DRUGS FOR GOOD

MDMA isn’t the only illegal drug that can be useful in a clinical setting

LSD

Like MDMA, LSD may have benefits as a tool for therapy. In 2017, a metastudy of LSD research over the past 25 years, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, found that LSD increased feelings of openness, trust and suggestibility, dampened the fear response and enhanced emotional empathy. It has proved particularly useful in treating anxiety in terminal patients, with as few as two doses causing a reduction in symptoms.

Ketamine

Ketamine was developed in the 1960s as an anaesthetic and is still used medically in that context. Recreational use can cause problems with the liver and urinary tract, but the drug can also be beneficial in treating depression, particularly in those who have proved resistant to other treatments. A 2018 study published in the American Journal Of Psychiatry

found that ketamine delivered as a nasal spray could cause an almost immediate reduction in symptoms.

Psilocybin

Magic mushrooms have a similar effect on the brain to LSD, so unsurprisingly psilocybin (the active ingredient) can be similarly useful in treating depression and anxiety.

A 2017 study at Imperial College London showed marked improvement in symptoms and increased brain activity in patients given the drug.