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Psychedelics and the Opioid Crisis
01. Introduction
02. Overview of the opioid crisis in the U.S.
03. Opioids throughout history
04. Psychedelics throughout history
05. How psychedelics and opiates work — and how they're different
06. Risks and addiction with opioids
07. The benefits and risks of psychedelics
08. The potential for psychedelics to address the opioid epidemic
09. A new paradigm" for psychedelics in mental health
10. Conclusion and recommendations
11. Footnotes
We do not condone psychedelic use where it is against the law. We are not medical professionals and do not recommend using psychedelics to treat addiction without professional advice, or outside of professional treatment centers.
Third Wave supports the measured, practiced use of psychedelic substances like psilocybin, DMT, and LSD for therapeutic and creative reasons where it is legal to do so. However, these are illegal in the United States, categorized as Schedule 1 substances by the Drug Enforcement Agency. This means they are deemed to have a high potential for abuse, pose severe safety concerns, and have no medical use.
Despite that designation, Third Wave challenges those statements about psychedelics. And, the group advocates for the regulated use of all substances to be legal in the United States. In doing so, it is important to acknowledge that not all substances affect people in the same ways.
Today, the high rates of abuse and related deaths due to heroin and other opioid-based substances have reached epidemic proportions. In advocating for the legal, regulated use of all substances, we want to highlight the differences between psychedelics and opioids. In doing so, we can also explore how regulations can play a role in promoting safe, responsible substance use.
The proven and potential benefits of using psychedelics responsibly far outweigh the risks. This is a point proven literally throughout history, even as current U.S. law reflects otherwise.
Many opioids also have proven medical benefits, reflected in the legality of opioid-based medications. However, overall the risks of opioid use are much higher than psychedelic use, even when used responsibly and as directed by medical professionals.
We believe it is important to highlight the differences between psychedelics and opioids while responsibly advocating for legal, regulated use of all substances. In doing so, we can also explore how existing and potential regulations can play a role in promoting safe, responsible substance use.
Overview of the opioid crisis in the U.S.
National statistics paint an unmistakable, and grim, picture of how damaging widespread opioid abuse has become, and how quickly it reached epidemic proportions. Although heroin abuse, in particular, was once considered a social problem mostly constrained to urban areas, it spread over the past decade to suburbs and outlying counties.[1]
The number of heroin-related deaths nationwide rose 248 percent from 2010 to 2014.[1] 8,200 people died of heroin-related causes in 2013, [2] while 10,575 died the next year.[1] In 2014, 18,893 others died in 2014 from opioids other than heroin.[3]
Along with heroin, the epidemic also includes prescription opioid-based medications including hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (Percocet), oxymorphone (Opana), morphine, and codeine.[4]
The synthetic opioid fentanyl is also becoming an increasingly deadly drug. Much stronger than heroin, it leads to more overdoses among even experienced users. In the northeast region of the country, where heroin is often sold in white powder form as opposed to black tar, fentanyl can be mixed into a bag without the user knowing.[1]
Just in Pennsylvania in 2016, there were 4,642 fatal drug overdoses — 13 people a day. Philadelphia alone had 907 deaths. Opioids were implicated in 85 percent of those deaths.[5]
Nationwide, there were 42,249 deaths due to opioids that year.[6] The number shows a sharp rise: The rate of deaths due to overdoses from opioids other than methadone increased around 18 percent annually from 1999 to 2006 and then remained relatively static until 2013. Then, it increased by 88 percent every year from 2013 through 2016.
This increase was impactful enough to depress the overall life expectancy in the U.S. from 78.6 to 78.5 years. This is the first time since the early 1960s that life expectancy has dropped over a two-year period.[7]
The increase in heroin use, which is often administered intravenously despite rises in other methods, has also fueled a rise in cases of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Reported HCV cases increased 294 percent from 2010 to 2014, with the largest increases among young people who inject drugs.[8]
Many factors contribute to the current opioid crisis. Widespread prescribing, use, and abuse of controlled prescription drugs or CPDs, such as Vicodin, Oxycontin, and Percocet over the past two decades fueled an increasing market for heroin.[1][9]
Sales of these nearly quadrupled from 1999 to 2014 in the U.S., although there was no corresponding increase in the amount of pain reported by Americans.[10] This increase was concurrent with a sharp rise in overdoses due to heroin and other opioids.
Some 45 percent of heroin users were also addicted to a prescription drug, making its abuse the strongest risk factor for heroin addiction.[2]
CPD abusers often seek out heroin because it's less expensive and easier to obtain.[11] In 1981, one gram of pure heroin retailed for $3,260 in 2012 dollars. By 1999 the same amount retailed for $622, similarly adjusted for inflation.[1] Since then, the price has hovered around $500.[1]
Meanwhile, the percentage of purity in any given batch peaked in the mid-'90s but is still significantly higher than it was before then. More pure heroin led to more people snorting or smoking the drug. That made it appealing to more people who wouldn't have considered injecting a drug; today it is common for new users to inhale.[1]
Finally, availability played a role. Approximately 20 years ago, Mexican traffickers increased their production and distribution of heroin, a market previously held by their Colombian counterparts. To avoid detection, they moved many of their operations out of cities and into suburban areas. This change increased distribution and widened the user base by tapping new geographical areas.[1]
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Opioids throughout history
The word "opiate" refers to any drug derived from opium, while the all-encompassing "opioid" refers to natural and synthetic opiates.[12] Opium and opiate-based substances have been used since at least 3,400 BC.[13]
Sumerians referred to the poppy plant, from which opioids are derived, as the "joy plant." They passed knowledge of cultivating it to the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and later ancient Egyptians. It spread to Persia and India via Alexander the Great around 330 B.C., and to China around 400 A.D. thanks to Arab traders. [13]
For centuries, opium was used both for recreational and medicinal purposes. The Portuguese began smoking opium in the 1500s; people in Persia and India began drinking and eating opium mixtures in the next century. The Dutch introduced the Chinese to smoking opium through a tobacco pipe in 1700.[13]
Opioid-based medications have been used to treat everything from pain to coughs to diarrhea. In modern times, they've been used to treat acute pain and, since, the 1990s, increasingly for chronic pain despite there being little evidence pointing to their long-term effectiveness.[14]
In the early 1800s, a German pharmacist created the derivative morphine, while English literary figures around the same time began using opium strictly for recreational use. The autobiographical Confessions of an English Opium-eater, published in 1821, documented opium addiction, while commercial production of morphine kicked off in 1827.[13]
In the U.S., knowledge that opium and its derivatives caused addiction and social problems was well-known and reported by the 1850s. The next decade would see thousands of servicemen become addicted to opiates as they were administered intravenously for wounds during the Civil War. Experts at the time believed using the then-new hypodermic needles would prevent addiction.[14]
Heroin began as a "wonder drug" that was more effective than codeine in treating respiratory diseases and without the side effects of morphine.[13] The Bayer Company began producing on a commercial scale in 1898; by 1902 medical journals argued that heroin withdrawal was equal to that of morphine. By 1903, heroin addiction rose to "alarming rates." [13]
The U.S. outlawed opium imports in 1909. The Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914 required all physicians and pharmacists to register and pay a tax if they prescribed narcotics, and the government then banned all narcotics sales in 1923.[13] Heroin was deemed a Schedule One drug when the U.S. passed the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.
Psychedelics throughout history
People's experiences using naturally-occurring psychedelics predates written history, with evidence of early human cultures using them in rituals and other socio-cultural contexts.[1]
Radiocarbon dating supports the theory that Native Americans used the plant-based peyote as far back as 5,700 years ago. Other evidence shows Native Americans using it specifically as a medicine stimulant and ceremonial medium since at least 100 B.C., despite Christians banning its use in 1620.[15]
People in ancient India used a substance known as "Soma," and researchers believe that a secret, all-night ceremony existed outside of Athens, Greece, for some 2,000 years that involved a psychedelic brew called "Kψkeov." [16]
Ayahuasca, whose active ingredient is DMT, has been a part of the practices of two Brazilian churches for centuries.[16] Psilocybin mushrooms (also known as "magic mushrooms" or "shrooms") have a history of shamanic, healing, religious, and divinatory use among the Mayan, Aztec, and Olmec tribes in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.[16]
More recently, a 2013 study estimated that 30 million people worldwide have used LSD, psilocybin, or mescaline,[17] even though they became illegal in many countries in the late '60s and early '70s. The change in legality was in large part driven by the United States, where the government believed that the then-current drug culture was fueling anti-war attitudes during the Vietnam War and a general rejection of societal norms.[16]
When the U.S. passed the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, it relegated LSD, psilocybin, and other psychedelics to Schedule 1 substances. The law made it difficult for scientists to continue studying how psychedelics worked and to identify their potential benefits.[16]
However, psychedelics such as LSD and MDMA had rich histories of therapeutic use by the time they were made illegal:
"Many people remember vaguely that LSD and other psychedelic drugs were once used experimentally in psychology, but few realize how much and how long they were used. This was not a quickly rejected and forgotten fad. Between the 1950s and the mid-60s, there more than 1,000 clinical papers discussing 40,000 patients, several dozen books, and six international conferences on psychedelic drug therapy. It aroused the interest of many psychiatrists who were in no sense cultural rebels or especially radical in their attitudes."[15]
How psychedelics and opiates work — and how they're different
Pharmacologically, psychedelics and opiates work in very different ways. This accounts for them producing different effects and having different risk levels pertaining to addiction and physical health.
Put basically, opioid use limits pain, produces pleasure, and suppresses the respiratory system by exploiting an existing system in the body. The body naturally produces endogenous opioids that bind to receptors. These do essentially the same things as ingested opioids but do not occur naturally in large enough quantities to produce significant pain reduction, euphoria, or respiratory depression.[4]
Ingested opioids, however, attach to those same receptors throughout the body. In these quantities, they produce a feeling of pleasure and significantly reduce the perception of pain.[4]
They also bind with dopamine receptors in the body. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, essentially a chemical messenger that binds to receptors throughout the brain. It's produced in the base of the brain and creates a pleasurable feeling when it's released.
Dopamine is linked to the brain's reward system, often released when people engage in activities necessary for survival such as eating, exercise, or sex. This shapes behavior by motivating a person to do these things repeatedly.[18]
Finally, there is a toxicity level to opioids: ingest enough, and the body will stop working.[12]
While much is still unknown about how psychedelics work, the classic serotonergic hallucinogens such as LSD, psilocybin, and DMT, largely produce their effects by binding to and activating serotonin in the brain's 5HT-2A serotonin receptors.[16]
Like dopamine, serotonin is a neurotransmitter but acts in different capacities. Serotonin is involved in nearly every human behavior from appetite to emotions, to cognition and mood. It appears to modulate the "tone of nervous system activity," thus having a general effect on behavior.[19]
Binding of serotonin to its receptors creates spontaneous neuronal excitation, meaning neurons are activated, which produces overwhelming excitation, or stimulation, of the cerebral cortex.[16] This is the part of the brain associated with everything from auditory and visual processing to reasoning, emotions, and problem-solving.[20]
Psychedelics also break down naturally-occurring barriers in the brain.
Ordinarily, regions of the brain known as hubs each have plenty of neuronal communication occurring inside them, with limited communication connecting them to other hubs.[21]
When those barriers break down, communication then increases across the brain as neurotransmitters can follow many more paths than before. As the substance wears off and the hubs become segregated again, the state of universal connectivity also disappears. [21]
Ultimately, this brain activity results in experiences of unity, blissful states, spiritual experiences, insightfulness, feelings of disembodiment, impaired control and cognition, anxiety, and complex and elementary imagery. It also is responsible for auditory and visual synesthesia, where people perceive sounds as visual images, and "changed meaning of precepts," where people perceive normal "rules" or common ideas differently than usual.[16]
For more on the ability of psychedelics to expand consciousness, read our article on the default mode network.
For humans, there are no known toxicity levels for "classic" psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin. While sometimes listed under the general "psychedelic" umbrella, MDMA does have physiological toxicity – however, MDMA is physiologically very different from classic psychedelics and is more accurately classified as an amphetamine. [22]
Risks and addiction with opioids
Despite most psychedelics and opiates like heroin being classified as Schedule I drugs, there are major differences between each one's potential for addiction.
Today, an important term when talking about addiction is "substance use disorder. (SUD)" It's the term used by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V) to describe "a cluster of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms" that indicate a person continues using a substance despite the presence of problems related to that substance.
SUD exists on a spectrum and is diagnosed using 11 criteria. These include:
Taking more of a substance, or taking it for longer periods, than intended;
An inability to cut down on or cease using a substance;
Withdrawing from activities or hobbies to use the substance;
Wailing to live up to responsibilities due to substance use;
Developing tolerance to, and withdrawal symptoms from, the substance.
People showing two or three of these criteria, or symptoms, have mild substance use disorder. Those with four or five symptoms are classified as moderate. Severe substance use disorder, commonly considered addiction, is considered present when a person shows six or more symptoms.[22]
The risks of addiction between opioids and psychedelics differ greatly. In terms of SUD symptoms, this occurs significantly in three categories: withdrawal, dependence, and tolerance.
When a person uses opioids repeatedly, the substances inhibit the body's natural production of opioids. Regular use leads to withdrawal symptoms when the body doesn't produce enough endogenous opioids to maintain its basal levels.[4]
Meanwhile, the body begins to establish a tolerance to the opioids through repeated use as the brain becomes desensitized to the natural opioid system. It then requires more to get the same results.[5] The risk of overdose increases as more and more opioids in the body increasingly repress the respiratory system to the point of failure.[24]
Opioid dependence is also largely driven by its effect on dopamine production and release. Like other addictive drugs, opioids target the brain's "reward system" by flooding it with dopamine. The more the person uses it, the more the brain associates opioid use with natural, essential behavior.[25]
Exploitation of the dopamine system like this is "a pharmacology that appears essential for nearly all drugs that can engender dependence." It leads to what's commonly referred to as a "rewiring" of the brain." [16]
"When addiction takes over, a person's ability to exert self-control can become seriously impaired. Brain imaging studies … show changes in areas of the brain that are critical for judgment, decision-making, learning, memory, and behavior control." [25]
By contrast, there is no evidence that psychedelics lead to dependence or withdrawal. This is possibly because psychedelics bond with serotonin rather than dopamine receptors, and serotonin is not directly involved in the brain's habit-forming and reward systems like dopamine.
While some psychedelics may have a small effect on the dopamine system, a 2006 study using neuroimaging found no changes in reward-related regions of the brain.[26] They do not produce physical withdrawal symptoms, and tolerance and dependence are virtually absent with psychedelic use. Although a few substances, such as LSD, produce short-term tolerance, this wears off in a few days — not long enough to create dependence.[16]
Meanwhile, characteristics of substances themselves affect how likely a person is to develop a dependence on them. How quickly the drug affects the brain, the degree to which it affects it, and the intensity of the rush upon initial exposure all play roles.[23]
In particular, the intensity is affected by how a person takes the substance. Inhalation, an increasingly common method for heroin, is the fastest, followed by intravenous use. Ingestion, most common for psychedelics, is third.[23]
According to John Kelly, director of MGH Recovery Institute, a nonprofit research group associated with Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School and an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard University, the possibility of consequences — bad things that can happen to a person as a result of substance use — is also important.
When there are no immediate consequences to substance use, a person is more likely to continue using it until they become dependent on it. This is, in part why opioids are potentially more addictive than alcohol, for instance, noted Kelly. Since people using opioids are generally sedated, they're less likely to do something harmful or dangerous while under the influence.
"Opioids don't induce blackouts or make people get into fights," he said in an interview with Third Wave. "That doesn't have a curbing effect on behavior."
Finally, the longer a drug produces effects, the longer a person often goes without using it again or experiencing withdrawal symptoms. This puts psychedelics in contrast to substances like heroin, or crack cocaine, or methamphetamine, which cause dopamine levels to increase quickly and exponentially to produce a "rush." Many of these substances wear off much quicker than psychedelics.
These factors add up to significantly different usage patterns for opioids and psychedelics, according to Kelly.
"Psychedelics haven't been studies that much, but they tend not to be misused in the same way. People use them, especially LSD, sporadically. It's a very profound, versus addictive, experience," he explained.
A psychedelic, Kelly continued, "dramatically alters consciousness in the short term, but it's not a substance people tend to take every day or develop a tolerance to."
The benefits and risks of psychedelics
A growing number of modern studies on classic serotonergic hallucinogens show the potential for psychedelics to address mental disorders. Studies show their effects not only on addiction, but also anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD — conditions that are often present in people also suffering from addiction, or substance abuse disorder.[27][28][29]
Much of the research has centered on single doses of psilocybin and LSD, with some studies on ayahuasca, MDMA, and other substances. Just a few of many recent findings include:
Psilocybin can produce "immediate, substantial, and sustained improvements in anxiety and depression" in cancer patients. The results of a single dose are stronger when combined with psychotherapy.[30]
Patients with substance abuse disorder, depression, and anxiety showed better therapeutic outcomes after a dose of psilocybin.[31]
Separate studies of LSD and MDMA showed that the feelings of happiness, well-being, closeness to others, trust, and openness these substances produce in subjects can facilitate psychotherapy.[31]
A 2017 review of recent clinical studies on psychedelics noted that use of classic hallucinogens in controlled settings is associated with lower suicidality, fewer mental health problems, lower psychological distress, and long-lasting positive effects.[31]
Psychosocial treatment using psilocybin produced decreased craving in ten volunteers with alcohol dependence, and improvements in drinking behavior and self-efficacy, or the belief in one's own ability to complete a task. A similar treatment without psilocybin did not produce any significant results.[32]
A retrospective analysis of six clinical trials, including control groups, from 1943 to 2010 concluded that various treatment programs using a single dose of LSD were associated with a decrease in alcohol misuse.[17]
Smoking abstinence rates were greater after six months for 15 subjects who received up to three doses of psilocybin during a 15-week cessation program, than for typical pharmacological and behavioral cessation programs.[33]
An ayahuasca study published in 2015 demonstrated the substance's "significant and quite impressive acute antidepressive effects" across groups of people with varying levels of depression. [34]
In a 2012 study, 19 subjects with chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD received MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. Of the 16 people who completed all the long-term follow-up measures over 74 months, 14 maintained "statistically and clinically-significant gains in symptom relief."[35] Results like these renew calls for MDMA to be used in therapy for its "unique pharmacological properties that … assist trauma-focused therapy,"[36] especially for PTSD which is often a chronic condition for which resistance to treatment "remains high."[37]
Meanwhile, multiple studies have shown a lack of chronic or long-lasting negative effects of psychedelics. These studies include:
Analysis of data drawn from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health spanning 2001 to 2004 did not reveal any associations between the lifetime use of LSD and an increased rate of any mental health outcome. Several cases showed a correlation between the use of psychedelics and a lower rate of mental health problems. [17]
Researchers studied the cognitive functions of 61 members of the Navajo Native American Church, which uses peyote in its rituals. The Rand Mental Health Inventory and ten standard neuropsychological tests showed no significant mental deficits, nor any association between peyote and neuropsychological performance.[38]
A 2004 study in which participants received varying quantities of psilocybin showed no evidence of the substance being hazardous to somatic, or bodily rather than psychological, health. [39]
A group of 22 subjects who used ayahuasca at least 50 times in the two years before participating in the study, along with a control group of 22 other people, were assessed using three neuropsychological tests and magnetic resonance imaging to examine the brain. The ayahuasca users did not show any increased signs of mental disorders than the control group, nor did they score any lower on the tests. The ayahuasca users scored significantly better than the control group when it came to "harm avoidance" and "self-transcendence."[31]
There are, of course, some risks associated with psychedelic use. While under the effects of a psychedelic, a user's judgment is impaired, which may lead them to do things they wouldn't normally do. Improper use of these substances, without adequate support, could potentially lead to dangerous behaviors.[16]
High doses of psychedelics can lead to vascular problems due to serotonin's association with vascular smooth muscle contractions and other circulatory functions. Some also cause increases in blood pressure. Psilocybin, even in controlled settings, can cause headaches. [16]
There is also evidence that heavy use of MDMA — which, again, is not a classic psychedelic but is sometimes categorized with them —- can potentially lead to heart disease. Studies show that using MDMA multiple times a week can lead to damaged heart valves. In extreme cases, it results in valvular heart disease. [40][41]
Reports of anxiety or other temporary negative mental states that required medical intervention were not difficult to address, nor did they persist after the substances wore off. Researchers also note the use of proper set (meaning mental state or expectations) and setting (environment) when taking psychedelics to facilitate a positive experience.[16]
Some, like ayahuasca and ibogaine, cause vomiting. There is also concern by researchers about toxicity levels in ibogaine. While not common, high doses have resulted in seizures and cardiac dysrhythmias, and in very few cases, death. Some researchers have called for a moratorium on its use in treatment until further studies determine a safe dosage.[42]
Ibogaine aside, these are considered low-risk adverse effects, especially as they can be mediated by responsible usage and in controlled settings.[43] Safety guidelines state that patients should not be given psychedelics to use at home, be screened for mental illness and physical fitness, and receive hours of psychotherapy before official use.[21]
Ultimately, modern LSD studies have not yielded any severe adverse reactions, apart from relatively few isolated incidents. This reinforces the view that the substance is relatively safe when it is used according to safety guidelines and in medical settings.[31]
Many instances of severe adverse reactions, from vision problems to renal failure, often occur when other substances are present in the body, or the substance the person has used turns out not to be what they thought it was. This makes it difficult to determine what exactly caused the reaction.[16]
It's also notable, then, that even the most severe horror stories from the height of LSD use in the 1960s include other factors. In its chapter on adverse effects, the 1979 book "Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered" notes that actual cases of suicide, murder, or accidents due to psychedelics were rare, despite "how eager the press was for this type of material."[15]
In many cases, incidents occurred either weeks or months after psychedelic use or involved other factors like existing mental instability or use of other substances.[15] Virtually none of the documented episodes occurred within the established medical guidelines for therapeutic psychedelic use.
The case of Stephen Kessler outlined in the 1966 Time Magazine report "The Dangers of LSD," for instance, notes that he admitted to being "flying for three days on LSD" before being charged with homicide.[44] During his trial, he admitted to taking LSD five times, and not for a month before the murder. In the days leading up to the homicide, however, he had consumed barbiturates and laboratory alcohol and was judged a chronic paranoid schizophrenic.[15]
The researchers do not seek to whitewash the potential for severe adverse effects from LSD or other psychedelic use, noting handfuls of documented incidents. However, they note:
"More easily available and commonly used drugs like alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, and phencyclidine create more danger of murder, suicide, and accidents than LSD, because they are taken much more casually and because they are more likely to provoke physical activity while impairing judgment and coordination. There are people for whom no powerful psychoactive drug is safe, and the dangers in using psychedelic drugs are far from negligible. But the significance of occasional incidents should not be overestimated."[15]
The potential for psychedelics to address the opioid epidemic
Over the past decade, there has been a resurgence of research into the potential use of psychedelics to treat addiction.
Most of the studies focus on nicotine and alcohol rather than opioids for a host of reasons. More people are affected by those than opioids, while people with alcohol or nicotine addictions tend to have better support networks than those battling heroin addiction. This makes them safer test subjects should they relapse.ways to treat alcohol or nicotine addictions, then, would also apply to addictions to opioids and other substances.
However, there is still research on psychedelics and opioids specifically. The plant-based psychedelic ibogaine, in particular, is being studied for its unique effects on opioid dependence and, unusually, on physical withdrawal symptoms. Two studies funded by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, or MAPS, and published in 2017 document treatments in Mexico and New Zealand.
In the Mexico study, subjects that had unsuccessfully attempted treatment for oxycodone and heroin addictions were given one dose of ibogaine while detoxing from opioids and observed five times in the 12 months after the treatment ended. They scored significantly low on subjective scales measuring their withdrawal symptoms and severity of their addiction after 30 days and reported zero opioid use in that time. Many continued to abstain or reduce their opioid use over the entire 12-month period.[46]
Ibogaine similarly reduced withdrawal and craving symptoms when administered once during detox treatment in New Zealand. Of the 14 subjects studied, 13 showed reduced withdrawal symptoms and either abstained from opioid use or greatly reduced their intake, over the following 12 months.[47]
This was, however, a study in which one participant passed away. According to the study, two investigations pointed to "failed duty of care" by the treatment provider, while forensic evidence suggested the death was most likely "related to ibogaine ingestion and most probably related to a cardiac arrhythmia."[49]
This, however, supports the notion that such risks are mitigated by following clinical guidelines. Researchers continue to study the substance to determine non-toxic levels for human use.
Meanwhile, according to these and other independent studies, ibogaine may offer a path for further neurobiological research and potential prototypes for "an interesting prototype" for new drugs to combat addiction. This is because it works at a molecular level to modify opioid withdrawal.[48]
Unlike most compounds, including opioids and other psychedelics, which bind to a receptor on the outside a cell membrane, ibogaine binds on the inside. This is "something no other naturally occurring molecule is known to do," and leads researchers to believe ibogaine may hold the key to new addiction-fighting tools.[47]
In June 2017, MAPS outlined reasons for the federal government to fund clinical research of ibogaine's potential to fight opioid addiction, noting its risks but also highlighting its benefits compared to other treatments.
In comments submitted to the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, the group noted:
"Currently-used treatment methods for opioid dependence … stimulate and satisfy an addict's opioid receptors and typically require an extended period of use to gradually wean an addict from dependence. In contrast, ibogaine appears to reset addicted receptors in the brain … Unlike buprenorphine and methadone which are known to perpetuate dependence, ibogaine has no history of being addictive and presents a very low potential for abuse … To be sure, ibogaine requires further study to determine its safety."[45]
Funding is only one of the challenges facing psychedelics research. There's also the public perception of psychedelics and their use.
"One question we're working on is whether psychedelic therapy can be an effective treatment for addiction. It's really not about a neurotransmitter or a single system," explained Brad Burge, director of strategic communications for MAPS, in an interview with Third Wave.
Ibogaine treatment, for instance, may go a long way in reducing withdrawal and cravings, but that's just a first step.
"What makes a difference is lasting care, lasting therapy, people making changes in their lifestyle. It requires psychological, financial, and emotional support," said Burge.
There's a significant difference in therapeutic use versus people using psychedelics recreationally or even spiritually — there's a fine line between the two, notes Burge — on their own.
"In most contexts where they're accepted, like nightclubs, raves, or EDM festivals where they're even encouraged, there are distractions everywhere," he said. "Flashing lights, loud sounds, it's almost as if people are trying to avoid paying attention to any real emotional material that might come up."
In therapy, Burge continued, "People come in rested at 10 a.m., and they are in a therapist's office for the entire day. They stay the night in a clinic in a comfortable bed, and someone drives them home. There are follow-up phone calls, another visit a few days later. They get all the support they need."
With all the new research, it's tempting to think researchers see psychedelics as panaceas for mental illnesses. But that would be going down the same road as opioids, Burge notes, similar to opiates being lauded a miracle cure for battle wounds in the Civil War, and heroin being promoted as a cure-all by Beyer in the early 20th century.
But, he argues, psychedelics went through that phase in the '60s and '70s, when use was widespread. An upside of all that use, combined with the decades of clinical use preceding it, is that researchers know a lot about the substances and their risks. An example of this is MDMA.
"In some ways, we know more about MDMA than currently-approved [antidepressant medications] because it's been around longer," he said. At the most, clinical trials before FDA approval can identify maybe the one-in-100,000 side effect. Thanks to decades of MDMA use, "If there was a one-in-a-million side effect, we would know it by now. We've seen usage. We know the risks."
Burge notes that the National Institute of Drug Abuse poured millions into research on MDMA. The results showed so little risk that MAPS used those findings when they successfully applied for research permissions and funds. Still, there's a matter of public perception that's not always productive.
"There is a tendency, especially with media organizations that rely on online advertising — i.e., clickbait — to over-exaggerate the results," said Burge. "When you see that two-thirds of people with PTSD only needed two sessions of MDMA, they take that result and call it, "Ecstasy cures PTSD.' It's not just inaccurate; it's irresponsible."
Despite all the recent findings, he continued, "There are risks, and there is a lot of work involved in the therapy itself." We have an opportunity now to be very clear."
"A new paradigm" for psychedelics in mental health
While the positive effects of psychedelics on mental illnesses, particularly addiction, are observable, they are not necessarily explainable yet. However, thanks to advances in brain imaging technology, new theories may clarify what happens and why — and how to use those events therapeutically.
In the 2016 peer-reviewed study "Psychedelics as Medicines: An Emerging New Paradigm," David Nichols, Matthew Johnson, and Charles Nichols argue that changes in behavior in a person using psychedelics are merely the "observable markers" of an underlying mechanism at work. They proposed a new hypothesis explaining this mechanism that's consistent with existing data and test results.[21]
Essentially, if addiction and other mental illnesses "rewire" the brain, psychedelics can help to restore the brain to how it was wired before the disease took hold. The restoration process, their paper says, would work "In much the same way that a computer can be rebooted when its operation becomes sluggish."[21]
Researchers have long understood the relationship between neurotransmitters and various mental disorders.[19] As a result, pharmacological approaches to addressing mental illness were receptor-based. Most antidepressants, for instance, are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRIs. They work by making neurotransmitters like serotonin or norepinephrine more available to the brain.[46]
Essentially, the authors say, SSRIs adjust the parts rather than fix the brain as a whole. By understanding how the brain is connected, and changing those connections, they can restore healthy overall functioning.[21]
David Nichols, Adjunct Professor at the UNC at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Purdue University College of Pharmacy, is one of the authors of "Psychedelics as Medicines." He spoke with Third Wave about how the use of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or fMRI, technology gives researchers a bigger picture of the brain at work.
It's understood, Nichols said, that neurotransmitters signal each other from one area of the brain to the other. But, their precise pathways are mostly unknown.
Studies determine what areas of the brain are communicating by using a statistical analysis of brain activity. If one area generates a certain electrical pattern, and then another does the same, the analysis identifies the correlation, and researchers recognize it as communication or connectivity.
What's new is that fMRIs revealed what researchers call "brain hubs." Each one is a complex region of the brain that appears segregated, almost walled-off, from the other regions. There's a lot of communication and activity within each one, and then some connectivity and neuronal signaling to other areas.
This updated model casts neurotransmitters and pathways as merely components of a larger system, rather than independent systems themselves. Knowing this, researchers can think about fixing the machine as a whole, rather than just replacing a part here and there. Psychedelics may hold the key to doing so.
Factors such as mental illness can disrupt brain hubs, explained Nichols. They cause hubs to disconnect or stop working properly, weaken in places, or become stronger in others or talk to areas they're not supposed to talk to.
Psychedelics affect connectivity in a different, potentially beneficial way. The psychedelic substances induce strong, long-range connections across the brain, creating a web of global functional connectivity. They essentially knock down the walls of the hubs and allow the creation of many new connections across all the networks of the brain.
These new connections seem random; Nichols imagines neurotransmitters are following paths of least resistance within the brain rather than any set tracks. Then, the increased functional connectivity fades away as the substance wears off.
"The idea that these substances are mind-expanding really is literally true if you think about the way the brain communicates," said Nichols.
With this information, he and others speculate that when psychedelics induce global connectivity, they also disrupt the unusual connections created by conditions such as addiction, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. When the effects wear off, the brain can reforge connections starting almost from scratch — without the forces that caused the previous hub connections. Using the substances in conjunction with psychotherapy would encourage the process.
For now, it's only a hypothesis, but it may not be just that for long. If proven, however, it can represent a "new paradigm" in treating mental illness.[21]
Nichols cites a study from the Imperial College of London that is nearly ready for publication. Correspondence with his colleagues revealed that the study demonstrates functional connectivity in people with those conditions returning to healthy patterns after psilocybin treatment.
"With functional connectivity, if we see [these results] with alcohol and nicotine, it will tell us these two brain areas are talking to each other in addicted brains, and they're not supposed to," he said. "That will foster more work in psychiatry and pharmacology. It will give us new insights into these pathological conditions."
There are also two psilocybin trials treating people with nicotine and alcohol addictions at John Hopkins and New York University, respectively.
"We anticipate that it will show disturbed patterns in addicted brains compared with control brains. Presumably addicted or depressed brains show disturbances — connectivities that don't exist in healthy brains," Nichols said. "After psilocybin, you'll see a loss in connections that are not supposed to be there."
Conclusion and recommendations
Despite myriad information about the effects, risks, and benefits of opioids and psychedelics, it is still difficult to make long-range recommendations for how they should be regulated. However, we believe officials can take small, positive steps to promote the safe, legal, regulated use of both.
First, Third Wave recommends that psychedelics, or hallucinogens, such as LSD, MDMA psilocybin, ibogaine, etc. be removed from Schedule One classification. With fewer legal hurdles, researchers could more easily study their effects. In doing so, they can continue to find ways to use these substances in treating mental illnesses including addiction while assessing other benefits and risks.
As more information comes to light, further changes in regulating these substances can be made. Restricting their use to those over 18 or 21, such as with tobacco and alcohol, respectively, is one option. Instituting clinical guidelines, such as those outlined by MAPS, would facilitate research while reducing the risk of people using them irresponsibly in uncontrolled settings.
It is more challenging to call for the safe legal use of a substance such as heroin, with its many risks. However, there is also precedent for regulated use as a method of harm reduction.
One example is safe injections sites for users of intravenous substances such as heroin. Here, staff and medical personnel provide clean needles, teach safe injection practices, monitor users for signs of overdoses, and refer clients to substance use treatment and counseling if it's requested. The idea is to decrease the public health burden of people with SUD while also containing the spread of diseases such as HPV.[49]
The first safe injection sites opened in Vancouver, Canada in 2003, followed by a second in 2017. In 2016, the first site reported that 8,040 made 214,898 visits that year. The staff oversaw 1,781 overdose interventions and made 5,321 health and social service referrals.[50]
Although still controversial, similar sites are being considered in Seattle, WA, and Philadelphia, PA.[51][52][53] In January of 2018, Philadelphia city officials officially greenlit the establishment of safe injection sites in the city and began searching for partners and funders.[53]
While the long-term effectiveness of safe injection sites remains to be seen, this is a positive step in the right direction of legal, regulated use. Similarly, while the paths to safe, regulated use of these substances are still open-ended, a first step is clear: removing the Schedule One classification will allow researchers to understand more about how psychedelics can be used safely for recreational, creative, and medicinal purposes.
About the Author: Jack Firneno is a Philadelphia-based dad, writer and drummer… but not always in that order. For more information, visit www.dadwriterdrummer.com.
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[28] Jacobson, Roni, "Treating addiction with psychedelics," Scientific American, January 1, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/treating-addiction-with-psychedelics.
[29] Conway KP, Swendsen J, Husky MM, He JP, Merikangas KR, "Association of Lifetime Mental Disorders and Subsequent Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use: Results From the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement," Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 55, April 2016, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27015718.
[30] Ross et al, "Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial." Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 30 Issue 12, December 2016, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27909164.
[31] Liechti, Mathias "Modern Clinical Research on LSD," Neuropsychopharmacology, accepted article preview 27 April 2017.
[32] Bogenschutz, MP, Forcehimes, AA, Pommy JA, Wilcox CE, Barbosa PC, Strassman RJ, "Psilocybin-assisted treatment for alcohol dependence: a proof-of-concept study," Journal of Psychopharmacology, Volume 29 Issue 3, p. 289-299, March 29, 2015, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269881114565144.
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[35] Michael Mithoefer, Mark T Wagner, Ann T Mithoefer, , Lisa Jerome, Scott F Martin, Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Yvonne Michel, Timothy D Brewerton, Rick Doblin, "Durability of improvement in post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and absence of harmful effects or drug dependency after 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy: a prospective long-term follow-up study," Dof Psychopharmacology, Vol 27 Issue 1, p. 28-39, November 20, 2012, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0269881112456611.
[36] Sessa, Ben, "Why Psychiatry Needs 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine: A Child Psychiatrist's Perspective," Neurotherapeutics, Volume 14 Issue 3, July 2017 p. 741-749, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13311-017-0531-1.
[37] Sessa, Ben, "MDMA and PTSD treatment: 'PTSD: From novel pathopsychology to innovative therapeutics," Neuroscience Letters, Volume 649, May 10, 2017, p. 176-180. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304394016304906?via%3Dihub.
[38] Halpern JH, Sherwood AR, Hudson JI, Yurgelun-Todd D, Pope HG Jr, Psychological and cognitive effects of long-term peyote use among Native Americans, Biological Psychiatry, October 15, 2005, Volume 58, Issue 8, p. 624-631, http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(05)00855-3/fulltext.
[39] Hasler F, Grimberg U, Benz MA, Huber T, and Vollenweider FX, "Acute psychological and physiological effects of psilocybin in healthy humans: a double-blind, placebo-controlled dose-effect study," Psychopharmacology, November 13, 2003, p. 145–156, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14615876.
[40] Droogmans, S et al, "Possible association between 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine abuse and valvular heart disease," American Journal of Cardiology, Vol. 100 Issue 9, Nov. 1, 2007, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17950805
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Learn more about Psychedelics and the Opioid Crisis
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Blog Post How To Cope With Anxiety And Paranoia During A Trip July 3rd, 2018 Read More
Blog Post The Dangers and Risks of Microdosing June 24th, 2018 Read More
Blog Post Finding Psychedelic Communities September 7th, 2016 Read More
Third Wave » Psychedelics and the Opioid Crisis


Well TTWrs, today begins a summer hiatus for me from TTW. I have permission and blessings from our Russian Godfather. I know you'll all do a great job of keeping the plates spinning here with DDT. I've been blogging almost non-stop since late last summer and one of the advantages to trading is you get to make your own hours and call the shots. I need to take advantage of that while the weather is nice and the beach is beckoning me. I will be away between 3-4 weeks, getting some needed projects done at TTW South, taking a trip to the West Indies where the computers are few and the cell phone reception is horrible (hooray!,) and I'll also be headed for some time on the West Coast. Of course I'll be trading in the middle of everything- some of my best trades have been in the middle of layovers amongst loud kids, a howling cat in a travel case and carry-ons.
P.S. Do yourselves a favor and stay away from the negative news as much as you can filter it out. Save visits to ZH and the rest for the weekends when you absolutely cannot trade anyway. Hold on to your personal power, unless of course you're willing to give that away to the kleptocracy too? I didn't think so. Trade your very best, I know you will.
For those of you who know my code: 143, and I'll miss you very much.
I'm reading: Summer Hiatus $$Tweet this!


More and more, women are choosing to connect and collaborate together at all-female clubs, which offer everything from communal work-spaces and guest speakers to an in-house florist and hotel.
When Audrey Gelman and Lauren Kassan opened The Wing, the much-anticipated women's club in New York, its October introduction came at a timely moment when a woman was on the verge of clinching the U.S. presidency. Now that we know it's not to be, The Wing feels even more important as a place where women can work, collaborate and just be, even for a few moments, among other women. While the idea of female clubs isn't new—the first iteration dates back to the late 1800s in the U.S.—in other Western cities, modern interpretations have been surfacing for the better part of the last 10 years. So for all its assertiveness and liberalism, New York was actually late on creating such a space for women who may be balancing work, motherhood, and everyday life against a lightning-fast, often harsh city.
"Women need to know that others are rooting for them, that others relate to their struggles, that their experiences, thoughts, and feelings are valid," says Melissa Wong, who recently co-founded New Women Space in Brooklyn. "They need to be seen, heard, and valued in a way that traditional workplaces and the public arena do not usually afford." Whether that means a desk to plug in and work, a couch to unplug and unwind, or a forum where women can express themselves, here are just some of the clubs around the world creating such a place for women today.
The health and wellness focused Grace Belgravia in London.
The Trouble Club promises both good conversation and gin.
The Women's International Club of Paris (Le WIC de Paris), Paris: Le WIC de Paris was formed to enable women of different nationalities living in and around Paris to share their cultures in a friendly environment. It is open to women of all origins who have lived internationally and are willing to participate in the activities of the club, which include film screenings, book clubs, gymnastics, and foreign language conversation—Le WIC de Paris features 252 members from 52 countries. While all functions are conducted in English, the club ensures a balance is met to maintain a truly international atmosphere. The club is part of Open Door, a network of international women's associations that are non-political, non-religious, and non-commercial.
Verity in Toronto houses a fitness center, spa, and restaurant, among other amenities.
New Women Space, Brooklyn: Founded by Wong and Sandra Hong, New Women Space opened in October and features an airy, open space where women can connect and build community. Its prime Brooklyn location, in the heart of Williamsburg, lures an array of young women and entrepreneurs who are looking to collaborate and share thoughts at, for example, a morning yoga class or Saturday book club meeting. "Our location means there is no shortage of women submitting new ideas for classes and workshops, who want to host events in every realm you can think of, and those who have found comfort and strength in knowing there is a community space for them," says Wong.
The Wing, New York: Lauren Kassan and Audrey Gelman's brightly lit, pastel-hued space in Manhattan's Flatiron District is a second home to a wide array of New York women, many of whom work in creative fields. The club offers amenities like spa-appointed showers with luxurious products by brands like Aesop, as well as an entire room devoted to hairstyling and primping, complete with Harry Josh hair tools and skincare by Glossier and Byredo. The space also provides remote work and meeting spaces, and features light fare such as salads, gluten-free pastries, and coffees. For those seeking social opportunities, The Wing hosts events ranging from book clubs to poker nights, as well as gatherings for the more politically inclined, like sign-making gatherings for the Women's March on Washington and breakfasts with representatives from Planned Parenthood.


We invite emerging and mid-career artists, scholars and professionals to apply for residency programs at the historic James Castle House in Boise's Collister neighborhood.
Serving as a testament to the life and work of American artist James Castle, and rooted in Castle's sense of wonder and discovery, the house today is a center for contemporary and historical exhibitions, tours, performances, talks, residencies, and community partnerships.
Creativity dwells between the floor joists, the wallpaper and the ceiling boards. Naturally curious and observant, Castle endlessly investigated his environment and material world, inventing tools and techniques for the creation of his work. His methodical and experimental approach led to the creation of thousands of works of art, spanning a wide range of aesthetic and conceptual styles that have served as an inspiration to artists and scholars for decades. Residency programs are designed to provide time and space for the experimentation and research necessary to complete a project that is rooted in the history and legacy of James Castle or the site. Projects may be creative, scholarly, or curatorial, but must be focused on the generation of a final product that contributes to our understanding of the site. No aesthetic connection to James Castle's work is necessary.
With easy access to Boise's Downtown and the nearby foothills, residents will have the opportunity to explore the beauty and culture of Idaho's capital city. Each residency provides one participant with private furnished living quarters, studio access, and a stipend to assist with living expenses and supplies necessary to the creation of the work. The resident is responsible for travel and shipping expenses and is expected to participate in regular community engagement events such as workshops, open studio hours, or presentations.
The residency space offers a private bedroom room, restroom and live/work studio. This space is accessible through a separate back entrance and through doors that open off the exhibitions space, along with an outdoor patio/deck adjacent to the side lawn.
With easy access to Boise's Downtown and the nearby foothills, residents will have the opportunity to explore the beauty and culture of Idaho's capital city. While in residence, individuals be offered the opportunity to work with staff at the internationally renowned James Castle Collection and Archive to learn more about Castle and his work and will gain exposure to a global audience through partnerships and affiliations of the James Castle House.


text:
Q: ReactJS useState hook: Can I update array of objects using the state variable itself? I have:

const [list, setList] = useState([]);

Somewhere in the component, I want to do:
list[index][someKey] = some_updated_value;

setList(list);

Is this valid?
Or, is it better to do:
const newList = list;

newList[index][someKey] = some_updated_value;

setList(newList);

If this is better, Why?

A: I could be wrong but I think either way is mutating the state directly. I think it would be better to do like:
setList(list.map((item,i)=>{
  if(index === i){
    return {...item, [someKey]: some_update_value};
  }
  return item;
}))

A: Both implementations would be considered state mutations and should be avoided  as this is anti-pattern in React. React uses shallow reference equality checks as part of its Reconciliation process, i.e. if a chunk of state is the same object reference as the previous render cycle it's assumed the value is the same and rerendering is skipped.

*

*Version 1
This is just directly mutating the state object.
  list[index][someKey] = some_updated_value; // <-- mutation!
  setList(list);

*Version 2
This also directly mutates the state object since newList is a reference to list.
  const newList = list; // <-- newList reference to state
  newList[index][someKey] = some_updated_value; // <-- mutation!
  setList(newList);

The idea with React state updates is to apply the Immutable Update Pattern. This is where you create shallow copies of any state and nested state that is being updated. This is also usually combined with functional state updates where you pass a callback function to the updater function that is passed the previous state to update from. This helps avoid stale state enclosures.
Example:
setList(list => list.map((item, i) => // Array.protptype.map creates new array
  i === index
    ? {                               // new object reference for updated item
      ...item,                        // shallow copy previous item state
      [someKey]: newValue             // overwrite property being updated
    }
    : item
));

Good docs:

*

*Immutable Update Pattern - this is a Redux doc but provides a fantastic explanation and example.

*Functional State Updates

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


When it is heavily damaged the hair needs strong nourishing masks. Without daily maintenance the hair can not recover and look beautiful. When caring for it, the hair will respond accordingly. In general we can say that the hair is quite easily damaged.
It is under constant treatment both in the beauty salons and at home. The use of presses, curling tongs, hair dryers, hair dyes and other means are able to change the overall structure of the hair.
We know that this sounds familiar to you. There is no lady that has not passed down this road. We can save ourselves certain procedures, but we could not completely give up the services of the hairdressers. Every woman wants to look as well as possible.
Given that you care well for your hair, the hairstyles will not hurt it so much. Familiarize yourself with the best mask for damaged hair that can solve your problems and revive your hair fundamentally.
Ingredients needed: an avocado, ½ banana, one cup coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and one egg.
Preparation: The banana and the avocado must be pureed well. Then add to them and the other products. The mask is needed to be placed on clean, slightly damp hair. Use both of your hands in order to spread it well on the entire length of the hair.
Make sure that the mixture is applied especially in the areas where the hair is heavily damaged. It will need to act right there to get you out of trouble. For women with denser hair will be easier to divide the hair into several separate sections and to evenly apply the mask on them.
If you have finished with the applying, gather all of the hair in a bun, and then cover it with a plastic shower hat and finally wrap it with a well-warmed towel. The mask should stand on the hair for a period of one hour.
Be sure to heat the towel with a hairdryer when it cools down. Continue in this manner until the complete removal from the head. This condition is important because the heat makes the components more active. Thus they penetrate deeply and will leave behind amazing results.
When you are finished, wash the components with lukewarm water, never hot or too warm, since you will hardly manage to remove the raw egg. This is a unique mask for damaged hair that have tried many ladies who have remained delighted with the achievement. Do it weekly and repair the damage.


Blink and you'll miss this hole in the wall café. Egg coffee, you ask? Sounds gross. Tastes AMAZING. This concoction is akin to liquid tiramisu and it's a favourite with both tourists and locals – a definite winner. Look for number 39 and head down the alleyway. Beware, if you plan to sit on the second floor, you'll be sharing your coffee with a crowd of smokers. Cough cough. Or puff puff, depending on your preference!


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America: It's Time to Snap Out of the Pro-Death Trance
By Sonia Arrison July 20, 2011 5:00 AM PT Email Article
A Swedish hospital recently announced that a cancer patient was saved after doctors grew him a new windpipe in the lab using a synthetic structure and the man's own stem cells. That might have sounded like science fiction just a few years ago, but today it is landmark news. Regenerative medicine has the ability to usher in radically longer and healthier lives, yet few are considering the implications.
The ability to grow new replacement parts for humans when original organs break down is a game-changer when it comes to extending human "health spans" — the amount of time one is alive and healthy. A handful of human subjects have already benefited from innovations in this area and dozens of organs have been successfully grown in the lab, including a rat heart.
The science is not easy, but because of the exponential growth of technological tools, it is moving faster than many had expected. Such growth has happened before.
I'd Like a Tune-up, Please
Better nutrition, sanitation, and pharmaceuticals allowed for the extension of life expectancy from a meager 43 years in 1850 to the almost 80 years it is now. Once regenerative medicine hits the mainstream, human life expectancy will similarly skyrocket. Soon it will be possible to maintain a human body like a vintage car: When something goes wrong, replace some parts and then be on your way.
If the replacement strategy works well enough, it is not a stretch to imagine an average life expectancy of 150 years. In fact, some scientists already think that the first person to live to 150 has already been born. What will that mean for society, and why hasn't the dialog begun?
The impact will be nothing short of revolutionary. People will work for longer periods of time than they do today, but they will be healthy and therefore productive. Consider that the gains in life expectancy in America between 1970 to 2000 added about US$3.2 trillion per year to national wealth. But what about population growth — will it spiral out of control?
It is true that the world's population is still growing, but it is also true that the rate at which it is growing is slowing down. Officials in many countries today are worried about population decline and shortage of workers.
When scholars at the University of Chicago asked what would happen if the entire population of Sweden were to become immortal, they found that Sweden's population would increase by only 22 percent over 100 years.
This might surprise some, but cutting death rates doesn't affect population as much as we might think. Heavy population growth really comes from births — not fewer deaths. And when it comes to births, one might ask about family and whether fertility will also be extended.
Choose Long Life
In a world in which people live longer, decisions about when to get married will shift considerably, particularly if it is relatively easy to put off childbearing for longer periods of time. In that quest, research is proceeding at a furious pace, and there has been some success at freezing a woman's own eggs so she can have her own biological children later in life.
The coming changes will be enormous — but on the whole, positive. Why then, is there no sustained dialog about how to get to that point sooner? In America, a large part of funding for regenerative medicine comes from the Department of Defense, whose goal is to repair soldiers who come home wounded.
That is an effort everyone recognizes as important. Yet, when it comes to repairing older people whose hearts and lungs are failing, society seems at peace accepting their demise because that is all humanity has ever known — a state of mind that some call the "pro-death trance."
Humans now have the opportunity to live much longer and healthier lives — for the greater benefit of all. It is time to break free from the pro-death trance and work toward speeding the revolution.
TechNewsWorld columnist Sonia Arrison is author of the soon-to-be released book 100 Plus: How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything, From Careers and Relationships to Family and Faith (Basic Books, Sept. 2011). Follow her onTwitter @soniaarrison.
More by Sonia Arrison
Bayley12 says:
I believe we would if we wanted to live we will live we will it's human nature to want to survive not just human but animal we all want to live more then the person next to us wither we believe it of ourselves or not, and sadly it wont be the poor or the less fortunate that get these treatments it will be the rich the wealthy the people that can get the treatment above other people this is how it's always been how it always will be. It's sad the world has not changed and that no matter how we kid ourselves there will always be someone lesser then ourselves but this is freedom Darwin is right Its survival of the fittest to the end. and the fit just happen to be the rich and more fortunate. sorry to be a debby downer.
hairyfeet says:
NSTAAFL ya know,somebody has to pay the incredible costs for these 'miracles of modern medicine' and with both the Ds and the Rs refusing to put any kind of caps on drug prices the bill is gonna get pretty hefty.
My grandma recently died at the age of 95 and while I AM grateful for every minute we had with her knowing that last year probably cost the state a good $170,000+ just for her frequent trips to the hospital does make it hard to justify. And we were lucky that she was VERY healthy right up to the end. What about those with lifelong illnesses?
I have a relative on disability and the drug he is on is called Remicade and currently costs $98,000 a year and he will have to be on it for life. he is 43 and because the state would take away his medicare/caid if he worked he has to sit at home even though the Remicade is like a miracle and makes him almost normal. Its a total catch 22 where he needs the drug to be able to work but if he works he loses the drug and then can't work.
So who pays the bill? The only thing we can get congress to agree on is the 1%ers and big pharma should get blank checks so prices are gonna go nowhere but up, the downside of all these "miracles" is they rarely cure anything, only treat, which means years or decades taking these crazy priced meds, and already medicare/caid is quickly becoming a black hole. Personally I'd be happy for a single payer system with caps on prices like the EU but it is obvious that is never gonna happen here. So who pays? Do we end up paying 60%+ in taxes and insurance premiums just try to tread water, do we end up with "death panels" to decide who gets to live and who doesn't, how do we pay for these miracles?
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


City of York Council will carry out temporary repairs of broken and uneven paving slabs/flags on Parliament Street from next week.
Over the years, the paving has become worn and damaged. One of the main reasons for this is because the trees on Parliament Street are taking a huge amount of water from the underlying clay, which is shrinking the clay underneath the paved areas. As a result an entire new section of pavement from the area near the old fountain to Mark's and Spencer is required.
The council listened to businesses and retailers in June, when works were originally due to be carried out, and postponed these during the busy summer months.
Following further assessment of the highway, the paving has deteriorated even more – to a level which now requires immediate repairs ahead of the busy Christmas period. This is in order ensure the area is safe for pedestrians.
The temporary measures will include taking up broken and uneven paving slabs/flags and laying two new layers of tarmac surface.
Cllr Peter Dew, Executive Member for Transport and Planning, said: "We recognise that major investment is needed to improve parts of the city centre, including Parliament Street. Officers are already working on a range of options for a permanent solution. Parliament Street is one of York's most popular and busy areas so it's important that it's safe and fit for purpose for the future - and that we can reduce the cost of ongoing repairs.
The temporary repairs will start week commencing the 1st October and be completed by the 2nd November. This is not a permanent solution and plans to resurface the full area are in development.
Businesses and retailers were sent letters outlining the works on Thursday 27th September. City of York Council will be carrying out the works and will be responsible for public safety and for providing access while the work is ongoing.
Works are scheduled to take place between 7am and 4pm Monday to Friday. However some out of hours working will be required (early morning and weekends) to reconstruct access to retailers premises to reduce the impact of this work to businesses in the area. As with any construction work there is likely to be a certain amount of disruption and inconvenience, but the council will be doing everything reasonably possible to keep this to a minimum.


Mr. Dorf's potential appointment has progressed far enough that he conducted telephone interviews with the leaders of the most influential arts related labor unions including the Screen Actors Guild, Actors Equity, and the American Federation of Musicians. In the case of the American Federation of Musicians, their president, Tom Lee, was impressed enough with Mr. Dorf that he issued a press release wherein he enthusiastically endorses Mr. Dorf as the next chairman of the NEA.
The 57 year old Dorf has close ties to the Obama administration and served on the president-elect's arts policy committee, which addressed arts-related issues during the political campaign. Additionally, Dorf serves as Adjunct Full Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he developed and teaches courses in Law, Politics, and the Arts and Street Law for the Artist. He has also guest taught at the Cultural Policy Center of the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy Studies.
I am familiar with Mr. Dorf's work here in the Chicagoland area and I feel he would be an excellent chairman of the NEA. He brings an unusually high level of understanding about the complexities of arts issues from a legal, financial, artistic, and administrative perspective. In fact, if president-elect Obama does move toward developing a national Arts Office that directly oversees the NEA, I believe Mr. Dorf would make an excellent candidate to lead that office.
Pingback: KERA Art&Seek Blog - The New Head of the NEA?
Michael Dorf is a real mensch! I hope he gets it–it would be good for all of us.


This elegant residential design and quality project is located in the center of Palma and its a few minutes from shops and restaurants. The airport can be reached in 15 minutes by car. The house consists of 351 m2 of living space and extends over four floors with elevator.
The ground floor consists of a foyer, garage, wine-cellar and a laundry room.
The first floor consists of 2 large bedrooms with en suite bathrooms and large windows.
The second floor consists of one enormous owner suite with an elegant en suite bathroom and an exclusive dressing area.
On the third floor includes a fully equipped kitchen with open dining-living area with a guest toilet and a large terrace.
On the top floor a beautiful sun terrace with summer kitchen and pool with beautiful views of the city.
Extras: heating, air conditioning, cellar, elevator.


Blowout Sale! Up to 54% off on Clay & Dough at Angelos Hobbies, Page 2. Top brands include Generation Dough, PolyClay, Play-Doh, Crayola, Kangaroo, Kare & Kind, JUGGLEPIE, Craft Accessories Shoppe, HEHALI, LUMI DOUGH, Graces Dawn, PlayGo, Colorations, Jellydog Toy, & WXBOOM. Hurry! Limited time offers. Offers valid only while supplies last.


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Comedian from WA State Gets Starring Role on The Rock's TV Show
Reesha On The Radio Published: March 1, 2021
I was never one to get into WWF and WWE when I was a kid, but I certainly did hear of The Rock. I can recall the phrase being said by people around me, "Can you SMELL what The Rock is cooking?!"
Do you know how some people play the game "6 Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon"? Here are my 6 Degrees to The Rock: Dwayne Johnson went to Glencliff and McGavock High Schools. He is two (2) years older than me so that means he was a junior when I went to Maplewood High. He doesn't disclose what years he went to Nashville high schools, so I have no clear way of knowing when we would have crossed paths, but I had friends that went to McGavock after middle school, so I am TWO to THREE degrees AWAY from The Rock!
1! 2! 3! Three degrees from The Rock and Kevin Bacon! Ah, ah, ah!
The Rock was in the movie Scorpion King with actress Kelly Hu. Kelly was in the movie The Air I Breathe, which starred Kevin Bacon! So I can get to Kevin Bacon in literally SIX DEGREES!
The Rock certainly has come a long way from lanky teenager to the highest-paid actor in Hollywood.
Talk about started from the bottom, now we're here: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, can recall beating up teenage bullies for telling him WWF wrestling was fake. I guess he showed them, right? The Rock arguably became WWF's biggest star. The Rock has most recently done everything from starring in an animated Disney film, Moana, anyone? He also starred in a couple of Jumanji sequels. I have heard Dwayne will be playing the role of Black Adam in upcoming Justice League movies from DC Comics.
The Rock even has his own TV show on HBO called Ballers. I admit, I have never seen it, although I hear it's a really great TV show. Perhaps I'll put this in my queue for the coming weekend.
There's a new TV show called Young Rock, and it's supposed to be about Dwayne Johnson when he was, well, obviously, a youngster. It debuted on Hulu back on February 16th. The sitcom is typically about 20 minutes long and a new episode is released every Tuesday.
Young Rock was supposed to be filmed in Los Angeles, but as you know, the coronavirus shut down nearly all television production since March of 2020. The producers of the show decided to pack up shop and head to Australia for filming. They made all of their cast and crew go through quarantine before heading to the set to get to work.
The coolest trivia tidbit about the show, Young Rock, is that one of Washington state's own is an actor for it. Have you ever heard of comedian and Lacey, Washington native, Nate Jackson? He owns a comedy store in Tacoma, Nate Jackson's Super Funny Comedy Club, and now plays the role of WWE Wrestler Sylvester "Junkyard Dog" Ritter, as NewsTribune.com reports.
Nate gets to play a role inspired by a real person, so that's gotta be so cool! Sylvester Ritter was an interesting character, although I hate that they used to put a chain around his neck to signify that he was from the "junkyard".
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Regulating America's weight has become a hot topic in recent years due to researchers using low income families as the pioneering population ushering America into the "big boned" country status. Health Affairs reported in a 2010 article that 44% of children living below the poverty line are obese. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) have pointed to fast food restaurants and trans fat within the foods restaurants serve as leading causes of the high obesity rates within lower income individuals. The argument put forth is that these individuals' choices have been limited to fast foods. In California, the South Los Angeles City Council took heed to what the PCRM was saying and voted to ban the expansion of fast food restaurants. While in New York, the government banned trans fat in the food restaurants serve. And in Chicago, a school board voted to ban students from bringing their lunches to school. However, the group used to justify the war on fast foods is the group showing a flaw in the research.
A sample research report would read as follows: sampling group (low income), income (less than or equal to $24,000.00), and housing (Rent or Section 8). The hypothesis would state that lower income individuals are more likely to be obese because they eat more fast foods than the middle and upper income individuals. The solution would be to ban fast food restaurants so the U.S. can be a healthier place. However, a question researchers haven't answered is how can someone in the low-income bracket afford to eat fast food so much to the point that his weight increases?
Fast food is expensive and fast food restaurants' doors do not remain open because lower income individuals are using them as their own personal grocery. At McDonalds, the menu prices are in the range of $5.00-$8.00. A person in the lower economic bracket would spend approximately $70-120 dollars per week if he bought McDonald's food on a daily basis for two weeks. This is a hefty amount for a lower income person especially when rent, water, lights, gas, and miscellaneous are added into the equation. So a person in this income bracket will not be able to dine out as often at a fast food restaurant as a person in the middle or upper income bracket.
Surely this is something the experts would know. After all, PCRM pointed to the expensiveness of fast food restaurants. If it is to be taken as a premise that what is causing the "big boned" status in America are the fast food restaurants and trans fat in the food restaurants serve, then it must be taken as true that the lower income individuals can afford to eat at these places, over a long duration of time, which will result in an increase in their waist band. This also suggests that there is an underreporting of the amount of people within the middle and upper class who are also obese. Because unlike the lower-income individuals, the middle and upper income individuals are able to afford eating at fast food restaurants or dining out at a longer duration of time than their lower-income counterparts. Hence, the middle and upper income individuals have the means to eat out and will therefore have the same issue, unhealthy eating habits, as the lower income individuals.
The PCRM believes choosing healthier foods is the solution to decreasing the waistband of lower income individuals. Yet, this raises another question concerning minimizing the competition to restaurants serving healthier foods. There has been a healthy movement in this country that has coincided with the labeling of America as a "big boned" country. The healthy movement brings in companies that sell healthy foods and provides direct competition to the fast food restaurants. For instance, restaurants like McDonalds, Wendy's, and Burger King are adapting to the new competition from healthy restaurants by adding healthy choices like salads, chicken sandwiches, and oatmeal bars as second options. The PCRM, however, did not hesitate in discrediting just how healthy fast foods restaurants are. In the Spring 2011 report "The Five Worst Supposedly Healthy Fast-Food Items," PCRM stated that Wendy's Baja Salad has 1990 mg of salt, which is more than a person will consume in a day's setting. As for McDonald's, PCRM stated that its Fruit and Maple Oatmeal bar has "more sugar than a snickers bar." The report even went so far as to discredit Subway, the restaurant that has used the now famous Jarred commercials in order to market its self as a pioneer in weight loss. According to the PCRM, the meats Subway uses can lead to an increase in colorectal cancer. Basically, despite how healthy "fast food restaurants" claim to be, the foods served in these restaurants are always unhealthy. And based upon these findings, a person should wonder if the healthy movement in America is as much about improving American's health as it is about a dollar.
The definition of healthy and how to become healthy has changed over time. It has gone from a person using the Scarsdale's diet to become slimmer, to moderating what a person eats and exercising regularly. These changes suggest that being healthy is something that is becoming socially and economically defined. While in fact, health is something that is not limited to socio-economic. If health was limited to socio-economic factors, then everybody in the lower-economic bracket would be plum and round while everyone in the middle and upper income bracket would be slimmed down. However, this is not the case.


More GMUs for early muzzleloader elk season: Historically, fewer game management units have been open to elk hunters using muzzleloaders than to other groups. Under the new rules, 27 more units will be open to muzzleloaders.
Moose permits will rise in northeast: With moose populations in the northeast corner of the state near an all-time high, more tags can be made available. Moose permit areas have also changed, creating even more hunting opportunities.
More antlerless whitetail hunting in northeast: Antlerless white-tailed deer opportunities in northeastern Washington were severely reduced in recent years by the effects of some hard winters. Many of those hunting opportunities are being restored now that the herds are showing signs of recovery.
Maximizing multi-season deer permits: To make the most of multi-season deer permits, the commission has authorized the department to sell permits that were not picked up by raffle drawing winners. These left over permits will be available on a first-come, first-served basis after Aug.1 to hunters whose names were not drawn.
Extended hunting seasons for cougar: The cougar harvest in most areas of the state never reaches the guidelines set in the game management plan. This year's hunting seasons will be extended into April to increase hunting opportunities wherever possible. However, hunters should be sure to check with the department because the late season is still subject to closure based on harvest results and the harvest guidelines.
One proposal that failed to gain approval from the commission was a restriction on the use of bait when hunting for deer and elk. Instead, the commission directed department staffers to work with stakeholders to bring forward new options for consideration next year.
All of the rules approved by the commission will be included in the 2015 Big Game Hunting pamphlet, which will be available later this spring at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations, in sporting goods stores and at other license vendors statewide.


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«The Nuns» - biography, albums, songs, video clips
The Nuns
punk new wave post-punk decadence punk rock gothic rock garage rock alternative
There are at least 3 artists under the name of Nuns.
1. The Nuns were a punk rock/new wave band in San Francisco in the late 1970s. The band has periodically reformed and played to the present day. The band formed in 1975, and were the among the first punk bands in California. In January 1978, together with The Avengers they opened for the Sex Pistols at their final concert at San Francisco's Winterland.
Jennifer Miro (nee Jennifer Anderson), Richie Detrick and jeff Raphael. Alejandro Escovedo was the guitarist and main co-writer in the late 1970s. Delphine Neid (also known as Delphine Volino) was their bassist during their late 1980s lineup. Delphine died of a drug overdose in 1990. For a period in the late 1990s Baron Rubenbauer, now a classical guitarist, played guitar in their line up.
Their music included many different elements, from the dark, Germanic cabaret inspired "Lazy", sung by Jennifer, to the cynically comical "Suicide Child", sung by Jeff Olener and Detrick.
The Nuns original manager was Edwin Heaven. He discovered them when they opened at The Mabuhay Gardens for The Ramones. Within half a year, he had created a worldwide buzz for the band, designed most of their now-classic posters and, basically, took them from playing at San Francisco's Mabuhay to playing such larger venues as (Bill Graham's) Winterland, LA's The Whisky.
The Nuns have recorded at least four albums, the first posthumous eponymous one released in 1980 on Bomp/Posh Boy when Escovedo had already left the band, followed by Rumania on PVC. Posh Boy released Desperate Children featuring Delphine Volino in the late 1980s and a fourth album 4 Days In A Motel Room : Their Greatest Sins in the early 1990s. The latter album contained in part re-recordings of songs contained on the out of print Rumania album. Their current album as of 2006 is New York Vampires.
The Nuns have now reinvented themselves and are more gothic than punk, with strong themes of fetishism and domination running through their music, as well as Vampirism. They are now signed to London based Triple Silence, an offshoot of Salvation Group.
Jennifer Miro had a small role in the 1989 Stephen Sayadian film Dr. Caligari, The Video Dead and has also appeared as an extra in a number of films, as well as starring in the off Broadway play, "Satan's Mistress" and Harold Pinter's "Partytime". As of 2008, she is still involved in music and fashion.
2. Nuns (Not THE Nuns) A Relatively new 3 piece midland band consisting of band members from other unsuccessful local bands. Fusin together Humour,film quotes and brutailty. Nuns they may be, Holy they are not!
3. The Nuns are an all-lady six-piece who love The Monks. They love The Monks so much, in fact, that they play the songs of the Amercian GIs turned garage rock pioneers, replete with full habit get up.