In this paper, I will be discussing how different psychedelic drugs are used in the modern world to treat different illnesses. More specifically I will be discussing how these drugs are beneficial for people who suffer from cancer. Psychedelics such as Ketamine, Psilocybin, and Marijuana have different ways of providing treatments for cancer patients and trying to improve their quality of life. Palliative care within cancer patients is crucial and these psychedelic drugs have shown significant improvement in quality of life for these patients.
Ketamine is a psychedelic drug used mainly in human anesthesia but can cause hallucinogenic side effects. In the article “Analgesic Effect of Intravenous Ketamine in Cancer Patients on Morphine Therapy: A Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind, Crossover, Double-Dose Study” it describes how the study was conducted with patients who no longer responded to high doses of morphine. According to the study on it states that patients with a Karnofsky status of 50 or above that would at random receive a dose of ketamine hydrochloride of 0.25 mg/kg or 0.50 mg/kg or a saline solution administered intravenously (Mercadante et al, Pg. 247). As a result, the text reports, “Ketamine, but not saline solution, significantly reduced the pain intensity in almost all the patients at both doses. A highly significant decrease in pain intensity was found in comparison with saline injection” (Mercadante et al, Pg. 248). Ketamine has shown improvements in palliative care with cancer patients that suffer from pain that high doses of opioids, such as morphine, can’t help with. This study further supports the research question by reporting that all patients in the double-blind study who did receive any does of the ketamine did find relief from their pain. These same 10 participants did not find relief in Morphine which makes Ketamine an alternate medicine for Palliative care in cancer patients.
Another drug that is beneficial to cancer patients is the psychedelic psilocybin and which can be found not truly in psilocybin mushrooms. In the article, “Rapid and Sustained Symptom Reduction Following Psilocybin Treatment for Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Life-Threatening Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial” it highlights to those looking for other ways of treating their cancer-induced depression and anxiety. As the article states, “Clinically significant anxiety and depression are common in patients with cancer, and are associated with poor psychiatric and medical outcomes” (Ross et al, 2016). The trial was a “double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial, 29 patients with cancer-related anxiety and depression” (Ross el at, 2016). The trial was conducted by testing the efficiency of a single dose of 0.3 mg/kg of psilocybin with psychotherapy and compare it to a session with a single dose and niacin 250 mg with psychotherapy. The results demonstrate that “there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups with the psilocybin group demonstrating immediate, substantial, and sustained clinical benefits in terms of reduction of anxiety and depression symptoms” (Ross et al, 2016). The participants who were apart of the experimental group prove to the research question that psychedelics can be used as an alternative method to treat illnesses such as mental illnesses. Psilocybin improves the quality of life for those who have depression and anxiety because of their life-threatening cancer.
Lastly, Marijuana is a very mild psychedelic drug but has been proven to be beneficial to cancer patients. In the Article “Medical Marijuana for Cancer” by Joan L. Kramer MD speaks about how medical marijuana has helped cancer patients with nausea and vomiting due to their chemotherapy. Kramer states describes a study done on cancer patients and how Marijuana and THC affected participants and their nausea. “In one study, 15 patients who had been treated with high‐dose methotrexate were given both oral THC and smoked marijuana. The THC and smoked marijuana were effective in reducing nausea and vomiting in 14 of 15 patients compared with placebo” (Kramer, 2014). This is important because methotrexate is an immunosuppressant and chemotherapy that can take a toll on cancer patients. Using THC and marijuana showed significant relief in almost all patients from the high dose of methotrexate that would originally cause them to suffer from severe nausea and vomiting. Marijuana can be used to better cancer patients’ quality of life from the symptoms they get after chemotherapy, instead of dealing with chemotherapy symptoms on their own they can find relief in this alternate method.
Cancer patients Quality of life and Palliative care is extremely important. Unfortunately, there are no cures for this illness but there are alternate ways of treating the many difficult side effects of the illness with psychedelic drugs. More research has to be done on Psychedelics and their medicinal properties instead of being classified as a class 1 drug. Ketamine, Psilocybin, and Marijuana in these studies have proven that they do have beneficial properties among Cancer patients and their palliative care.
Works Cited
Mercadante, Sebastiano, et al. “Analgesic Effect of Intravenous Ketamine in Cancer Patients on Morphine Therapy: A Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind, Crossover, Double-Dose Study.” Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, Elsevier, 6 Oct. 2000, reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0885392400001949?token=14732236523385F9B87FB15E028D54702CB56584316A461825BC2131F72EDC45D92A53627C7B758D7A8D165737CC5B5E.
Kramer, Joan L. “Medical Marijuana for Cancer.” American Cancer Society Journals, American Cancer Society, 10 Dec. 2014, acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/caac.21260.
Ross, Stephen, et al. “Rapid and Sustained Symptom Reduction Following Psilocybin Treatment for Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Life-Threatening Cancer: a Randomized Controlled Trial – Stephen Ross, Anthony Bossis, Jeffrey Guss, Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Tara Malone, Barry Cohen, Sarah E Mennenga, Alexander Belser, Krystallia Kalliontzi, James Babb, Zhe Su, Patricia Corby, Brian L Schmidt, 2016.” SAGE Journals, 30 Nov. 2016, journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0269881116675512.
