A Deeper Look at Emerging Psychedelic Medicine Within the Sober & Recovery Community

Is Psychedelic Medicine Helpful or Harmful for the Sober/Recovery Community?

This question has been asked considerably throughout the medical community, particularly because there has been a rise in psychedelics research in Los Angeles and Southern California for potential promising effects for treating addiction. In fact, psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) may become legal very soon in California for therapeutic purposes (KFF Health News, 2024). Psychedelic treatment is a controversial topic in the sober community, given that there are many variations of what sobriety and addiction look like. Definitions of sobriety from sober communities, like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and institutions like NIH, usually refer to sobriety as “the state of being sober” or, abstinence from any mild-altering substances; various health communities have different ways of defining sobriety and recovery, with tendencies to associate different attributes per label.

   An article from Sage Journal classifies addiction as "...a complex and challenging condition with many contributing factors" (2019). It is hard to say exactly why the behaviors of addiction arise, but it has been speculated that these individual choices become behavior alterations affected by physical and social environments. In turn, "...exposure to chronic psychosocial stressors and the physiological response of individuals to their external environment activates the brain’s neuroendocrine hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, with profound conditioning effects on behavior" (Eward et. al, 2019). Pretty vague, huh? One would question the ability to answer anything for certain when it comes down to the human brain. 

        

       For the sake of this article, we will use an example of sobriety in a standard sense: abstaining from anything mind-altering or that alters your natural state of perception. Recovery would indicate working a program of action or utilizing guidelines containing certain pillars that define a way of life that includes abstaining from drinking or using mind-altering substances. 

Psychedelics and Addiction

    First, let's address the elephant in the room: many sober and recovery communities/programs are completely against psychedelics because they alter perception, which would be the opposite of being sober and 'clear minded'. Alternatively, the psychedelic health community has been researching various approaches that address addiction through psychedelic medicine treatment and involve more than just abstaining or working a program. Some say psychedelics help subside initial cravings when 'getting sober', while others say consistent use expands the mind and assists in overcoming traumatic events. There is an entire holistic community throughout Southern California (Topanga, Malibu, Sherman Oaks, Encino, etc.) exploring ways to "heal" other than the standard OTC and pharmaceuticals; that is the beauty of living in a melting pot with various cultures and ancestral remedies for illnesses. 

        Now, psychedelic researchers are focusing on different areas of the brain and how they may be stimulated with the help of psychedelics as medicine; the goal is, trying to prove that some psychedelics may be able to 'reach' certain areas of the brain that other resources cannot.

And addiction treatments are far fewer and in between. Research from Frontier Psychology shares their latest findings, stating, “...Despite the limited current availability of effective treatments, there has been a growing body of evidence since the mid-20th century indicating the therapeutic effects of psychedelics in treating addiction including, the ‘classic psychedelics’; lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, dimethyltryptamine (DMT) ayahuasca...in addition, there are the ‘non-classic psychedelics’; ketamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and ibogaine (from the Iboga plant)”. Additionally, LSD has been scientifically proven to show a decrease in significant alcohol misuse when compared to placebo. Here is a thought-provoking excerpt from Frontiers in Psychiatry relating psychedelics to abstinence and Alcoholics Anonymous:

"One of the first documented accounts in Western medicine was in 1934 when Bill Wilson, the co-founder of alcoholics anonymous, embarked on his fourth attempt at recovery from his own alcoholism with the aid of an experimental treatment: an admixture containing henbane and belladonna; plants that contain tropane alkaloids that have psychedelic-like effects. It was under the influence of this medicine that Wilson reported an experience of a ‘bright white light’ and ‘a feeling of great peace’ which he interpreted as a spiritual and self-transcendent awakening. Following this treatment, he never drank alcohol again and went on to develop the international mutual aid fellowship Alcoholics Anonymous."

    It is not a question that the use of psychedelics has proven to help target specific areas of the brain unreachable by most other classes of drugs, and has shown an increase in empathy, awareness, and connectivity in healthy individuals. However, is there enough evidence to definitively call it a treatment given the various factors that affect our brain chemistry? What we know: research has suggested psychedelics can be helpful for alcoholism, smoking cessation, depression, anxiety disorders, and other addiction-like behaviors (read more here for a more in-depth look). We also know psychedelics have been shown to exacerbate underlying mental health issues and psychosis. They can also have adverse effects and increase anxiety. 

The Basis of Recovery Programs and Psychedelics 

     According to PubMed, a blueprint used in a lot of recovery-structured programming involves certain, “…recovery elements, referencing the ability to enjoy life and handle negative feelings without substance use; abstinence and/or nonproblematic substance use; and living a life that contributes” (Zemore et. al, 2023).

Is it possible that psychedelics can help aid in these recovery elements and/or eliminate the behavioral effects of addiction? Is psychedelic medicine able to address addiction independently or does it need the aid of a recovery-based program/blueprint? Research does not yet have a definite answer to any of these questions.

    This is an extremely in-depth and controversial subject, with opinions varying across the scientific and health communities with research indicating all types of results. The conversation about holistic medicine and blocking from the FDA determining efficacy, the for-profit $1.6 trillion pharmaceutical industry in the United States alone, brain development throughout human existence, rules of recovery, and psychedelics becoming another for-profit business with ulterior motivesare in-depth debates on their own. Here are some more questions that will have to be asked eventually:

• Are psychedelics for addiction treatment something that could help equally as much as the alternatives and if so, are they being criminalized for ulterior motives?
• Are psychedelic companies pushing agendas similar to medical marijuana for extreme profit, or providing this fast-paced society another alternative way to "escape"? And/or, is psychedelic medicine a trial-and-error process that may help heal certain regions of the brain?
• What impact would the legalization of psychedelics have on the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company or the sick-care system throughout the U.S.?
• Are psychedelics a helpful substitute for abstaining from drugs and alcohol or is this a case-by-case basis? 

• What are the intentions behind the healthcare system throughout the United States?

 And down the rabbit hole, we go.

The bottom line: psychedelics have been proven to be 'helpful' but we do not know enough about the human brain to make an absolute determination of exactly how to utilize them for addiction treatment and recovery. Often, addiction correlates from the need to escape or avoid certain feelings and circumstances. Psychedelics in relation to addiction and recovery should be subjective. This is a matter of per person per community; there are too many factors, including environmental biochemical and pre-existing conditions that make it hard to gauge anything definite, and one should proceed with caution, especially when encountering a life-and-death disease like addiction. As the recovery programs would say: more will be revealed.

Citations

“Frontiers | Psychedelic Therapy in the Treatment of Addiction: The Past, Present and Future.” Frontiers, Frontiers in Psychiatry, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1183740/full. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.

“Hallucinogens in Mental Health: Preclinical and Clinical Studies on LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA, and Ketamine - PMC.” PubMed Central (PMC), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7880300/. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.

Johnson, Matthew W. “Classic Psychedelics in Addiction Treatment: The Case for Psilocybin in Tobacco Smoking Cessation | SpringerLink.” SpringerLink, Springer International Publishing, 2022, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/7854_2022_327.

Mikulic, Matej. “Pharmaceutical Market Worldwide Revenue 2001-2023 | Statista.” Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/263102/pharmaceutical-market-worldwide-revenue-since-2001/#:~:text=The%20global%20pharmaceutical%20market%20has,around%201.6%20trillion%20U.S.%20dollars. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.

“Understanding the Shared Meaning of Recovery From Substance Use Disorders: New Findings From the What Is Recovery? Study - PMC.” PubMed Central (PMC), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10508054/. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.

Wolfson, Bernard J. “The Psychedelics-As-Medicine Movement Spreads to California - KFF Health News.” KFF Health News, https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/health-202-psychedelics-medicine-california/. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.