Psychedelic drugs have been illegal for 50 years, but they\u2019re trickling back into the mainstream because they show promise in helping treat post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health challenges.<\/p>\n\n
We begin the hour with reporter Jonathan A. Davis<\/a> visiting Psychedelic Science 2023, the largest-ever conference on psychedelic drugs. It\u2019s put on by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, an organization dedicated to legalizing MDMA (also known as ecstasy or molly) and other psychedelic drugs. Research shows that MDMA-assisted therapy can help treat depression and PTSD, and it\u2019s moving toward approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Psychedelics were studied in the 1950s and \u201960s as mental health treatments, but the war on drugs put a stop to research. Now, these drugs are gaining bipartisan support from politicians looking for solutions to the mental health crisis among veterans.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n Then Reveal\u2019s Michael I Schiller visits a group of veterans who are not waiting for psychedelic-assisted therapy to be approved by the federal government. They\u2019ve joined a church founded by an Iraq War veteran who uses psychedelics as religious sacraments. Schiller accompanies them on a retreat in rural Texas, where they share the depths of their post-traumatic stress and the relief they\u2019ve felt after psychedelic treatments. He also explores the risks involved in taking these drugs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n We close with an intimate audio diary from a woman in Oakland, California, who\u2019s going through therapy with the one psychedelic drug that can be legally prescribed currently in the U.S.: ketamine. Ketamine started out as an anesthetic, but researchers found it can help with treatment-resistant depression when used in tandem with talk therapy. Ketamine can be dangerous if abused, but it also has helped people find relief from mental health issues. This story was produced by Davis<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n Support Reveal\u2019s journalism at Revealnews.org\/donatenow<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/li>\n Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the scoop on new episodes at Revealnews.org\/newsletter<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/li>\n Connect with us on Twitter<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/li>\n Check out independent producer Jonathan A. Davis\u2019s work here<\/a><\/p><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \n
\nThis is an update of an episode that originally aired in October 2023<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n