I also work significantly around the neglected side-effects of psychedelics, which are generally under-researched following the blackout that surrounded the drugs since the 1970s (the same blackout that, advocates suggest, forestalled on investigations of their benefits). One of them, and my main focus, is Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD), in which users from as little as one trip (we've little concrete idea of the risk factors in patterns of use) develop long-lasting, and possibly permanent, aberrations in visual perception, including static overlays, flashing lights, illusions of movement, bursts of colour, geometric patterns, and other phenomena well after the drug wears off. The clinical diagnosis of HPPD, which is given when these symptoms create distress, may affect as many as 1 in 25, though the prevalence is unknown.
I work for a charity that promotes research and harm reduction into HPPD called the Perception Restoration Foundation (PRF). You might like to read about us here: perception.foundation
LSD was discovered in the 1950s, and psilocybin became known to the West in the 1960s. Millions of people have decades of experience with these drugs. Only a fraction of these users were dealing with a mood or anxiety disorder at the time of use, but as a society we have had plenty of experience to "stumble" on any significant benefits of these substances beyond their entertainment value in well-balanced people. Yet, with the current buzz around these drugs, one would think they were newly discovered. Cocaine and opioids have also had cycles of enthusiasm and suppression that suggest our cultural memory of "what could go wrong" is short.
Hi Natasha - I really appreciate this commentary. I discussed the Davos interest in the drugs for Unherd last summer and I have another article due out soon with them: https://unherd.com/2022/07/the-psychedelic-utopia-is-a-lie/
I also work significantly around the neglected side-effects of psychedelics, which are generally under-researched following the blackout that surrounded the drugs since the 1970s (the same blackout that, advocates suggest, forestalled on investigations of their benefits). One of them, and my main focus, is Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD), in which users from as little as one trip (we've little concrete idea of the risk factors in patterns of use) develop long-lasting, and possibly permanent, aberrations in visual perception, including static overlays, flashing lights, illusions of movement, bursts of colour, geometric patterns, and other phenomena well after the drug wears off. The clinical diagnosis of HPPD, which is given when these symptoms create distress, may affect as many as 1 in 25, though the prevalence is unknown.
I work for a charity that promotes research and harm reduction into HPPD called the Perception Restoration Foundation (PRF). You might like to read about us here: perception.foundation
Thanks for your time.
Ed
LSD was discovered in the 1950s, and psilocybin became known to the West in the 1960s. Millions of people have decades of experience with these drugs. Only a fraction of these users were dealing with a mood or anxiety disorder at the time of use, but as a society we have had plenty of experience to "stumble" on any significant benefits of these substances beyond their entertainment value in well-balanced people. Yet, with the current buzz around these drugs, one would think they were newly discovered. Cocaine and opioids have also had cycles of enthusiasm and suppression that suggest our cultural memory of "what could go wrong" is short.