Are Psychedelics Addictive?

Psychedelics are not addictive. Psychedelics treat addiction!

Contrary to popular narratives touted by mainstream and political culture since the late 1970’s, psychedelics are not addictive. Some of them like psilocybin are being shown to be anti-addictive; powerful tools for healing from addiction and helping to shift addictive behaviours, seemingly with long lasting effects.

‘Addiction can be a really big challenge, and it's one that we as a society could really use some new tools to work with. So it's not surprising that there is so much excitement about the research into psychedelic substances. ‘

This is something that western models have struggled to facilitate effectively. Even therapy approaches often lack the necessary tools to tackle addiction without the help of spiritual influences like finding a renewed faith or sense of meaning in life.

It's worth noting that just because a substance is not inherently addictive, in contrast to something like opiates which are highly addictive, this doesn't mean that it has no addictive potential.

There is always the possiblity of impulsive, unhealthy or abusive behaviours with anything that we ingest, and especially if we have a habit of, maybe, using substances to alter our consciousness as a crutch, maybe avoiding our reality or a situation or obligations in the real world, or catching ourselves falling in that trap of "one more journey or one more psychedelic experience will get me to where I want to be or; show me the answer I am looking for, or take away my problems.

Sometimes ingrained addictive patterns of behaviour or a lack of self awareness can make it possible to apply those addictive patterns even onto things that wouldn't normally cause addiction.

But as early as the 50's and 60's, substances like LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, and DMT were being studied for a wide range of applications, and evidence was suggesting considerable anti-addictive potential.

Psychoplastogens & Neuroplasticity

An interesting term for psychedelics being thrown around these days, that you may not have heard much over the last few decades, is psychoplastogens— As the NIH says "Psychedelics belong to a more general class of compounds known as psychoplastogens, which robustly promote structural and functional neural plasticity in key circuits relevant to brain health."

It is this rapid disruption in ingrained thought patterns and behaviours that is considered to be a crucial element of psychedelics power to assisst people in breaking free from addiction. As Professor David Nutt observes in his interview "The Neuroscience of Psychedelic Drugs:" with Technology Networks

"The common factor in those three disorders (tobacco, alcohol, depression) is the inability of the brain to disengage from maladaptive brain processes.

What psychedelics do in the actual trip itself is have a powerful disrupting effect on brain circuits which underpin those repetitive processes. It’s that disruption that allows people to escape from disorder.

Our belief is that any disorder that is accompanied by what you might called locked-in overthinking, could respond."

It's exciting to consider the potential of these new allies in the fight against addiciton, but we also want to keep our heads on straight so that, those who are looking to battle addiction with psychedelics can create the supports around them that will really assist in making that transition.

Self-Medicating with Psychedelics

Dr Nutt goes on to say this about self-medication, and although he labels depression, it's likely valid for any type of healing intention, and these challenges often overlap. He says:

"I do have worries about depressed people using it recreationally because we have found that the effects of psilocybin in depression are usually very difficult, painful and challenging and I would not have been comfortable with people self-medicating in the middle of a mountain... with mushrooms if they go through the kind of trips that our depressed patients went through. If you’re using these for medicine, you need to have appropriate psychotherapy and medical cover."

Addiction can be a really big challenge, and it's one that we as a society could really use some new tools to work with. So it's not surprising that there is so much excitement about the research into psychedelic substances. Yet regardless of their potential, self-medicating is never a good idea, and healing with psychedelics will always be safer when done with professional supports in a therapuetic and legal setting.

Nowadays, more and more research is showing strikingly positive evidence that psychedelics themselves are not addictive; but rather, psychedelics treat addiction.

Do you have any personal stories of using psychedelics to treat addiction?

We'd love to hear in the comments some of your thoughts, experiences, or questions. Share in the comments on youtube!