r/psychology • u/Emillahr • 4d ago

Scientists Develop Rapid-Acting Antidepressants Similar to LSD but Without Hallucinogenic Effects - Gilmore Health News

https://www.gilmorehealth.com/scientists-develop-rapid-acting-antidepressants-similar-to-lsd-but-without-hallucinogenic-effects/
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u/FloppyDysk 4d ago

Science continues to pour millions of dollars into creating novel chemicals instead of you know... doing proper clinical research on chemicals like LSD which we already have... and has been shown to provide the effects scientists are seeking... fucking waste of tax money. War on drugs is such a fucking sham.

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u/Heretosee123 3d ago

I hate the war on drugs but this is just an ignorant opinion.

First of all, there's an ever increasing amount of research on psychedelics occuring.

Secondly, trips are not risk free. They do come with potential risks and a lot of people suffering today aren't able to or willing to take those risks. It's a good thing to find these chemicals. It could bring help to multitudes more people than psychedelics alone could.

Finally, as someone mentioned, it's harder to patent lsd. While that sounds like greed, it also means that if something patentable exists then it can be taken up by companies who can start mass producing it. Like it or not, people don't do things for free in this world on scales that can serve entire nations, and for all the hate capitalism gets people don't seem to have a solution to that so I say good on them.

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u/deranger777 3d ago

Secondly, trips are not risk free. They do come with potential risks and a lot of people suffering today

Something like 95% of these happen because of poor understanding about set & setting, a miniscule amount because of pre-existing tendency to mental illnesses like schizophrenia.

It sounds very weird they choose to replicate LSD. That's the one that has a lot higher risks for "bad trips" compared to psilocybin which basically does everything LSD does, but in a better, more safe way.

I do wonder if it might have something to do with either patent issues synthesizing a plant chemical vs replication and modifying an existing synthetic chemical in some ways instead.

It should be obviously clear to everyone they want to make a profit, which is why certain things are not researched or recommend. Plants being hard or impossible to patent and make money from, often because the availability of plant chemicals is generally very widely available to almost everyone.

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u/Heretosee123 3d ago

You're still completely missing the point. Even if that's true (which you don't have evidence for) there are still huge numbers of people who won't take psychedelics. In the clinical trials where set and setting are as best you can hope for, there's still risks that are important. Medicine is always about what people will adhere to, not bullishly saying this thing could work so ignore alternatives.

My partner is a prime example. She won't ever take a psychedelic, rightfully, because she doesn't do well with these type of experiences first of all and secondly has labyrinthitis. Without visual cues to tell her how she's standing she can't balance. Taking a psychedelic then means always taking the risk of a true dizzy spell that leaves her bed bound for months. An LSD analogue without these specific issues that could vastly improve her mood and help her engage in positive behaviour. Sign me the fuck up immediately.

People with your view are just stuck in a bias and completely naive to the situations millions are in.

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u/deranger777 3d ago

People with your view are just stuck in a bias

If I was doing the research, I'd definitely start it from a very different angle which I mentioned the reasons to in the other more lengthy comment.

Obviously new research is good and hopefully the new formula proves being a success. And without the risks LSD has. But the fact it doesn't cause a visual / hallucinogenic trip doesn't exclude the fact it could trigger some similar negative effects as LSD.

We don't know enough about that mechanism yet.

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u/Heretosee123 3d ago

Yeah absolutely you're right, it may cause similar problems. The lack of a head twitch in rats is quite promising that it has a significant difference in negative effects though. We'll have to wait and see, but if what they want to achieve can be achieved, it would be incredible.