Today, people demonstrate different attitudes to psychedelics and hallucinogens. Some people think that such drugs as a possible way of treatment and believe that the chemical structure and the pharmacological properties are appropriate enough to be helpful to American society. There are also the people who treat drugs carefully because they are afraid of the side effects and the inability to control the situation. Therefore, there is a thought that various hallucinogens and psychedelics are harmful to American society. Each side of the debate has enough rights for existence.
Considering the information from the reading and the video, I believe that the chosen drugs are more harmful than helpful to people. There are many positive outcomes of the use of drugs, including pain and suffering relief, recreational value, and emotional/physical healing (Hart & Ksir, 2013). Hallucinogens may have a supportive function. For example, phantastica is the drug that creates a new fantasy world that presupposes communication with the real world (Hart & Ksir, 2013).
There are also many investigations and clinical research that prove the benefits of psychedelics. However, the reading, as well as the video found on YouTube, help to understand one simple truth – any kind of drug can be used in a wrong way and cause such outcomes as dependence and addiction. The inability to calculate an appropriate dosage may lead to health problems and deaths. American citizens are informed about the number of deaths caused by wrong drug usage.
However, the statistics and news prove that the promotion of people’s awareness cannot solve the problem. The government has to place restrictions on the religious use of such substances and never make such drugs escape the lab in order not to put a person under the threat of becoming dependent and addicted without any medical prescriptions.
References
Gaidos, S. (2016). Vaccines could counter addictive opioids. Web.
Hart, C.L., & Ksir, C. (2013). Drugs, society & human behavior (16th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.