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Thread: Hallucinogens Could Hold Key To Quitting Smoking

  1. #1

    Hallucinogens Could Hold Key To Quitting Smoking

    For cigarette smokers, quitting can be an incredibly challenging experience. Approximately 480,000 Americans die every year from cigarettes, making it the single largest preventable cause of disease and death in the country. If that's not enough to convince smokers to quit, it's evidence enough of the power of nicotine addiction. So when Johns Hopkins University came out with a study on the effects of using psilocybin, the active hallucinogenic agent in "magic mushrooms," to help longtime smokers kick the habit, the results impressed many.

    In a carefully controlled setting, smokers were introduced to magic mushrooms three times over the course of two months, upping the dose of psilocybin each time. The study, which was published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, showed a smoking abstinence rate of 80 percent after six months. Compare that to the 35 percent success rate for varenicline, a prescription drug that is considered one of the most effective addiction treatment options for smokers, after six months, and it's easy to understand why this study provoked such excitement.

    Nicotine replacement and other behavioral therapies have success rates of less than 30 percent, according to the researchers.

    The average age of the study participants was 55, and they smoked an average of 19 cigarettes per day for 31 years. All had repeatedly tried and failed to quit; and while some had experimented with hallucinogens in the past (on average, 27 years before participating in the study), none had thought to use magic mushrooms to treat their nicotine addiction. But researchers are increasingly finding that psilocybin may have unexplored health benefits that could be applied in the context of cognitive behavioral therapy treatment programs.

    For example, psilocybin has also proven to be effective at treating depression, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), as CNN reported.

    In the study, researchers emphasize that these results are not meant to encourage smokers to perform do-it-yourself, magic mushroom therapy sessions for smoking cessation. Rather, the success of this clinic trial appears to demonstrate that, in controlled settings overseen by medical professionals, longtime smokers who are administered psilocybin pills can be effectively coaxed out of their addiction through behavioral therapy.

    "Quitting smoking isn't a simple biological reaction to psilocybin, as with other medications that directly affect nicotine receptors," Dr. Matthew Johnson, the study's lead author and an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, wrote. "When administered after careful preparation and in a therapeutic context, psilocybin can lead to deep reflection about one's life and spark motivation to change."

    Johnson plans to pursue further research into the use of psilocybin to treat smoking addiction, comparing the results to the success of using nicotine patches, and the researchers will "use MRI scans to study brain activity in participants."
    http://www.attn.com/stories/3773/mus...gn=syndication
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Paul View Post
    The intellectual battle for liberty can appear to be a lonely one at times. However, the numbers are not as important as the principles that we hold. Leonard Read always taught that "it's not a numbers game, but an ideological game." That's why it's important to continue to provide a principled philosophy as to what the role of government ought to be, despite the numbers that stare us in the face.
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    This intellectually stimulating conversation is the reason I keep coming here.



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  3. #2
    DMT can hold key to quitting weed. Check this banned TED talk by Graham Hancock - DMT The War on Consciousness


  4. #3
    "When administered after careful preparation and in a therapeutic context, psilocybin can lead to deep reflection about one's life and spark motivation to change."


    You can really feel the motivation to get up and DO something.
    No one here wanted to be the Billionaire.

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by timosman View Post
    DMT can hold key to quitting weed.
    lol, I suppose that is probably true if that's your goal...
    "He's talkin' to his gut like it's a person!!" -me
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    "Each of us must choose which course of action we should take: education, conventional political action, or even peaceful civil disobedience to bring about necessary changes. But let it not be said that we did nothing." - Ron Paul

    "Paul said "the wave of the future" is a coalition of anti-authoritarian progressive Democrats and libertarian Republicans in Congress opposed to domestic surveillance, opposed to starting new wars and in favor of ending the so-called War on Drugs."

  6. #5
    ..
    Last edited by timosman; 11-01-2015 at 09:36 AM.

  7. #6
    All it takes is deciding not to smoke. It's that easy.
    Sure, it's hard when you can't make that decision. But once you do, it's just a matter of not buying any more.

    I smoked every day for the better part of 17 years. Then I found out I was having a kid, and that was that. I was not going to be a smoker anymore, because I didn't want my kid to have a smoker father. That was over 9 years ago.

    I still smoke periodically. I'm the $#@! who cleans out your pack at a party now. I'll occasionally buy a pack, but I can't get through the whole thing. I've learned how to be healthy. I consider being able to run for 20 minutes my new normal.
    There are no crimes against people.
    There are only crimes against the state.
    And the state will never, ever choose to hold accountable its agents, because a thing can not commit a crime against itself.

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by fisharmor View Post
    All it takes is deciding not to smoke. It's that easy.
    Sure, it's hard when you can't make that decision. But once you do, it's just a matter of not buying any more.

    I smoked every day for the better part of 17 years. Then I found out I was having a kid, and that was that. I was not going to be a smoker anymore, because I didn't want my kid to have a smoker father. That was over 9 years ago.

    I still smoke periodically. I'm the $#@! who cleans out your pack at a party now. I'll occasionally buy a pack, but I can't get through the whole thing. I've learned how to be healthy. I consider being able to run for 20 minutes my new normal.
    So you quit buying. Smart.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Paul View Post
    The intellectual battle for liberty can appear to be a lonely one at times. However, the numbers are not as important as the principles that we hold. Leonard Read always taught that "it's not a numbers game, but an ideological game." That's why it's important to continue to provide a principled philosophy as to what the role of government ought to be, despite the numbers that stare us in the face.
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    This intellectually stimulating conversation is the reason I keep coming here.

  9. #8
    My keys were a minor stroke and Alan Carr's book (free online PDF available).



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  11. #9
    I happen to read this article. This might be of help too.

  12. #10

  13. #11
    FWIW, this book worked for me. Stopped smoking after 50 years and a minor stroke.

    http://www.amazon.com/Allen-Carrs-Ea.../dp/0615482155

  14. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Ronin Truth View Post
    My keys were a minor stroke
    Any brain damage?

  15. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Dr. Dog View Post
    Any brain damage?
    WHUT?

  16. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Ronin Truth View Post
    WHUT?
    Stroke, also known as cerebrovascular accident (CVA), cerebrovascular insult (CVI), or brain attack, is when poor blood flow to the brain results in cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. They result in part of the brain not functioning properly. Signs and symptoms of a stroke may include an inability to move or feel on one side of the body, problems understanding or speaking, feeling like the world is spinning, or loss of vision to one side among others. Signs and symptoms often appear soon after the stroke has occurred. If symptoms last less than one or two hours it is known as a transient ischemic attack (TIA). Hemorrhagic strokes may also be associated with a severe headache. The symptoms of a stroke can be permanent.

    Just curious whether there were any long-term or permanent effects. It would explain your posting in the religion sub-forum.

  17. #15
    __________________________________________________ ________________
    "A politician will do almost anything to keep their job, even become a patriot" - Hearst

  18. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Dr. Dog View Post
    Stroke, also known as cerebrovascular accident (CVA), cerebrovascular insult (CVI), or brain attack, is when poor blood flow to the brain results in cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. They result in part of the brain not functioning properly. Signs and symptoms of a stroke may include an inability to move or feel on one side of the body, problems understanding or speaking, feeling like the world is spinning, or loss of vision to one side among others. Signs and symptoms often appear soon after the stroke has occurred. If symptoms last less than one or two hours it is known as a transient ischemic attack (TIA). Hemorrhagic strokes may also be associated with a severe headache. The symptoms of a stroke can be permanent.

    Just curious whether there were any long-term or permanent effects. It would explain your posting in the religion sub-forum.
    It made me much mellower and tolerant on religion than I was previously. Or that may just be a result of, getting older.



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  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Ronin Truth View Post
    Or that may just be a result of, getting older.
    Dementia, also known as senility, is a broad category of brain diseases that cause a long term and often gradual decrease in the ability to think and remember that is great enough to affect a person's daily functioning.

  21. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Dr. Dog View Post
    Dementia, also known as senility, is a broad category of brain diseases that cause a long term and often gradual decrease in the ability to think and remember that is great enough to affect a person's daily functioning.
    Oh, you mean like using only fragmentary posting, out of context, replies?

  22. #19

  23. #20

  24. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Ronin Truth View Post
    FWIW, this book worked for me. Stopped smoking after 50 years and a minor stroke.

    http://www.amazon.com/Allen-Carrs-Ea.../dp/0615482155
    Only made it half way through the audio book before I quit. He was exactly right in my case. I always told myself that I wasn't addicted and that I just enjoyed smoking, but the reality was that that was bull$#@!. That was just my brain convincing itself to keep stimulating it with nicotine. I always hated the way my mouth tasted like an ash tray and I would always wash my hands and arms after smoking because I didn't like the smell. The cough annoyed me too.

    I think its been 3 years now but I really don't remember. I don't miss smoking at all.

    The second to last time I quit smoking, I was in a cave up in Big South Fork. I was so $#@!ed up on mushrooms that I didn't which way was up. I had made some tea and it was a bit strong. I donated my pack of cigarettes to the cave god and left. I didn't smoke again for about a month.

    For anyone interested, here's my tea recipe.

    Bring 8 - 12 oz of water per traveller to a boil. Remove from heat and add two bags of Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time Extra (with Valerian Root) per person along with 2 grams of mushrooms. Add a few teaspoons of ginger root shavings. Let steep for 20 to 30 minutes. It's good hot, but its also really good chilled. If you sometimes get stomach cramps from mushrooms like I do/did, the ginger root will prevent that.

  25. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by FunkBuddha View Post
    Only made it half way through the audio book before I quit. He was exactly right in my case. I always told myself that I wasn't addicted and that I just enjoyed smoking, but the reality was that that was bull$#@!. That was just my brain convincing itself to keep stimulating it with nicotine. I always hated the way my mouth tasted like an ash tray and I would always wash my hands and arms after smoking because I didn't like the smell. The cough annoyed me too.

    I think its been 3 years now but I really don't remember. I don't miss smoking at all.

    The second to last time I quit smoking, I was in a cave up in Big South Fork. I was so $#@!ed up on mushrooms that I didn't which way was up. I had made some tea and it was a bit strong. I donated my pack of cigarettes to the cave god and left. I didn't smoke again for about a month.

    For anyone interested, here's my tea recipe.

    Bring 8 - 12 oz of water per traveller to a boil. Remove from heat and add two bags of Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time Extra (with Valerian Root) per person along with 2 grams of mushrooms. Add a few teaspoons of ginger root shavings. Let steep for 20 to 30 minutes. It's good hot, but its also really good chilled. If you sometimes get stomach cramps from mushrooms like I do/did, the ginger root will prevent that.
    Interesting story, thanks. Congrats! Hang in there.

    It's been 5+ years now for me. I still really miss it, but it does seem to be getting better, many fewer dreams of smoking now too.

    I really wish I had all of that money I spent, working on killing me over the decades, back.

  26. #23

    21 days to a new you: Stop smoking

    Anne Hurley 11/9/2015





    1/22 SLIDES © Stop smoking (Steve Snodgrass | Getty Images)

    You can do it

    You already know all the health reasons smoking is bad for you: It's one of the leading causes of heart disease, lung issues, asthma, and many types of cancer. And maybe you want to make a promise to yourself and your family to stick around longer — and to make their environment healthier, too — by eliminating second-hand smoke. Keep all these things in mind over the next few weeks, as the cravings can be tough.

    But remember: Millions of other people have quit smoking, and you can too. And next year at this time, you will feel stronger, healthier, happier, and even a little richer!
    http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medi...king/ss-AAcIa2

  27. #24
    Although I love mushrooms I don't hold out any hope that the medical industrial complex would ever endorse them for therapeutic uses. Because that would probably mean they would have to admit just how wrong they are about many things.



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  29. #25
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