Assistant Clinical Professor, Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine
  Director, Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Bellevue Hospital
  Associate Director, Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship, NYU School of Medicine: Roberts and Winkelman have assembled one of the most impressive and comprehensive collections of writings in the field of psychedelic medicine. The chapters, written by first-rate academic scholars, are rigorous and clear. The topics range from neuroscience to the legal, spiritual, medicinal, and ethical implications of using this novel class of agents. This work is an invaluable resource for educators, clinicians, and policy makers who are interested in rejuvenating the field of psychedelic research.
• Endorsement From Nicholas V. Cozzi, Ph.D.
  Department of Pharmacology
  University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health: These volumes present fresh ideas for using psychedelic drugs as therapeutic agents to treat some of the most intractable of psychological ailments. As the authors make clear, the ability of these substances to facilitate direct experiential access to our deepest thoughts, feelings, and spirituality makes them uniquely suited for this purpose. Undoubtedly, their amazing healing potential has yet to be fully realized. Thanks to these forward-thinking educators, researchers, and clinicians, we now have new paths to explore in the cure for old diseases.

Description: Psychedelic substances present in nature have been used by humans across hundreds of years to produce mind-altering changes in thought, mood, and perception--changes we do not experience otherwise except rarely in dreams, religious exaltation, or psychosis. U.S. scientists were studying the practical and therapeutic uses for hallucinogens, including LSD and mescaline, in the 1950s and 1960s supplied by large manufacturers including Sandoz. But the government took steps to ban all human consumption of hallucinogens, and thus the research.

By the 1970s, all human testing was stopped. Medical concerns were not the issue, the ban was motivated by social concerns, not the least of which were created by legendary researcher Timothy Leary, a psychologist who advocated free use of hallucinogens by all who desired. Nationwide, however, a cadre of scholars and researchers has persisted in pushing the federal government to again allow human testing. And the moratorium has been lifted. The FDA has begun approving hallucinogenic research using human subjects. In these groundbreaking volumes, top researchers explain the testing and research underway to use - under the guidance of a trained provider - psychedelic substances for better physical and mental health.

Experts including physicians and psychiatrists at some of the most respected medical schools in the nation, show how psychedelics may alleviate symptoms or spur cures for disorders from AIDS to arthritis to post traumatic stress disorder. Spiritual uses are also addressed and the perceived benefits described. Medical and legal issues for therapeutic uses are also presented. The psychedelic drugs explained in these pages for potential health use include:

• LSD
• Ayahuasca
• Psyilocybin
• Peyote
• MDMA/Ecstasy
• Marijuana
• Appendices list a sample of sites where medical research with psychedelics is underway, and describe prominent advocates and organizations pushing to further this research.

Table of Contents:

• Volume I: Psychedelic Medicine: Social, Clinical and Legal Perspectives
• Preface
• Editors Overview of Psychedelic Medicine
• Section I: The Social and Clinical Context
• Chapter 1: Introduction: Therapeutic Bases of Psychedelic Medicines: Psychointegrative Effects
• Chapter 2: The Healing Vine: Ayahuasca as Medicine in the 21st Century
• Chapter 3: Contemporary Psychedelic Therapy: An Overview
• Chapter 4: Therapeutic Guidelines: Dangers and Contra-Indications in Therapeutic Applications of Hallucinogens
• Section II: Medical Applications
• Chapter 5: Response Of Cluster Headaches to Psilocybin and LSD,
• Chapter 6: Psilocybin Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Chapter 7: Therapeutic Uses of MDMA
• Chapter 8: MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Chapter 9: Psychedelic Drugs for the Treatment of Depression
• Chapter 10: Marijuana and AIDS
• Chapter 11: The Use of Psilocybin in Patients with Advanced Cancer and Existential Anxiety
• Section III: Legal Aspects of the Medical Use
• Chapter 12: Psychedelic Medicine and the Law
• Chapter 13: The Legal Bases for Religious Peyote Use
• Chapter 14: The Supreme Courts Psychedelic Case
• Chapter 15: Conclusions
• About the Contributors
• Volume 2: Psychedelic Medicine: Addictions Medicine and Transpersonal Healing
• Preface
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Section I: Treating Substance Abuse
• Chapter 2: Hallucinogens in the Treatment of Alcoholism and Other Addictions
• Chapter 3: Addiction, Despair, and the Soul: Psychedelic Psychotherapy
• Chapter 4: The Therapeutic Use of Peyote in the Native American Church
• Chapter 5: Ibogaine and Substance Abuse Rehabilitation
• Chapter 6: Ketamine Psychedelic Psychotherapy
• Chapter 7: Ayahuasca Treatment of Cocaine-Paste Addiction
• Section II: Guidelines for Psychotherapeutic Applications
• Chapter 8: The Ten Lessons of Psychedelic Psychotherapy, Rediscovered
• Chapter 9: Therapeutic Guidelines from Shamanic Traditions
• Chapter 10: Common Processes in Psychedelic-Induced Psychospiritual Change
• Chapter 11: Preliminary Remarks on Interpreting Resistance to Psychedelic Insights
• Section III: Transpersonal Dimension of Healing with Psychedelic Medicines
• Chapter 12: Psychedelics in Psychological Health and Growth
• Chapter 13: Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance.
• Chapter 14: Remarkable Healing During Psychedelic Psychotherapy
• Chapter 15: Transpersonal Healing with Hallucinogens
• Chapter 16: Conclusions and Recommendations: The Wider Contexts