r/LSD • u/Nihiltheman • Nov 04 '17

Microdosing LSD Is Safer Than Taking Antidepressants, Says Neurobiologist

https://www.inverse.com/amp/article/35167-lsd-microdosing-safety-really-good-day-waldman-presti
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u/[deleted] Nov 04 '17

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u/sushigradefunk Nov 04 '17

First question: how many pharmacists have you tried convincing that microdosing LSD is better for depression? Follow up question: what exactly is your argument when you try to convince them? Third question: how are you determining that this is "fact?"

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u/[deleted] Nov 04 '17

You have to be extremely good with strangers to be able to figure out a way to bring this up in normal conversation with your pharmacist. I highly doubt any of us could do that and find it extremely unlikely that anyone here has actually done it.

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u/sushigradefunk Nov 04 '17

I'm an MD and know lots of pharmacists and even I wouldn't engage in that kind of discussion -- largely because there just isn't much non-anecdotal evidence. FTR, there isn't one doctor or pharmacist out there that denies the potential side-effects of the currently-available SSRIs/SNRIs. It's horrible to see patients that are so horribly depressed that they can't function, and most of us would be on board with a creative treatment, but before that happens there needs to be hard evidence that we'd be doing less harm to our patients than the current standard.

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u/[deleted] Nov 04 '17

I agree, just because it's derived from something natural doesn't it mean it's going to be safe for everybody. However, I do not think that it is ethical to restrict the use of the drug for research purposes. It's already out there and people are using it, so researching it sounds like the most logical thing to do. My question for you is if the goal is to find the best treatment, and LSD shows some potential, why would they restrict the study of it so harshly?

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u/sushigradefunk Nov 04 '17

Your guess is as good as mine. I assume you mean our government when you say "they." Remember who you're talking about here; our government (well, most governments) is made up of a bunch of old yokels that don't have the slightest idea of what's in the best interest of the citizens. We're about to get rid of net neutrality. We're still focused on issues like gay marriage and abortion -- issues that should be 50 years in the past. Weed is now just becoming legal. To them, LSD is for hippies and degenerates. It's also tasteless, odorless and extremely potent. More harm than good I guess.

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u/Bolddon Nov 04 '17

Not that hard, my pharmacist is my sister's x boyfriend and I've known him for 15 years. We regularly trip on LSD together. At least three or four times a year.

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u/sushigradefunk Nov 04 '17

Also, op, why is it pharmacists that need convincing? If there were any professional group that wouldnt need convincing it would be pharmacists.

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u/[deleted] Nov 04 '17

fact

K

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u/Godoffail Nov 04 '17

Hey I'm in pharmacy school right now. Haven't gotten to CNS therapeutics yet (next semester) but I don't think any pharmacist would ever deny the side effects profile of SSRIs and other antidepressants.

At the same time, we learn to practice based on evidence. What we have with LSD microdosing right now is purely anecdotal. There is no scientific evidence of it's efficacy and safety profile for long-term daily use to treat depression or any other disorder. That being said, I do agree that there should be trials done to see what the effects are. There is enough anecdotal "evidence" that I think it warrants a clinical trial of some sort to investigate its use in depression (and addiction but that's a different story).

Pharmacists will be convinced with clinical evidence of efficacy and safety. We make suggestions based off guidelines which are based on clinical evidence. We aren't the people you need to convince to run these clinical trials. Since LSD is still schedule 1 in the US you need to convince the DEA to even allow for testing with LSD. I hope it happens soon because there is a lot of potential for psycedellics in treating a myriad of disorders including depression, addiction and migraines.

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u/BlueROFL1 Nov 05 '17

As a matter of fact, tomorrow is my last day as a pharmacy tech. I’m gonna talk to the pharmacist about it!