Psychedelics as Anti-Depressents

The first modern antidepressants were originally tuberculosis medications, created from leftover World War II rocket fuel. In 2019, the Federal Drug Administration approved Spravato for depression, a chemical that was originally a veterinary anesthetic and later used recreationally as a club drug. Why shouldn’t tomorrow’s antidepressants also come from unexpected sources? Rising COVID infection rates and death tolls lead millions to worry about their own health and safety as well as that of loved ones. These concerns compound daily stressors that can include grief, economic insecurity, job loss, food and housing insecurities—all factors that are contributing to rising suicide rates. The reliable joyful distractions such as weddings, family gatherings and spontaneous get-togethers are on hold. Unsurprisingly, anxieties combined with decreased human interaction have led otherwise healthy people to depression and a sudden increase in prescriptions of antidepressant medications. And for some people, these drugs are effective at keeping a person out of their persistent cycle of negative thoughts, a symptom that defines clinical depression. As of 2018, nearly one in eight Americans use antidepressants. Unfortunately, more than a third of patients are resistant to the mood-improving benefits of medicine’s best antidepressant drugs. These people are not completely out of options, and science is steadily working to find ways to help them. There are chemicals already out there that can restore their mood balance, and in some cases, even save their lives. Unfortunately, these drugs have a name that wrongfully conjures up controversy and alarmist news headlines: hallucinogens.