An emerging body of research suggests that mindfulness-based interventions may be beneficial for smoking cessation and the treatment of other addictive disorders. One way that mindfulness may facilitate smoking cessation is through the reduction of craving to smoking cues. The present work considers whether mindful attention can reduce self-reported and neural markers of cue-induced craving in...
Background Ibogaine is an alkaloid derived from the African shrub Tabernanthe iboga. Psychoactive properties of ibogaine have been known for decades, but more recently the drug has received much attention because of its promising “anti-addictive” actions. Thus, ibogaine and its derivatives are being studied as potential treatment for opioid and stimulant abuse, as well as for alcoholism and...
AIMS: Ketamine remains an important medicine in both specialist anaesthesia and aspects of pain management. At the same time, its use as a recreational drug has spread in many parts of the world during the past few years. There are now increasing concerns about the harmful physical and psychological consequences of repeated misuse of this drug. The aim of this review was to survey and integrate...
Ketamine was originally synthesised for use as a dissociative anaesthetic, and it remains widely used legitimately for this indication. However, there is increasing evidence of non-medical recreational use of ketamine, particularly in individuals who frequent the night-time economy. The population-level and sub-population (clubbers) prevalence of recreational use of ketamine is not known but is...
CONTEXT: Media and scientific reports have indicated an increase in recreational use of Salvia divinorum. Epidemiological data are lacking on the trends, prevalence, and correlates of S. divinorum use in large representative samples, as well as the extent of substance use and mental health problems among S. divinorum users. OBJECTIVE: To examine the national trend in prevalence of S. divinorum...
Ibogaine therapy offers a viable alternative to mainstream treatment for opiate addiction. The combination of the addiction‐arresting and fast‐acting properties of ibogaine, with the slow and thoughtful conversation of psychoanalytical psychotherapy is a novel approach to what still remains a difficult condition to overcome.Safer than methadone, ibogaine use is steadily increasing world‐wide,...
This study used a web-based questionnaire to investigate user perceptions of the benefits and harms of hallucinogenic drug use. Over 600 forms were submitted. Users were asked to comment on the acute and prolonged effects of different drugs and to provide more specific information on how particular drugs have harmed and/or helped them. Subjects reported relatively less harm associated with the...
The classification of psychoactive substances (stimulants, entactogens, hallucinogens) in the frame of psychopharmacology was not worked on since the 1960s. Based on the authors empirical and theoretical research about the psychophysical correlates of waking altered states of consciousness, he lecture will present a recently developed new classification of psychoactive substances. Method: The...
Research interests regarding the psychopharmacology of salvinorin A have been motivated by the recreational use and widespread media focus on the hallucinogenic plant, Salvia divinorum. Additionally, kappa opioid (KOP) receptor ligands may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of some neuropsychiatric conditions, including drug dependence and mood disorders. Salvinorin A is a selective...
MDMA (3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine) has been used by millions of people worldwide as a recreational drug. The terms “MDMA” and “Ecstasy” are often used synonymously, but it is important to note that the purity of Ecstasy sold as MDMA is not certain. MDMA use is of public health concern, not so much because MDMA produces a common or severe dependence syndrome, but rather because rodent and...