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\u201cThis is something that can give you a normal life back.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n By Clayton Henkel, NC Newsline<\/strong><\/p>\n North Carolina\u2019s\u00a0Compassionate Care Act, a bill that would legalize medical marijuana<\/a> for certain patients, faces an uncertain future in the state House this session. But state Rep. John Autry (D) has turned his attention to another set of drugs. The Mecklenburg County Democrat is working to advance research on psychedelics.<\/p>\n Hallucinogens like \u201cmagic mushrooms\u201d conjure up a certain image in some circles, but Autry said it\u2019s time to get past the stigma and look critically at the benefits of psilocybin, ketamine and other such drugs, when carefully administered.<\/p>\n Dr. Raymond Turpin, executive director of the\u00a0Pearl Psychedelic Institute\u00a0in Waynesville, has been studying therapeutic uses of psychedelics since the mid-1980s.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been conducting ketamine-assisted therapy for several years,\u201d Turpin told reporters last week. \u201cWe are currently participating in the FDA\u2019s Expanded Access Program, treating people with treatment-resistant PTSD using MDMA-assisted therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n Turpin described one patient as a completely disabled veteran.<\/p>\n \u201cIn his first MDMA-assisted session, he felt like it was 10 years of therapy in six hours. And we\u2019re seeing some incredible changes just within the last few weeks. These compounds have been around a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n Turpin and other members of the recently formed NC Psychedelic Policy Coalition stress they are not talking about recreational drug use at home. Patients receive a medical screening and the supervision and support of a trained therapist and medical practitioner.<\/p>\n Rep. Autry\u2019s proposal would allocate $4.5 million to support two psychedelic medical studies conducted by North Carolina\u2019s research universities.<\/p>\n A proposed psilocybin study would focus on reducing anxiety and fear in people with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.<\/p>\n A separate MDMA study would focus on reducing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experienced by veterans, first responders and sexual assault survivors.<\/p>\n The legislation would also create an advisory board of experts to make recommendations about how these medicines can responsibly be made more available in North Carolina. This bill would not make psychedelics available for retail purchase.<\/p>\n The Pearl Psychedelic Institute is currently one of just a handful of clinics in the country with the FDA\u2019s permission to perform psychedelic-assisted therapy.<\/p>\n Jonathan Lubecky, a retired Army sergeant, believes psychedelic medicine and research could help countless veterans.<\/p>\n Two months after returning from deployment to Iraq in 2006, he contemplated ending his life.<\/p>\n At Womack Army Medical Center he said he was given six Xanax, told to go home, give his guns to his neighbors, and come back after the holidays.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead, I drank a bottle of vodka. I put it loaded 9mm to my temple and I pulled the trigger,\u201d Lubecky told reporters. \u201cA manufacturing defect in the ammunition is the reason I\u2019m alive today.\u201d<\/p>\n In battling PTSD and his traumatic brain injury, he attempted to take his life on five occasions before he discovering MDMA-assisted therapy.<\/p>\n He took his first dose of MDMA in November 2014.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been PTSD-free ever since. I took MDMA three times eight years ago. I had not taken MDMA since.\u201d<\/p>\n Lubecky said while he still goes to traditional therapy when he feels triggered, MDMA has been \u2018a life changer.\u2019<\/p>\n Rep. Allen Chesser (R) served with Lubecky in Iraq and has joined Autry as a primary sponsor of the pending legislation.<\/p>\n He carries with him the obituary of another service member who did not get help for his PTSD.<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t something that you have to do every day for the rest of your life to maintain some semblance of normalcy. This is something that can give you a normal life back,\u201d Chesser said.<\/p>\n A peer-reviewed\u00a0study\u00a0published in the\u00a0New England Journal of Medicine\u00a0last November found a 25 milligram one-time dose of psilocybin reduced depression significantly in patients who previously had treatment-resistant cases.<\/p>\n \u2014 Like Lubecky, Ken Maxwell wants to see the use of psychedelics expanded.<\/p>\n The Asheville resident says psilocybin has helped him manage a rare type of cluster headaches that he developed after a brain injury in 2012.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like a hot poker or a hot knife stabbing at the back of my eye,\u201d Maxwell said in describing his condition.<\/p>\n His debilitating headaches were helped with microdoses of psilocybin.<\/p>\n \u201cI have never once asked God why I got this disease. But I have asked God what I\u2019m supposed to do,\u201d said Maxwell. \u201cI want something good to come out of it. And if I can help advocate and promote using these compounds in a responsible manner for their conditions, then that is what I\u2019m calling it right now.\u201d<\/p>\n The lone pharmacist in North Carolina\u2019s General Assembly also believes in the potential of psychedelic research.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m in the treatment business,\u201d explained\u00a0Rep. Wayne Sasser (R). \u201cI give you pills that you take for the rest of your life. This is a cure. We need to follow up with this bill.\u201d<\/p>\n Sasser said while the therapy is FDA approved, more research is needed to make sure any treatment is administered correctly.\u00a0\u201cThis bill will allow that to happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The \u201cBreakthrough Therapies Research and Advisory Act\u201d is still in draft form but could be introduced when legislators return from their spring break.<\/p>\n If North Carolina takes that step, there will be others to learn from.<\/p>\n In January, Oregon became the first state to legalize adult use of psilocybin.<\/p>\n According to\u00a0Stateline, Texas, Utah and Washington are also funding their own research into the medical benefits of psychedelics.<\/p>\n In February, Australia became the first country to approve psychedelics and MDMA as a\u00a0 medical option for people with treatment-resistant mental illnesses.<\/p>\n This story was first published by NC Newsline.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Washington Lawmakers Set To Enact Interstate Marijuana Sales Bill<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo elements courtesy of carlosemmaskype<\/a> and Apollo<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post North Carolina Lawmakers Look To Promote Psychedelics Research As Medical Marijuana Bill Advances<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is something that can give you a normal life back.\u201d By Clayton Henkel, NC Newsline North Carolina\u2019s\u00a0Compassionate Care Act, a bill that would legalize medical marijuana for certain patients, faces an uncertain future in the state House this session. But state Rep. John Autry (D) has turned his attentionContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":63829,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63828"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63830,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63828\/revisions\/63830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u2018A life changer\u2019<\/h2>\n
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\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\nBeyond PTSD<\/h2>\n
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\nRead More: North Carolina Lawmakers Look To Promote Psychedelics Research As Medical Marijuana Bill Advances<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"