User:Der Berg13/sandbox

Medicinal and Therapeutic Use
Overview

The use of psychoactive drugs as a medicine or a form of therapy is not uncommon. Despite the negative image surrounding many of these substances, they have been found to have beneficial effects for the users. 5-MeO-DMT is routinely used to alleviate depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction. There is limited clinical research being done with 5-MeO-DMT as it is still a Schedule I Controlled Substance in the United States. Many users seeking to treat issues with 5-MeO-DMT participate in rituals where a shaman guides the individual through the experience and ensures that they are in a safe controlled environment. The most common source of the drug comes from the toxin of a toad known as the Sonoran Desert Toad or Bufo Alvarius. Recent studies have shown that the venom contains over 100 chemical components, including peptides, steroids, indole alkoids, befogargarizanines, organic acids and others. The toxins have long been known to have great pharmaceutical potential because of these chemicals. Modern studies have shown that the development of these components can be used in the treatment of numerous mental illnesses. 5-MeO-DMT is a very potent and fast acting hallucinogen. There are multiple methods of administration that all require different quantities of the drug including inhalation (about 6-20 mg), intravenous injection (about 0.7-3.1 mg), sublingual or intranasal insufflation (about 10 mg) and oral administration (about 30mg). The most common form of ingestion is intranasal insufflation and inhalation as these have been reported to induce the most intense effects. The effects after administration are almost immediate but they do not continue as long as other psychoactive drugs like psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Users normally experience a peak between 30-40 minutes with the effects subsiding around 50 minutes and terminating around 60-70 minutes. Because of its short but powerful effect the drug has become popular for people seeking to combat mental illnesses without prolonged treatment.

Depression and Anxiety

The cause of depression is still a grey area. Despite many scientists believing that the disease is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain there are numerous factors that can lead to someone becoming depressed, including faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, stressful life events, medications and medical problems. Chemicals are involved in this process but it goes beyond a simple imbalance. Chemicals work both inside and inside of the nerve cells and there are millions of chemical reactions that are responsible for someone’s mood. There are numerous areas of the brain that can be affected by depression and people utilize 5-MeO-DMT to treat these certain areas as well as a catalyst to find new direction in their lives. 5-MeO-DMT is very drawn to the brains 5-HT1A receptor, a subtype of serotonin receptor found in the area of the brain that largely impacts the control of mood, cognition and memory. [4] A deficiency of serotonin production from this receptor is known to cause depression and anxiety in the host. 5-MeO-DMT is drawn to the 5-HT1A receptor inducing a large production of serotonin in the brain. These effects continue even after the peak of the hallucinogenic state has concluded. It is important to monitor the amount of 5-MeO-DMT that is consumed because if the user’s serotonin levels become too high, they can experience negative effects as well. It is common for users to vomit during a session with 5-MeO-DMT because nausea is a side effect of high serotonin levels. When the strongest effects of the drug have worn off, and serotonin levels begin to return to normal, the user's 5-HT1Acontinues to produce serotonin allowing more control over their mood. The drug acts like many antidepressants in this sense. The drug has been known to work for many people but because it is still federally controlled, research is limited as to whether or not 5-MeO-DMT could actually be used as a viable antidepressant.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is another mental disease where multiple factors affect individuals differently. Recent studies in brain imaging have shown that PTSD mostly affects the amygdala (associated with the expression of emotions), the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) (associated with emotional processing and decision making), and the hippocampus (associated largely with memory). What researchers have seen is that people suffering from PTSD generally show a reduced activity in the vmPFC and an increased activity in the amygdala. This means that an individual’s emotions, particularly fear, become extremely heightened and they are unable to efficiently process these emotions. There is little known as to how and why 5-MeO-DMT affects this part of the brain upon administration due to the lack of research, but as the 5-HT1A receptor is found in the hippocampus it is believed that 5-MeO-DMT prevents PTSD much in the same way that it helps with depression. As the drug is administered the activity within the vmPFC and amygdala becomes more balanced, and continue to remain at appropriate levels long after administration. A recent study conducted by Alan Davis et al. showed that from a group of 515 participants, 79% saw improvement in their symptoms of PTSD. Some subjects were even completely free of their symptoms and would administer the drug every couple of months to keep their symptoms at bay.

Addiction

It is long been disputed whether or not addiction can be considered a “disease.” Regardless, it is evident to see that changes in the brain occur after extended use of an addictive substance. The brain is an extremely complex organ and is primarily affected by addictive substances in three major areas. The first is the brain stem which controls all of your basic bodily functions, the second is the cerebral cortex which controls executive functions like decision making and sensory information processing, and the last is the limbic system which is the body’s emotional reward circuitry and controls how we experience pleasure after it is activated by drug consumption. 5-MeO-DMT largely works to combat this feeling of reward or pleasure that is experienced when consuming addictive substances. A study conducted showed that when 5-MeO-DMT was administered to mice there was a huge downregulation in mGluR5, a receptor that is associated with the reward mechanism in drug abuse.[2] After a dose of 5-MeO-DMT the mice were less likely to self-administer ethanol and cocaine. The mice were also less likely to experience the symptoms of withdrawal from nicotine. This study largely suggested that the mGluR5 receptor is a big factor when it comes to drug abuse. 5-MeO-DMT does not prevent substances from having an effect on the individual, but the drug goes a long way to prevent people from feeling a sense of pleasure or that consuming a substance is a reward. Though there has been know human clinical trials many firsthand accounts from Shamanic rituals confirm that 5-MeO-DMT helped individuals from addictive substance abuse.