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♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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ADRIAN PRIMEAUX:
To me, peyote is a
very intimate

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medicinal herb.

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ALBERT GARCIA-ROMEU:
Psychedelic-assisted treatments

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allow us to reinvent ourselves.

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YASMIN HURD:
They're allowing the brain

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to see itself.

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NARRATOR:
In the 1960s,
psychedelic drugs were famous

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for their mind-bending
recreational effects,

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but today, they might offer hope
for treating

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devastating conditions

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from addiction, to PTSD,
to depression.

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LEN CAMPBELL:
I didn't take psilocybin

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to go find Martians.

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I needed to work with
scientists

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to be able to stop
smoking cigarettes.

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And it worked.

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EVAN CRAIG:
I was on antidepressants for
about four years prior.

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And I haven't been on any since.

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(laughs)

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I haven't felt sadness.

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NARRATOR:
How is this possible?

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Scientists are searching for
answers within the brain,

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where psychedelics
alter consciousness

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and can open the mind
to positive change.

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It's like reprogramming the
operating system of a computer.

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You're getting down to
very basic, code-level changes.

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FRED BARRETT:
We observe a radical change

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in the way that brain regions
talk to each other.

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BILL RICHARDS:
It's not only that these
states of consciousness

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are beautiful and inspiring.

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They seem to have
therapeutic power.

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KATHLEEN KRAL:
The psilocybin

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shifted my perception
from negativity to positivity.

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NARRATOR:
The research is cutting-edge,

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but early results
from clinical trials offer hope.

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SCOTT OSTROM:
You don't forget

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the breakthrough moments
that you had,

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and you don't forget
what you learned.

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They stay a part of you.

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JON KOSTAS:
I haven't drank since

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my very first session.

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It worked almost like
an antibiotic,

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where I did this treatment

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and then I was done.

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NARRATOR:
"Can Psychedelics Cure?"

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Right now, on "NOVA."

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♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
Psychedelics:
LSD, magic mushrooms, peyote.

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These powerful,
mind-expanding substances

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fueled the '60s counter-culture.

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For some, they're powerfully
transformative-- even spiritual.

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CAMPBELL:
It was a spiritual experience

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that I'd never had in my life.

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It has probably changed me
forever.

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NARRATOR:
But for others,
terrifying and dangerous.

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MARCELA OT'ALORA G.:
They felt that I was having
a psychotic episode.

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I was hospitalized.

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NARRATOR:
And ultimately,
they were criminalized.

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RICHARD NIXON:
We must wage total war against

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public enemy number one,

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the problem of dangerous drugs.

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
But today, a growing number
of clinicians

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argue that there's another side
to psychedelics.

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MANISH AGRAWAL:
The psilocybin therapy

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has been the most powerful tool
I've seen.

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I said, "Wow.

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"I feel like I've been treating
trauma with stone tools,

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and there's the
state-of-the-art treatment."

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NARRATOR:
That they have the potential

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to heal the mind as a treatment

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for addiction,
depression, and PTSD.

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ROBIN CARHART-HARRIS:
They have this big effect,

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opening the mind and the brain
up

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for change.

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The good that can come out of

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the responsible use
of these substances

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is quite amazing, really.

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
It's an about-face
that few saw coming.

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RACHEL YEHUDA:
How do you shift
from a position of,

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"These drugs are illegal,

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these drugs are bad for you,"

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to, "These drugs are
therapeutic,

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"this is the way that you heal

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from mental illness"?

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NARRATOR:
What are these drugs doing
to patients' minds

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to give some doctors such hope
for their potential?

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♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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KOSTAS:
I grew up in New York City.

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It was fairly easy to,
to get access to alcohol,

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through friends,
we'd go to a corner deli.

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And that all started probably
around 12, 13 years old.

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It would take a couple
of drinks to feel anything

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or feel good.

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But then, a couple of years
later,

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those two drinks wouldn't
cut it,

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or three drinks wouldn't cut it,

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and I'd need more to get to
where I was before,

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when I first started drinking.

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I wouldn't drink every night.

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I was more of a binge drinker,
so I'd pick my battles.

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But during one of those nights,

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it would be about 23 drinks
in a night.

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NARRATOR:
Over the years,
Jon Kostas struggled to quit.

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KOSTAS:
I went to my first
AA meeting at 16.

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I tried AA for years.

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I tried rehab.

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I tried different
pharmaceutical drugs.

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I've been practicing psychiatry
for 21 years,

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focusing on addiction.

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And Jon came to me
in his early 20s,

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and he probably was the worst
case of alcohol use disorder

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I'd ever seen
for someone his age.

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He'd go on these terrible
benders that he was starting

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to experience alcohol
withdrawal,

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which is very rare for somebody
in their early 20s,

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and I was very scared that
he was going to have

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a premature death because of
how much he was drinking.

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NARRATOR:
Worried that Jon was at risk
of death,

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psychiatrist Stephen Ross helped
him enroll in a clinical trial

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at N.Y.U. with his colleague

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psychiatrist
Michael Bogenschutz,

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who was testing a controversial
experimental treatment

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for alcohol use disorder

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using psychedelics.

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During a series of carefully
designed therapy sessions

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over 12 weeks, Jon received two
doses of a hallucinogenic drug.

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His addiction to
a recreational drug

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would be treated with
what most people think of

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as another recreational drug,
psilocybin,

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which is classified
as a schedule one narcotic,

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right alongside heroin.

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♪ ♪

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Psilocybin is the mind-altering

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molecule found
in magic mushrooms.

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They were introduced
to American popular culture

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in 1957 by a Wall Street banker
named R. Gordon Wasson,

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who wrote about them in an
article for "Life" magazine.

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These fungi have been used
by Indigenous peoples

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in the Americas
for thousands of years.

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Psilocybin is just one of
a family of substances

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often called psychedelics.

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They include mescaline,

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found in the North American
cactus peyote,

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as well as synthetic chemicals
like LSD and MDMA.

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Users report that these drugs
bring about

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an altered state of
consciousness,

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sometimes accompanied by
hallucinations

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or heightened sensitivity
to colors, sounds, and patterns.

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BARRETT:
The entire range of possible

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visual experiences can be
encountered.

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Walls breathing,
illusory movement--

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seeing movement in a carpet

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when the carpet's not really
moving.

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NARRATOR:
Many also report a loss of ego
accompanied by

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profound feelings of empathy
and connection to others,

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even the entire universe.

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And what's perhaps most unusual
about these drugs

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is that after the experience of
the so-called trip,

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users often feel changed
in positive ways.

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Though there are
clear differences

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between psychedelics, they all,
with the exception of MDMA,

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act in a similar way
in the brain.

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Each of the active molecules
fits like a key into a lock

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by binding to a specific protein
in the nerve cells

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of the human brain called the
serotonin 2a receptor,

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and this can alter perceptions
and even consciousness itself.

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And that's central
for producing

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their subjective states,

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including mystical states
of consciousness

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and these unusual states
of mind.

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NARRATOR:
The drugs are very powerful.

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And for some people,

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the experience of going
on a consciousness-altering trip

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that they can't control or stop

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can be very challenging
or frightening.

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KOSTAS:
I was afraid of psychedelics.

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I never experimented with them
growing up

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because I was too afraid.

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I heard all the bad stories
of having a bad trip,

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or I thought I could go
permanently crazy.

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Or if you stare at the sun,
you'll go blind.

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And so,
when I raised those concerns

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with the doctors at N.Y.U.,

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they said, "Listen, that's
totally normal going into it,

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"but this is incredibly safe
to do.

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"We've already
properly screened you,

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"and you're mentally
and physically fit

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to go through this."

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NARRATOR:
Patients with a personal

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or family history of psychiatric
disorders like schizophrenia,

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bipolar, or psychotic disorders
are deemed to be too at risk

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for the treatment.

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BOGENSCHUTZ:
There's a possibility that

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classic psychedelics
could precipitate

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a psychotic episode
or a psychotic disorder

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in someone who was predisposed.

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And that hasn't happened
in any of the trials to date,

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but it, uh, you know, it remains
a concern.

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Would you like to state
your intention for...

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NARRATOR:
In trials like this one,

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the drug is part of a larger
plan to help participants

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address specific issues,

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and each psychedelic trip
is facilitated by a therapist.

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When Jon took his first
psilocybin trip in an effort

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to curb his cravings

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for alcohol,
the experience was powerful.

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KOSTAS:
There were a few
monumental experiences

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that I saw during this.

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(bird calling in distance)

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There was a glass bottle,

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a liquor bottle,
in the middle of the desert,

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and all of a sudden, the glass
disintegrated into the sand,

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back into the desert,
and just vanished.

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And I thought that was
pretty powerful symbolism

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that my addiction
was leaving me.

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And pretty much after that, I
had felt this is going to work.

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
Jon stopped drinking after
his first dosing session.

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KOSTAS:
It worked almost like
an antibiotic,

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where I was sick,
I had a disease,

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I went in, saw the doctors,

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did this treatment,

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and then I was done.

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I don't have to see doctors.

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I'm not on any, uh,
prescriptions.

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I don't go to any
support groups.

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I live without the addiction,

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which I never thought
would be possible.

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
The N.Y.U. study recruited
93 patients who were

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randomly assigned psilocybin
or a placebo.

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All the participants received
psychotherapy

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over the 12-week
treatment period.

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Jon's case is
particularly dramatic.

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But the results overall
have been encouraging.

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ROSS:
The psilocybin plus

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psychotherapy group had a
50% reduction in drinking

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compared to just the group
that got psychotherapy alone.

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BOGENSCHUTZ:
It's a large difference,

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it's a clinically meaningful
difference,

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and if these effects sizes
hold up,

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it's a much larger effect

249
00:12:05,266 --> 00:12:08,766
than we've seen in
any of the medications

250
00:12:08,766 --> 00:12:12,233
that are currently approved
for alcohol use disorder.

251
00:12:13,766 --> 00:12:15,633
NARRATOR:
Doctors are trying
to understand

252
00:12:15,633 --> 00:12:18,066
why psychedelic-assisted
therapy might be more effective

253
00:12:18,066 --> 00:12:21,100
than currently available
treatments.

254
00:12:21,100 --> 00:12:23,066
They think that the
key difference may be

255
00:12:23,066 --> 00:12:26,433
in the way that psychedelics
can allow the brain to change,

256
00:12:26,433 --> 00:12:30,200
rather than simply suppressing
symptoms such as craving.

257
00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,466
♪ ♪

258
00:12:33,466 --> 00:12:36,266
Our brains are composed of
billions of nerve cells

259
00:12:36,266 --> 00:12:38,666
that branch out like trees.

260
00:12:38,666 --> 00:12:41,100
They carry messages between
each other

261
00:12:41,100 --> 00:12:43,666
and connect different regions,
which are like departments

262
00:12:43,666 --> 00:12:46,233
with different functions.

263
00:12:46,233 --> 00:12:48,500
Such as the amygdala,
the department where

264
00:12:48,500 --> 00:12:52,100
the emotions associated
with memories are stored.

265
00:12:52,100 --> 00:12:56,600
The striatum, the office of
reward and habitual behavior.

266
00:12:56,600 --> 00:13:00,366
And at the highest level,
the prefrontal cortex,

267
00:13:00,366 --> 00:13:04,933
like a front office overseeing
them all and making decisions.

268
00:13:04,933 --> 00:13:08,333
So, in the normal brain,
you can say especially

269
00:13:08,333 --> 00:13:11,366
in, in adults,
the prefrontal cortex

270
00:13:11,366 --> 00:13:13,100
has this top-down control.

271
00:13:13,100 --> 00:13:18,766
We control our emotions,
we control, you know,

272
00:13:18,766 --> 00:13:20,933
our, our habits,
through very strong

273
00:13:20,933 --> 00:13:25,133
prefrontal cortical activity.

274
00:13:25,133 --> 00:13:26,400
NARRATOR:
Yasmin Hurd is a neuroscientist

275
00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:30,266
who studies the effects of drugs
on the brain.

276
00:13:30,266 --> 00:13:34,400
She's found that alcohol
can erode the nerve cells

277
00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,800
that connect departments.

278
00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:39,166
HURD:
With alcohol,
these branches retract.

279
00:13:39,166 --> 00:13:40,400
They shrink.

280
00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:42,600
And that then diminishes
communication

281
00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:44,933
between the brain regions.

282
00:13:44,933 --> 00:13:48,700
So, the amygdala is much more
hypersensitive

283
00:13:48,700 --> 00:13:52,400
to context associated with
the, the drug, such as alcohol.

284
00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:55,000
It's, like, acting on its own.

285
00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:59,200
NARRATOR:
If the amygdala goes rogue,

286
00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,800
the result can be irresistible
cravings leading to decisions

287
00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:06,400
that put alcohol ahead of
everything else,

288
00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:10,466
even ignoring pleas from
the front office to stop.

289
00:14:10,466 --> 00:14:12,633
Habitual behavior takes over.

290
00:14:12,633 --> 00:14:16,733
They stop thinking about
what may be the bad outcome.

291
00:14:16,733 --> 00:14:18,400
So their executive control
is diminished.

292
00:14:21,566 --> 00:14:24,700
NARRATOR:
But when Jon took psilocybin,

293
00:14:24,700 --> 00:14:27,733
he seemed to get control
over his cravings.

294
00:14:27,733 --> 00:14:32,033
Somehow, the front office
re-established its authority.

295
00:14:32,033 --> 00:14:37,000
The research is still early,
but scientists do know

296
00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,400
that psychedelics activate
specific serotonin receptors

297
00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:42,366
in the brain involved in mood

298
00:14:42,366 --> 00:14:45,133
and unusual states
of consciousness.

299
00:14:45,133 --> 00:14:49,633
One idea is that activating
these receptors may also lead

300
00:14:49,633 --> 00:14:53,566
to new nerve cell connections--
even growth.

301
00:14:53,566 --> 00:14:56,933
Perhaps that is the key.

302
00:14:56,933 --> 00:15:00,900
HURD:
It's hypothesized that
psychedelics will restore

303
00:15:00,900 --> 00:15:04,400
the branches in these trees

304
00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,833
that we know are impacted by
alcohol use disorder.

305
00:15:08,833 --> 00:15:13,100
So, by restoring and allowing
the branches to grow again,

306
00:15:13,100 --> 00:15:16,466
that improves communication
once again in the brain.

307
00:15:16,466 --> 00:15:20,066
NARRATOR:
But stimulating
serotonin receptors

308
00:15:20,066 --> 00:15:22,500
or expanding nerve cell
connections

309
00:15:22,500 --> 00:15:25,400
can't be the full explanation.

310
00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,633
After all, the drug cocaine
also increases

311
00:15:28,633 --> 00:15:30,600
nerve cell connections.

312
00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:34,100
But there may be
a critical difference.

313
00:15:34,100 --> 00:15:37,466
HURD:
Cocaine will also increase
the projections, these branches,

314
00:15:37,466 --> 00:15:38,866
but it's too many.

315
00:15:38,866 --> 00:15:41,633
One thing about
how psychedelics are used

316
00:15:41,633 --> 00:15:45,933
as compared to cocaine, is that
cocaine, it's habitual behavior.

317
00:15:45,933 --> 00:15:47,233
They're using it chronically.

318
00:15:47,233 --> 00:15:49,766
It can produce perhaps
too much growth.

319
00:15:49,766 --> 00:15:53,900
So, with psychedelics, it seems
that the growth may be,

320
00:15:53,900 --> 00:15:55,666
you know, it's not too much,
it's not too little--

321
00:15:55,666 --> 00:15:57,066
it's just right.

322
00:15:57,066 --> 00:16:00,700
Like the Goldilocks effect,
in a way.

323
00:16:00,700 --> 00:16:03,766
NARRATOR:
One factor that Jon attributes
his sobriety to

324
00:16:03,766 --> 00:16:07,033
is the mystical experience
he went through,

325
00:16:07,033 --> 00:16:11,600
which is often a hallmark
of a psychedelic journey.

326
00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:13,133
KOSTAS:
Something definitely happened,

327
00:16:13,133 --> 00:16:15,966
because my relationship
with alcohol changed.

328
00:16:15,966 --> 00:16:17,500
And I don't think about it

329
00:16:17,500 --> 00:16:23,000
and have the same emotions
I used to have towards alcohol.

330
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:24,300
ROLAND GRIFFITHS:
People ended up

331
00:16:24,300 --> 00:16:28,700
having experiences that
they rated as among

332
00:16:28,700 --> 00:16:29,933
the most personally meaningful

333
00:16:29,933 --> 00:16:32,600
and spiritually significant
experiences

334
00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:35,366
of their entire lifetimes.

335
00:16:35,366 --> 00:16:38,566
And I think that's a really
important element

336
00:16:38,566 --> 00:16:43,400
that kind of stamps in
the enduring attributions

337
00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:46,166
made to these experiences.

338
00:16:46,166 --> 00:16:48,433
Because they're profound
experiences

339
00:16:48,433 --> 00:16:52,400
felt to be precious,
felt to be absolutely true.

340
00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:56,233
And that accounts for
why, months, years later,

341
00:16:56,233 --> 00:16:59,666
people are often reflecting back
on that experience

342
00:16:59,666 --> 00:17:01,800
and can tap in and draw from it.

343
00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:04,100
♪ ♪

344
00:17:04,100 --> 00:17:07,633
NARRATOR:
The idea that one or two doses
of a mind-altering drug

345
00:17:07,633 --> 00:17:10,666
could create such a profound
impact

346
00:17:10,666 --> 00:17:13,566
with potentially beneficial
results is not new.

347
00:17:13,566 --> 00:17:16,000
Western medical research
into psychedelics

348
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,700
began in the 1940s, not long
after

349
00:17:18,700 --> 00:17:22,833
the accidental discovery
of lysergic acid diethylamide,

350
00:17:22,833 --> 00:17:24,433
or LSD.

351
00:17:24,433 --> 00:17:29,300
In 1943, Swiss chemist Albert
Hofmann was working with ergot,

352
00:17:29,300 --> 00:17:33,366
a potentially poisonous fungus
sometimes found on wheat, oats,

353
00:17:33,366 --> 00:17:36,266
and rye, which had been used
for medicinal purposes

354
00:17:36,266 --> 00:17:38,233
for centuries.

355
00:17:38,233 --> 00:17:41,866
Ergot poisoning was known
to constrict blood vessels.

356
00:17:41,866 --> 00:17:44,900
Hofmann was hoping to isolate
a chemical compound

357
00:17:44,900 --> 00:17:48,100
that would reduce the risk of
fatal bleeding in childbirth.

358
00:17:48,100 --> 00:17:51,400
In the process,
he accidentally absorbed

359
00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:53,733
a miniscule amount of LSD,

360
00:17:53,733 --> 00:17:55,700
possibly through his fingertips,

361
00:17:55,700 --> 00:17:59,033
ultimately launching him
on what some would call

362
00:17:59,033 --> 00:18:03,333
the world's first acid trip.

363
00:18:03,333 --> 00:18:07,666
"Kaleidoscopic, fantastic
images surged in on me,

364
00:18:07,666 --> 00:18:10,700
"alternating, variegated,
opening

365
00:18:10,700 --> 00:18:14,433
"and then closing themselves
in circles and spirals,

366
00:18:14,433 --> 00:18:18,400
"exploding in colored fountains,
rearranging and hybridizing

367
00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:22,266
themselves in a constant flux."

368
00:18:22,266 --> 00:18:26,166
Word got out about
this mind-expanding substance,

369
00:18:26,166 --> 00:18:29,033
and the lab began synthesizing
and shipping samples

370
00:18:29,033 --> 00:18:31,166
to research centers
around the world.

371
00:18:31,166 --> 00:18:35,933
Initially, scientists thought
psychedelics like LSD

372
00:18:35,933 --> 00:18:38,033
could be used to explore
schizophrenia,

373
00:18:38,033 --> 00:18:40,800
since a person's tripping
experience mimicked

374
00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:43,966
some aspects of psychosis.

375
00:18:43,966 --> 00:18:46,066
But then they observed
that some patients,

376
00:18:46,066 --> 00:18:48,766
including those with
alcohol use disorder,

377
00:18:48,766 --> 00:18:50,300
reported feelings
of transcendence

378
00:18:50,300 --> 00:18:55,266
or spiritual epiphanies that
helped them to quit drinking.

379
00:18:55,266 --> 00:18:57,400
I was so curious that the most
studied indication

380
00:18:57,400 --> 00:18:59,166
was the use of LSD
to treat alcoholism.

381
00:18:59,166 --> 00:19:02,800
It turns out there was this
huge body of research

382
00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:06,466
from the 1940s to the 1970s.

383
00:19:06,466 --> 00:19:08,000
And it was a big part
of psychiatry.

384
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:09,700
There were 40,000 participants
treated.

385
00:19:09,700 --> 00:19:12,533
It was hailed as a wonder drug.

386
00:19:12,533 --> 00:19:15,200
NARRATOR:
But as scientific research
continued,

387
00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:19,066
some efforts took a dark turn.

388
00:19:19,066 --> 00:19:22,766
The C.I.A. attempted to
weaponize LSD

389
00:19:22,766 --> 00:19:25,666
with top secret projects
like MKUltra,

390
00:19:25,666 --> 00:19:28,433
in which they experimented
on volunteers

391
00:19:28,433 --> 00:19:31,500
and unsuspecting government
employees to see if minds

392
00:19:31,500 --> 00:19:36,400
could be controlled, memories
erased, people programmed.

393
00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:40,866
And then LSD escaped the lab.

394
00:19:40,866 --> 00:19:44,500
♪ ♪

395
00:19:44,500 --> 00:19:48,333
Ken Kesey, the author of "One
Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,"

396
00:19:48,333 --> 00:19:52,866
was one of the C.I.A.
research volunteers.

397
00:19:52,866 --> 00:19:55,966
RICK DOBLIN:
Ken Kesey first got exposed
to LSD in a C.I.A. experiment.

398
00:19:55,966 --> 00:19:58,733
And then later,
he became one of the leaders

399
00:19:58,733 --> 00:20:00,266
of the hippies.

400
00:20:00,266 --> 00:20:02,766
You know, he helped the Grateful
Dead, began at the Acid Tests,

401
00:20:02,766 --> 00:20:05,233
the Merry Pranksters.

402
00:20:05,233 --> 00:20:07,966
So, the history of the C.I.A.,
and the mind control,

403
00:20:07,966 --> 00:20:10,533
and the nefarious uses
of psychedelics, are interwoven

404
00:20:10,533 --> 00:20:13,800
into the cultural story
of psychedelics.

405
00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:16,533
Uh, the first experience
I had was with

406
00:20:16,533 --> 00:20:18,266
seven little mushrooms
in Mexico.

407
00:20:18,266 --> 00:20:22,133
NARRATOR:
In 1966, the former Harvard
psychology professor

408
00:20:22,133 --> 00:20:23,500
Timothy Leary

409
00:20:23,500 --> 00:20:27,833
promoted psychedelic drugs
as a means of personal

410
00:20:27,833 --> 00:20:29,700
and cultural transformation,
urging youth to...

411
00:20:29,700 --> 00:20:34,100
Turn on, tune in, drop out.

412
00:20:34,100 --> 00:20:35,700
(crowd cheers and applauds)

413
00:20:35,700 --> 00:20:37,266
ROSS:
Timothy Leary became the
pied piper of psychedelics.

414
00:20:37,266 --> 00:20:41,633
And it so alarmed the
Nixon government at the time,

415
00:20:41,633 --> 00:20:44,366
Nixon declared Timothy Leary the
most dangerous man in America,

416
00:20:44,366 --> 00:20:47,200
declared war on drugs.

417
00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:51,333
America's public enemy
number one is drug abuse.

418
00:20:51,333 --> 00:20:53,333
And enacted the Controlled
Substance Act in 1970,

419
00:20:53,333 --> 00:20:55,366
which kind of erased them
from the history books.

420
00:20:58,066 --> 00:21:01,233
NARRATOR:
The act classified drugs
like heroin, cannabis,

421
00:21:01,233 --> 00:21:02,666
and psychedelics as having

422
00:21:02,666 --> 00:21:04,766
the highest potential
for addiction and abuse.

423
00:21:04,766 --> 00:21:07,600
ROSS:
The whole war on drugs

424
00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:09,433
wasn't really a war against,
like,

425
00:21:09,433 --> 00:21:11,666
stopping people from
using drugs.

426
00:21:11,666 --> 00:21:13,433
If you declare war on drugs,
you should declare war

427
00:21:13,433 --> 00:21:15,466
on alcohol and tobacco,
the most damaging ones.

428
00:21:15,466 --> 00:21:18,200
They were absented from
the Controlled Substance Act.

429
00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:20,133
He went after psychedelics,

430
00:21:20,133 --> 00:21:21,566
which are really not
addictive at all.

431
00:21:23,133 --> 00:21:26,066
NARRATOR:
The latest revelations about
the benefits

432
00:21:26,066 --> 00:21:28,933
aren't surprising to many
Indigenous populations,

433
00:21:28,933 --> 00:21:31,100
who have venerated plant-based
psychedelics

434
00:21:31,100 --> 00:21:33,733
for thousands of years.

435
00:21:33,733 --> 00:21:37,266
In many cultures,
psychedelics have been used

436
00:21:37,266 --> 00:21:39,600
in rites of passage
and to gain wisdom--

437
00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:41,566
usually administered in specific

438
00:21:41,566 --> 00:21:46,100
religious and healing
ceremonies.

439
00:21:46,100 --> 00:21:48,666
In North America,

440
00:21:48,666 --> 00:21:52,066
some Indigenous peoples use
peyote,

441
00:21:52,066 --> 00:21:54,333
a cactus that grows in
Northern Mexico

442
00:21:54,333 --> 00:21:56,933
and a small region
of South Texas.

443
00:21:56,933 --> 00:22:00,400
PRIMEAUX:
I am Adrian Primeaux.

444
00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:05,466
I come from five generations
of peyote people,

445
00:22:05,466 --> 00:22:07,000
myself being the sixth
and then my son

446
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:09,766
being the seventh generation.

447
00:22:09,766 --> 00:22:13,633
(speaking Native language):

448
00:22:13,633 --> 00:22:15,100
(in English):
To me,

449
00:22:15,100 --> 00:22:18,966
peyote is a very intimate
medicinal herb.

450
00:22:18,966 --> 00:22:22,700
We use it as a guide,
we use it as a means

451
00:22:22,700 --> 00:22:24,133
to synchronize
with the universe.

452
00:22:24,133 --> 00:22:28,033
My grandparents explained to me
at a very young age

453
00:22:28,033 --> 00:22:32,500
that we could acquire any means
of success through medicine

454
00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:35,933
and peyote if we approached it
with the right intent.

455
00:22:35,933 --> 00:22:40,700
NARRATOR:
Peyote use can touch on
many aspects of life.

456
00:22:40,700 --> 00:22:44,366
PRIMEAUX:
How this medicine is able
to heal,

457
00:22:44,366 --> 00:22:47,833
there's a lot of complex facets.

458
00:22:47,833 --> 00:22:51,000
Within Indigenous forms
of thought, we believe that,

459
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:53,800
like, the spirit exists
somewhere

460
00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:56,133
back there in the subconscious,
it's connected to the universe.

461
00:22:56,133 --> 00:23:00,833
So, this plant medicines
helps you reach those depths

462
00:23:00,833 --> 00:23:04,100
of your ability to manifest
whatever it is

463
00:23:04,100 --> 00:23:05,466
you can picture in your mind.

464
00:23:05,466 --> 00:23:08,300
Maybe you're picturing
pain going away.

465
00:23:08,300 --> 00:23:10,566
Maybe you're picturing
your cancer going away.

466
00:23:10,566 --> 00:23:12,400
Maybe you're picturing
your body being healthy.

467
00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:13,566
Maybe you're picturing
education.

468
00:23:13,566 --> 00:23:15,566
Whatever it is that
you're picturing,

469
00:23:15,566 --> 00:23:19,600
your subconscious brain has that
power to create that for you.

470
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,366
And this medicine is just
a tool to help you

471
00:23:22,366 --> 00:23:24,366
to reach that point.

472
00:23:24,366 --> 00:23:26,766
(chanting in Native language)

473
00:23:26,766 --> 00:23:29,833
HURD:
When we think about how Native
people

474
00:23:29,833 --> 00:23:31,800
have used these substances,

475
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:33,200
it was a ritual.

476
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,466
So there's something still
really important

477
00:23:36,466 --> 00:23:39,700
about the setting,
the ritualistic aspect.

478
00:23:39,700 --> 00:23:42,466
That you can see this
positive outcome,

479
00:23:42,466 --> 00:23:46,066
you can hear the positivity
around you.

480
00:23:46,066 --> 00:23:49,200
All of that then gets encoded
into the brain

481
00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,933
in a manner that, when you're
not

482
00:23:51,933 --> 00:23:53,233
in that hallucinogenic
state,

483
00:23:53,233 --> 00:23:54,600
it still stays with you.

484
00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:56,366
♪ ♪

485
00:23:56,366 --> 00:24:03,033
NARRATOR:
A peyote cactus can take over
ten years to reach maturity.

486
00:24:03,033 --> 00:24:05,833
Since the arrival of Europeans,
Native American tribes

487
00:24:05,833 --> 00:24:08,033
have often been persecuted
for peyote use

488
00:24:08,033 --> 00:24:10,000
and had limited access
to the plant.

489
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,766
Now commercial interests
and poachers are putting

490
00:24:13,766 --> 00:24:18,066
pressure on
peyote's fragile ecosystem.

491
00:24:18,066 --> 00:24:20,166
♪ ♪

492
00:24:20,166 --> 00:24:23,600
Recently, a philanthropist
purchased 605 acres

493
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:26,000
of peyote land here in
South Texas

494
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,000
to provide access for members of
the Native American Church,

495
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,766
which teaches Native American
traditions,

496
00:24:31,766 --> 00:24:34,166
sometimes elements
of Christianity,

497
00:24:34,166 --> 00:24:37,066
and regards peyote
as a sacrament.

498
00:24:37,066 --> 00:24:38,366
STEVEN BENALLY:
In order to

499
00:24:38,366 --> 00:24:42,833
assure that this medicine
is going to be available,

500
00:24:42,833 --> 00:24:45,200
we have to have some kind of

501
00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:50,633
direct connection
with this land.

502
00:24:50,633 --> 00:24:53,600
And this land, I think,
is an answer to a prayer

503
00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:55,433
from years ago

504
00:24:55,433 --> 00:25:00,200
that there will be medicine
for our children.

505
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:02,500
♪ ♪

506
00:25:02,500 --> 00:25:07,166
SANDOR IRON ROPE:
This land now means the world
to all of us.

507
00:25:07,166 --> 00:25:10,433
Mother Earth and what she
has provided us.

508
00:25:10,433 --> 00:25:12,033
This represents the future.

509
00:25:12,033 --> 00:25:15,500
It's about what you are
gonna teach your children,

510
00:25:15,500 --> 00:25:17,166
your grandchildren,

511
00:25:17,166 --> 00:25:19,166
and what you're gonna
leave behind.

512
00:25:19,166 --> 00:25:23,400
The essence of, of generational
responsibilities, you know.

513
00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:27,533
Words cannot suffice
what the spirit feels

514
00:25:27,533 --> 00:25:31,033
in connecting with this land.

515
00:25:31,033 --> 00:25:36,433
NARRATOR:
Psychedelic-assisted therapy
is still in its early stages,

516
00:25:36,433 --> 00:25:39,933
but scientists are inspired
by Indigenous practitioners'

517
00:25:39,933 --> 00:25:42,500
careful and non-recreational
use

518
00:25:42,500 --> 00:25:43,900
of these powerful substances.

519
00:25:43,900 --> 00:25:48,700
One concept that the
emerging use in therapy shares

520
00:25:48,700 --> 00:25:51,666
with Indigenous practices
is the importance of taking

521
00:25:51,666 --> 00:25:53,933
these psychoactive substances

522
00:25:53,933 --> 00:25:57,200
only in the right environment
and frame of mind.

523
00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:59,533
YEHUDA:
We know that like any drug,

524
00:25:59,533 --> 00:26:03,700
including aspirin,
that is in our medicine cabinet,

525
00:26:03,700 --> 00:26:07,433
the use of any drug not in the
way it was designed to be used

526
00:26:07,433 --> 00:26:11,833
can be harmful and even
catastrophic.

527
00:26:11,833 --> 00:26:13,833
So when we talk about
psychedelics,

528
00:26:13,833 --> 00:26:15,166
the setting is very important.

529
00:26:15,166 --> 00:26:18,266
Not just the preparation,
not just the integration,

530
00:26:18,266 --> 00:26:19,600
but your safety.

531
00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:22,666
Who you're with,
what your intention is,

532
00:26:22,666 --> 00:26:25,800
what is the physical
environment.

533
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:27,800
NARRATOR:
The setting plays a crucial role

534
00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:32,100
in a psychedelic-assisted
therapy experience.

535
00:26:32,100 --> 00:26:34,566
No detail is overlooked in this
physical space,

536
00:26:34,566 --> 00:26:37,033
and the mindset, or intention,

537
00:26:37,033 --> 00:26:40,100
a person brings to the session
is of paramount importance,

538
00:26:40,100 --> 00:26:43,366
just as it is when Indigenous
people

539
00:26:43,366 --> 00:26:45,733
prepare for the use of peyote.

540
00:26:45,733 --> 00:26:48,333
CRAIG:
My intentions were just to

541
00:26:48,333 --> 00:26:50,233
go in with an open mind.

542
00:26:50,233 --> 00:26:53,633
Whether it be a good trip or a
bad trip, just experience it.

543
00:26:53,633 --> 00:26:57,966
My intention
was self-exploration,

544
00:26:57,966 --> 00:27:02,533
self-understanding,
and openness.

545
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:05,366
KRAL:
My intention was

546
00:27:05,366 --> 00:27:08,566
to see the face of God.

547
00:27:08,566 --> 00:27:10,466
ERIC GOSS:
My intention was to take

548
00:27:10,466 --> 00:27:14,400
my experience of having cancer
at age 11

549
00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:18,533
and transform it into something
neutral,

550
00:27:18,533 --> 00:27:20,533
or even something positive.

551
00:27:20,533 --> 00:27:23,333
My intention was
to have no intentions.

552
00:27:23,333 --> 00:27:26,300
I wanted to be open to
accepting

553
00:27:26,300 --> 00:27:28,233
whatever the experience would
give to me.

554
00:27:38,366 --> 00:27:40,233
NARRATOR:
What draws these
patients together

555
00:27:40,233 --> 00:27:42,866
is a common enemy: cancer.

556
00:27:42,866 --> 00:27:44,666
AGRAWAL:
I've had the privilege of being

557
00:27:44,666 --> 00:27:46,433
with you guys all this last
year.

558
00:27:46,433 --> 00:27:48,266
NARRATOR:
Here in Rockville, Maryland,

559
00:27:48,266 --> 00:27:51,333
oncologist Manish Agrawal is
the first doctor

560
00:27:51,333 --> 00:27:53,766
in the country to run a
psychedelic-assisted

561
00:27:53,766 --> 00:27:55,266
clinical trial treating
depression

562
00:27:55,266 --> 00:27:58,133
and other mental health impacts
of cancer

563
00:27:58,133 --> 00:27:59,500
with group therapy.

564
00:27:59,500 --> 00:28:01,933
CRAIG:
I was having really bad

565
00:28:01,933 --> 00:28:06,233
monthly depressive episodes
where I would just cry all day.

566
00:28:06,233 --> 00:28:09,700
NARRATOR:
As many as a third of patients
with a cancer diagnosis

567
00:28:09,700 --> 00:28:12,766
will experience major depressive
disorder.

568
00:28:12,766 --> 00:28:15,900
But perhaps because it exists in
the shadow

569
00:28:15,900 --> 00:28:17,966
of a cancer diagnosis,

570
00:28:17,966 --> 00:28:20,333
the condition is
rarely acknowledged.

571
00:28:20,333 --> 00:28:23,666
AGRAWAL:
I've been an oncologist for
almost 20 years.

572
00:28:23,666 --> 00:28:26,033
And I've been taking care of
patients

573
00:28:26,033 --> 00:28:28,233
and there's an aspect of that
care that was really missing.

574
00:28:28,233 --> 00:28:30,700
You know, we take care of the
physical aspects,

575
00:28:30,700 --> 00:28:33,333
but then I close the door, and I
know so many, um,

576
00:28:33,333 --> 00:28:35,900
important issues are really
unaddressed.

577
00:28:36,900 --> 00:28:39,866
WOMAN:
I wanted to start with something
to help us center.

578
00:28:39,866 --> 00:28:41,833
Just like to invite you
to close your eyes.

579
00:28:41,833 --> 00:28:46,166
AGRAWAL:
I think healing is
bringing the body, the mind,

580
00:28:46,166 --> 00:28:47,866
the emotion,
the spirit back home,

581
00:28:47,866 --> 00:28:51,000
to where you feel comfortable
with it again.

582
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:52,266
And so,

583
00:28:52,266 --> 00:28:55,166
you can't just fix the physical
pain,

584
00:28:55,166 --> 00:28:56,866
and then people are healed.

585
00:28:56,866 --> 00:28:58,500
It doesn't work that way.

586
00:28:59,666 --> 00:29:02,300
NARRATOR:
Building on pioneering
clinical trials

587
00:29:02,300 --> 00:29:05,000
at N.Y.U., U.C.L.A., and Johns
Hopkins,

588
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,166
Manish saw that it was important
to treat the depression

589
00:29:09,166 --> 00:29:12,233
as part of treating the cancer.

590
00:29:12,233 --> 00:29:14,000
AGRAWAL:
That sort of whole-person care.

591
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,000
And that in order to take care
of someone,

592
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:17,533
in order for them to feel good,

593
00:29:17,533 --> 00:29:18,933
it's not just killing the
cancer.

594
00:29:18,933 --> 00:29:21,100
♪ ♪

595
00:29:21,100 --> 00:29:24,000
NARRATOR:
Manish was surprised
by the results.

596
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,200
AGRAWAL:
To be honest with you,
the numbers were so good

597
00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:29,966
that I wouldn't believe it
if I wasn't with every session.

598
00:29:29,966 --> 00:29:32,500
I saw every person
go through here.

599
00:29:32,500 --> 00:29:34,700
We treated 30 people.

600
00:29:34,700 --> 00:29:38,466
And 82% had more than a 50%
reduction

601
00:29:38,466 --> 00:29:40,000
in their depression symptoms.

602
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:41,566
When we measured quality of
life,

603
00:29:41,566 --> 00:29:45,133
we measured anxiety,
all of those were improved.

604
00:29:45,133 --> 00:29:49,800
CRAIG:
The experience just kind of
made me more aware of myself,

605
00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:51,833
and the space that I take up in
the world,

606
00:29:51,833 --> 00:29:54,900
and the energy that I put out
into the world,

607
00:29:54,900 --> 00:29:56,566
and how that affects people,
too.

608
00:29:56,566 --> 00:29:59,266
GOSS:
Prior to the dosing,

609
00:29:59,266 --> 00:30:01,766
I had this tendency to get
caught up

610
00:30:01,766 --> 00:30:03,966
in distressing thoughts related
to the cancer.

611
00:30:03,966 --> 00:30:07,933
I noticed a subtle shift, in
that,

612
00:30:07,933 --> 00:30:10,766
while distressing
thoughts would still come up,

613
00:30:10,766 --> 00:30:13,666
I was able to let them go for
the first time ever.

614
00:30:13,666 --> 00:30:17,833
I don't feel the need to follow
them.

615
00:30:17,833 --> 00:30:20,066
NARRATOR:
While Eric's endless
distressing thoughts

616
00:30:20,066 --> 00:30:22,333
and Jon Kostas's alcohol use
disorder

617
00:30:22,333 --> 00:30:24,666
may seem to have nothing in
common,

618
00:30:24,666 --> 00:30:28,966
some see a possible similarity
at work in the brain.

619
00:30:30,266 --> 00:30:31,800
MATTHEW JOHNSON:
These different disorders,

620
00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,433
I've really thought of them all
as forms of addiction.

621
00:30:34,433 --> 00:30:36,300
So whether we're talking about
depression

622
00:30:36,300 --> 00:30:39,500
or what we normally
think of as addiction,

623
00:30:39,500 --> 00:30:41,266
these are all just forms

624
00:30:41,266 --> 00:30:44,333
of being stuck in
a suboptimal pattern.

625
00:30:44,333 --> 00:30:47,433
It's being stuck in a narrowed
mental repertoire,

626
00:30:47,433 --> 00:30:49,633
a narrowed pattern of behaviors.

627
00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:53,966
NARRATOR:
In patients with depression,

628
00:30:53,966 --> 00:30:56,533
scientists have noticed an
abnormal increase in activity

629
00:30:56,533 --> 00:30:58,500
in a network of different
regions in the brain

630
00:30:58,500 --> 00:31:01,900
called the default mode network.

631
00:31:01,900 --> 00:31:06,500
JOHNSON:
The default mode network refers
to this pattern of activity

632
00:31:06,500 --> 00:31:09,000
across a number of brain areas

633
00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,200
that is strongly associated

634
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:16,600
with thinking about oneself,
um, thinking about one's past,

635
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:20,766
um, projecting oneself
mentally into the future.

636
00:31:22,066 --> 00:31:24,033
NARRATOR:
The default mode network
activates

637
00:31:24,033 --> 00:31:26,600
when a person is introspective,

638
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:30,100
and, under normal circumstances,
becomes less active

639
00:31:30,100 --> 00:31:34,133
when a person shifts their
attention to the outside world.

640
00:31:34,133 --> 00:31:35,766
But brain studies show

641
00:31:35,766 --> 00:31:38,266
that under the influence of a
psychedelic,

642
00:31:38,266 --> 00:31:41,166
the default mode network is
quieted,

643
00:31:41,166 --> 00:31:42,966
while other regions of the brain

644
00:31:42,966 --> 00:31:44,866
increase communication with
each other.

645
00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:50,633
A mathematical model captures
a normal brain's activity.

646
00:31:50,633 --> 00:31:54,033
In contrast, a brain under the
influence of psilocybin

647
00:31:54,033 --> 00:31:57,866
reveals a dramatic increase in
global communication.

648
00:31:57,866 --> 00:32:00,166
Thousands of new connections
form,

649
00:32:00,166 --> 00:32:04,200
linking brain regions that don't
normally talk to each other.

650
00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:08,133
CARHART-HARRIS:
One analogy I've used
for how psychedelics work

651
00:32:08,133 --> 00:32:10,700
in the brain is the snow globe.

652
00:32:10,700 --> 00:32:13,666
When you pick up a snow globe,
you know,

653
00:32:13,666 --> 00:32:17,133
the snow's settled at
the bottom, it's sort of fixed,

654
00:32:17,133 --> 00:32:20,300
and then you pick it up, shake
it, and things jiggle around

655
00:32:20,300 --> 00:32:22,466
and there's randomness and a
kind of chaos,

656
00:32:22,466 --> 00:32:24,100
if you want, in the system.

657
00:32:25,666 --> 00:32:27,400
NARRATOR:
The user experiences this

658
00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:30,400
as an altered and heightened
sense of awareness.

659
00:32:32,066 --> 00:32:35,066
But what causes this?

660
00:32:35,066 --> 00:32:37,733
BARRETT:
Early in our functional brain
imaging studies of psychedelics,

661
00:32:37,733 --> 00:32:40,833
scientists were finding that the
default mode network

662
00:32:40,833 --> 00:32:43,566
was turning down or turning off
during these experiences.

663
00:32:43,566 --> 00:32:45,933
And that was a really
good place to start.

664
00:32:45,933 --> 00:32:49,566
But we began to then look
one layer deeper.

665
00:32:49,566 --> 00:32:51,633
Why was the default mode
network turning off?

666
00:32:51,633 --> 00:32:55,833
NARRATOR:
New research led
neuroscientist Fred Barrett

667
00:32:55,833 --> 00:32:59,733
to investigate a region of the
brain called the claustrum.

668
00:32:59,733 --> 00:33:01,900
BARRETT:
The claustrum is a really thin

669
00:33:01,900 --> 00:33:04,633
sheet of gray matter in the
brain,

670
00:33:04,633 --> 00:33:09,266
tucked deep within each of the
hemispheres of the brain.

671
00:33:09,266 --> 00:33:11,300
Recent animal models have shown

672
00:33:11,300 --> 00:33:13,266
that it is incredibly highly
connected

673
00:33:13,266 --> 00:33:15,466
to just about every other region
of the brain.

674
00:33:15,466 --> 00:33:18,566
Understanding that the
receptors targeted

675
00:33:18,566 --> 00:33:22,200
by psychedelic drugs are also
really densely expressed

676
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:24,866
in the claustrum,
we began to wonder

677
00:33:24,866 --> 00:33:27,600
whether the claustrum may be at
the center

678
00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:29,533
of psychedelic effects.

679
00:33:30,733 --> 00:33:34,600
NARRATOR:
Fred believes the claustrum's
central location and shape

680
00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:36,333
suggest it regulates
communication

681
00:33:36,333 --> 00:33:39,400
between the departments.

682
00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:41,433
BARRETT:
When it's functioning normally,

683
00:33:41,433 --> 00:33:44,900
the claustrum is essentially
acting like a switchboard.

684
00:33:44,900 --> 00:33:47,700
It's trying to help other brain
regions figure out

685
00:33:47,700 --> 00:33:49,866
when to turn on
and when to turn off.

686
00:33:49,866 --> 00:33:52,900
But when we experience a
psychedelic drug,

687
00:33:52,900 --> 00:33:56,100
we believe that it's binding to
specific receptors

688
00:33:56,100 --> 00:33:57,700
in the claustrum

689
00:33:57,700 --> 00:34:01,366
and somehow disrupting or
disorganizing the claustrum.

690
00:34:01,366 --> 00:34:04,833
It's almost as if the
switchboard walks away.

691
00:34:04,833 --> 00:34:08,366
What happens next is that we
seem to observe

692
00:34:08,366 --> 00:34:11,866
a radical change in the way

693
00:34:11,866 --> 00:34:13,400
that brain regions talk to each
other.

694
00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:16,333
And it may be within this
context

695
00:34:16,333 --> 00:34:19,100
that we're experiencing
learning

696
00:34:19,100 --> 00:34:22,933
and a possible even
rewiring of the circuits

697
00:34:22,933 --> 00:34:25,266
that govern our behavior.

698
00:34:25,266 --> 00:34:28,000
And it may be that it's
that radical reorganization

699
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:31,200
that allows people to encounter
new psychological insights

700
00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:33,566
that they hadn't encountered
before.

701
00:34:33,566 --> 00:34:36,733
NARRATOR:
Fred thinks the claustrum's
sudden abdication of control

702
00:34:36,733 --> 00:34:40,166
may help explain why rigid
behavior

703
00:34:40,166 --> 00:34:43,166
and thought patterns have a shot
at resetting.

704
00:34:43,166 --> 00:34:44,533
JOHNSON:
It's almost like they've seen

705
00:34:44,533 --> 00:34:47,366
this, like, kind of
grand menu within their mind

706
00:34:47,366 --> 00:34:48,933
that they weren't aware of.

707
00:34:48,933 --> 00:34:51,633
That this, this greater number
of possibilities

708
00:34:51,633 --> 00:34:52,766
that they can explore.

709
00:34:52,766 --> 00:34:55,633
GOSS:
It took a while to recover.

710
00:34:55,633 --> 00:34:59,400
I was having headaches
and muscle pains.

711
00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:02,466
But it was the best headache
I'd ever had in my life.

712
00:35:02,466 --> 00:35:07,033
Because it told me that the
psilocybin was working.

713
00:35:07,033 --> 00:35:09,866
It was actually physically
restructuring my brain,

714
00:35:09,866 --> 00:35:14,266
something that I never imagined
could happen before.

715
00:35:14,266 --> 00:35:17,100
It's like, uh, reprogramming

716
00:35:17,100 --> 00:35:19,533
the operating system of a
computer.

717
00:35:19,533 --> 00:35:23,066
You're getting down to very
basic, code-level changes

718
00:35:23,066 --> 00:35:27,133
that can enduringly change
someone going forward.

719
00:35:28,633 --> 00:35:31,900
NARRATOR:
As of 2022, there were more than
a dozen clinical trials

720
00:35:31,900 --> 00:35:36,266
underway involving psilocybin
and MDMA.

721
00:35:36,266 --> 00:35:38,400
♪ ♪

722
00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:40,500
Early efforts to revive this
research

723
00:35:40,500 --> 00:35:42,866
began with individuals like
Rick Doblin,

724
00:35:42,866 --> 00:35:45,266
who founded the
Multidisciplinary Association

725
00:35:45,266 --> 00:35:49,333
for Psychedelic Studies, or
MAPS, in 1986,

726
00:35:49,333 --> 00:35:52,533
to facilitate research
into the therapeutic benefits

727
00:35:52,533 --> 00:35:54,166
of psychedelics with a focus

728
00:35:54,166 --> 00:35:58,933
on MDMA, or ecstasy, for
post-traumatic stress disorder.

729
00:35:58,933 --> 00:36:03,533
One of the reasons that
MDMA is so successful in therapy

730
00:36:03,533 --> 00:36:06,866
is the way in which it builds a
certain

731
00:36:06,866 --> 00:36:11,400
self-confidence,
a self-acceptance.

732
00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:14,433
MDMA can increase the hormone
oxytocin,

733
00:36:14,433 --> 00:36:17,433
and that oxytocin is
really important for bonding.

734
00:36:17,433 --> 00:36:20,033
That may be why that
therapeutic bond,

735
00:36:20,033 --> 00:36:22,600
the setting that they have,

736
00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:27,166
all induce these positive
emotional mood states.

737
00:36:27,166 --> 00:36:28,933
DOBLIN:
People under the influence of
MDMA

738
00:36:28,933 --> 00:36:33,300
are able to feel more
connected, both to themselves,

739
00:36:33,300 --> 00:36:34,666
to their inner world,

740
00:36:34,666 --> 00:36:36,300
and also to the people that
they're with.

741
00:36:38,333 --> 00:36:41,700
NARRATOR:
But these feelings of
connectedness and love,

742
00:36:41,700 --> 00:36:43,866
paired with an altered mental
state,

743
00:36:43,866 --> 00:36:46,733
can make participants
uniquely vulnerable.

744
00:36:46,733 --> 00:36:49,933
There is concern among
researchers

745
00:36:49,933 --> 00:36:53,066
about how to ensure patient
safety.

746
00:36:53,066 --> 00:36:56,600
And there are not yet universal
guidelines or a code of ethics

747
00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:58,900
for administering this kind of
therapy.

748
00:37:00,300 --> 00:37:03,633
In addition, unlike LSD and
psilocybin,

749
00:37:03,633 --> 00:37:05,966
MDMA has stimulant properties

750
00:37:05,966 --> 00:37:09,333
that can lead to toxic side
effects.

751
00:37:09,333 --> 00:37:12,333
MDMA, because it impacts on
dopamine or adrenaline,

752
00:37:12,333 --> 00:37:15,633
it has a stimulant properties
to it, it can induce

753
00:37:15,633 --> 00:37:17,700
chills,

754
00:37:17,700 --> 00:37:20,666
it can induce nausea,
it can increase heart rate,

755
00:37:20,666 --> 00:37:24,066
people even thinking that
they're having heart attacks.

756
00:37:25,700 --> 00:37:28,766
NARRATOR:
Since 2000,
more than 200 PTSD patients,

757
00:37:28,766 --> 00:37:32,066
including survivors
of interpersonal violence,

758
00:37:32,066 --> 00:37:33,866
disasters,

759
00:37:33,866 --> 00:37:37,300
and combat, have received
MDMA-assisted therapy

760
00:37:37,300 --> 00:37:39,033
in MAPS clinical trials.

761
00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:44,233
One of those patients
is Scott Ostrom.

762
00:37:44,233 --> 00:37:47,500
In 2006, he was deployed to
Fallujah, Iraq,

763
00:37:47,500 --> 00:37:51,033
where he engaged
in multiple combat missions.

764
00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:54,866
OSTROM:
Real war is scary.

765
00:37:54,866 --> 00:37:58,133
You play for keeps and
everything's unexpected.

766
00:37:58,133 --> 00:38:01,233
You know,
you go there highly trained

767
00:38:01,233 --> 00:38:03,700
and as physically fit as you
can be,

768
00:38:03,700 --> 00:38:05,533
but a lot of it's, you know,
luck.

769
00:38:06,766 --> 00:38:10,266
NARRATOR:
On the front lines,
Scott was under constant threat,

770
00:38:10,266 --> 00:38:14,266
and would go on to develop PTSD.

771
00:38:14,266 --> 00:38:16,600
ROSS:
We know that at its core,

772
00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:19,366
PTSD involves the amygdala and
overactivation of the amygdala.

773
00:38:20,733 --> 00:38:22,933
The amygdala's the fear
center of the brain,

774
00:38:22,933 --> 00:38:25,700
and it keeps us alive; it keeps
us away from being killed.

775
00:38:25,700 --> 00:38:29,800
But it's the main pathological
construct in PTSD.

776
00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:32,066
You have an overactive amygdala.

777
00:38:32,066 --> 00:38:34,733
People respond to neutral
stimuli.

778
00:38:34,733 --> 00:38:36,266
Like, a door slamming

779
00:38:36,266 --> 00:38:38,600
can remind them of being in
combat.

780
00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:41,600
So, innocuous stimuli trigger
this exaggerated fear response.

781
00:38:43,100 --> 00:38:47,633
HURD:
MDMA seems to calm the
amygdala.

782
00:38:47,633 --> 00:38:51,600
By having people not be so
hypersensitive

783
00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:54,466
to negative emotional state,

784
00:38:54,466 --> 00:38:58,700
the prefrontal cortex now can
dampen the amygdala,

785
00:38:58,700 --> 00:39:00,766
reduce its, its hypersensitivity

786
00:39:00,766 --> 00:39:03,866
to distress,

787
00:39:03,866 --> 00:39:06,900
to old memories that would cause

788
00:39:06,900 --> 00:39:09,366
the amygdala to be overactive.

789
00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:13,166
ROSS:
Your prefrontal cortex is
really important.

790
00:39:13,166 --> 00:39:14,966
It's the most evolved part of
our brain,

791
00:39:14,966 --> 00:39:16,766
and it helps you say,

792
00:39:16,766 --> 00:39:18,366
"You know what?
The trauma's in the past.

793
00:39:18,366 --> 00:39:20,166
It's not happening now."

794
00:39:20,166 --> 00:39:22,566
And it allows you to rationally
think through something

795
00:39:22,566 --> 00:39:24,366
and make executive decisions.

796
00:39:24,366 --> 00:39:26,200
People with PTSD,

797
00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:27,900
they're just stuck in this,
like,

798
00:39:27,900 --> 00:39:30,800
fight-or-flight reactive thing.

799
00:39:32,233 --> 00:39:34,033
NARRATOR:
Scott qualified for a
clinical trial

800
00:39:34,033 --> 00:39:35,400
with MDMA-assisted therapy,

801
00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:39,766
which helped him to
confront traumatic memories.

802
00:39:39,766 --> 00:39:42,933
YEHUDA:
If you think of your
mind as kind of a hallway

803
00:39:42,933 --> 00:39:45,033
where there are a lot of doors,

804
00:39:45,033 --> 00:39:47,300
and you try very hard to walk
down the hallway

805
00:39:47,300 --> 00:39:50,866
and not
be triggered by bad stuff

806
00:39:50,866 --> 00:39:53,233
that you know
is behind those doors.

807
00:39:53,233 --> 00:39:56,500
One of the things that happens
with MDMA is, you say,

808
00:39:56,500 --> 00:39:58,500
"I wonder what would happen if I
opened that door.

809
00:39:58,500 --> 00:40:01,166
Maybe it's not so terrible."

810
00:40:03,033 --> 00:40:08,200
OSTROM:
I started seeing this, like,
spinning, black, oily ball,

811
00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:10,100
and it started off in the
distance,

812
00:40:10,100 --> 00:40:11,566
and then it would grow,

813
00:40:11,566 --> 00:40:14,433
and get closer to me
and closer to me.

814
00:40:14,433 --> 00:40:16,466
And then when it would get
close enough

815
00:40:16,466 --> 00:40:19,066
for me to kind of realize that
it was this spinning black ball,

816
00:40:19,066 --> 00:40:21,466
I would say, like, "What are
you, what are you doing here?"

817
00:40:21,466 --> 00:40:22,866
And it would retreat away.

818
00:40:22,866 --> 00:40:24,266
Instead of asking it what it
was,

819
00:40:24,266 --> 00:40:25,700
as soon as I surrendered to it,

820
00:40:25,700 --> 00:40:27,933
and I surrendered to the
feeling that it gave me

821
00:40:27,933 --> 00:40:29,900
on the inside and I let that
anxiety grow,

822
00:40:29,900 --> 00:40:34,333
it started to open up in
different layers like an onion.

823
00:40:35,466 --> 00:40:37,833
And when I got to the center,

824
00:40:37,833 --> 00:40:41,233
I relived a memory of a phone
call that I had with my dad

825
00:40:41,233 --> 00:40:42,800
when I was overseas in Iraq.

826
00:40:44,466 --> 00:40:47,400
What I had said to him was,
"Dad, I'm really scared.

827
00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:49,800
They said some of us
aren't coming home."

828
00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:53,233
And my dad had said to me,
"Don't worry, Scott.

829
00:40:53,233 --> 00:40:55,800
"You're highly trained.

830
00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:58,366
"You're with the best guys the
Marine Corps has to offer,

831
00:40:58,366 --> 00:41:01,500
and don't worry, your training
is going to take over."

832
00:41:01,500 --> 00:41:04,066
All of a sudden, I realized

833
00:41:04,066 --> 00:41:07,466
that's where this shift
happened.

834
00:41:07,466 --> 00:41:09,866
I had become this other person
that I needed to become,

835
00:41:09,866 --> 00:41:13,366
that I had to become, to survive
those combat deployments.

836
00:41:14,733 --> 00:41:18,900
The only thing I could think to
name that person was the Bully.

837
00:41:18,900 --> 00:41:21,300
NARRATOR:
Taking his father's words
to heart,

838
00:41:21,300 --> 00:41:25,600
Scott let his training
take over to become the Bully.

839
00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:29,900
But the Bully could not shield
him from the pain of loss.

840
00:41:29,900 --> 00:41:32,133
One thing that was really tough

841
00:41:32,133 --> 00:41:35,633
was not being able to save
someone that I felt close to.

842
00:41:35,633 --> 00:41:40,066
The vehicle that he was riding
in, um,

843
00:41:40,066 --> 00:41:41,900
ran over an anti-tank mine.

844
00:41:41,900 --> 00:41:44,100
(explosion roars)

845
00:41:44,100 --> 00:41:48,233
I had ran up to the vehicle
shortly after that explosion,

846
00:41:48,233 --> 00:41:50,166
and the vehicle had caught fire.

847
00:41:51,933 --> 00:41:55,266
My friend was trying to get out
of the passenger seat,

848
00:41:55,266 --> 00:41:58,766
and he couldn't, and I couldn't
get to the passenger door.

849
00:41:58,766 --> 00:42:01,033
My body wouldn't let me get any
closer,

850
00:42:01,033 --> 00:42:05,633
because the fire was too hot,
and he burned alive.

851
00:42:07,100 --> 00:42:09,933
There was nothing I could do.

852
00:42:09,933 --> 00:42:12,833
NARRATOR:
Nightmares of the war
followed Scott home,

853
00:42:12,833 --> 00:42:15,400
along with painful regret.

854
00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:18,400
OSTROM:
I felt a lot of guilt for

855
00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:23,566
not being able to save him.

856
00:42:23,566 --> 00:42:27,100
And for a long time,
I punished myself for that.

857
00:42:28,700 --> 00:42:33,266
My interpersonal relationships
were completely down the tubes.

858
00:42:33,266 --> 00:42:36,233
I had high-risk behaviors like
getting into fights,

859
00:42:36,233 --> 00:42:39,333
self-medicating with drugs,
alcohol,

860
00:42:39,333 --> 00:42:41,666
being just aggressive
and martial in general.

861
00:42:42,833 --> 00:42:45,233
And after, like,
three-and-a-half years

862
00:42:45,233 --> 00:42:46,666
of having
nightmares every night,

863
00:42:46,666 --> 00:42:48,800
I really started to kind of
fall apart.

864
00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:54,366
NARRATOR:
Scott wasn't alone
in his desperation.

865
00:42:54,366 --> 00:42:59,533
Every day, almost 20 military
veterans die by suicide.

866
00:42:59,533 --> 00:43:04,400
Current treatments for PTSD
are of limited benefit.

867
00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:08,200
After identifying the Bully
within him,

868
00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:10,800
after the first MDMA
dosing session,

869
00:43:10,800 --> 00:43:13,533
Scott had another breakthrough
in a subsequent session

870
00:43:13,533 --> 00:43:16,466
with his therapist, Marcela
Ot'alora,

871
00:43:16,466 --> 00:43:19,533
and Scott's dog, Tim.

872
00:43:19,533 --> 00:43:20,933
OSTROM:
Marcela was sitting in her chair

873
00:43:20,933 --> 00:43:24,800
and I was spooning Tim
on the rug.

874
00:43:24,800 --> 00:43:29,900
And Marcela had just told me,
"Well, would it be okay

875
00:43:29,900 --> 00:43:32,700
"if you asked the Bully

876
00:43:32,700 --> 00:43:35,966
if Scott can take over for a
little while?"

877
00:43:35,966 --> 00:43:38,366
And being in the state that I
was in, I was, like,

878
00:43:38,366 --> 00:43:40,933
"Hm, I don't know,
I guess I'll give it a shot."

879
00:43:40,933 --> 00:43:44,500
So, I had an unconscious
conversation with the Bully,

880
00:43:44,500 --> 00:43:48,300
where I was able to ask if it
was okay

881
00:43:48,300 --> 00:43:50,300
if I took over for a little
while, Scott took over.

882
00:43:50,300 --> 00:43:52,166
OT'ALORA:
Right, and it was more, like,

883
00:43:52,166 --> 00:43:56,200
can he step out,
to the side for a moment

884
00:43:56,200 --> 00:43:58,500
to see who else was there,

885
00:43:58,500 --> 00:44:01,400
to see what other parts of Scott
are there?

886
00:44:01,400 --> 00:44:06,400
And it was just this beautiful
time of being able to connect.

887
00:44:06,400 --> 00:44:11,333
And I think after that, you
didn't call him a bully anymore.

888
00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:16,366
NARRATOR:
The MDMA helped Scott
to reframe the guilt he felt

889
00:44:16,366 --> 00:44:19,766
over not being able to save his
friend's life.

890
00:44:19,766 --> 00:44:21,933
OSTROM:
You don't forget the
breakthrough moments

891
00:44:21,933 --> 00:44:24,300
that you had, and you don't
forget what you learned.

892
00:44:24,300 --> 00:44:26,166
They stay a part of you.

893
00:44:26,166 --> 00:44:28,600
So no, MDMA is not something
you microdose,

894
00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:30,966
it's not something you have to
take all the time.

895
00:44:30,966 --> 00:44:35,533
Um, it's, it's just the key

896
00:44:35,533 --> 00:44:38,933
that fits
into the psychotherapy lock.

897
00:44:38,933 --> 00:44:40,033
The psychedelic-induced
experience

898
00:44:40,033 --> 00:44:41,966
can help a person get unstuck

899
00:44:41,966 --> 00:44:45,533
in a way that's
not just, just being told it,

900
00:44:45,533 --> 00:44:47,333
but really experiencing it
firsthand,

901
00:44:47,333 --> 00:44:49,333
and I think that's where there's
a lot of power

902
00:44:49,333 --> 00:44:50,933
in these experiences.

903
00:44:52,066 --> 00:44:53,333
NARRATOR:
Remarkably,

904
00:44:53,333 --> 00:44:56,600
nearly 70% of participants
in phase three

905
00:44:56,600 --> 00:44:59,366
of the MAPS
MDMA-assisted therapy trials

906
00:44:59,366 --> 00:45:01,200
no longer qualify

907
00:45:01,200 --> 00:45:04,000
for a PTSD diagnosis.

908
00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:05,200
DOBLIN:
We learned that
MDMA-assisted therapy

909
00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:07,400
works in combat-related PTSD.

910
00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:09,633
It works in the hardest cases.

911
00:45:09,633 --> 00:45:12,533
And it works regardless
of the cause of PTSD.

912
00:45:12,533 --> 00:45:17,400
So our phase three studies are
PTSD from any cause,

913
00:45:17,400 --> 00:45:19,766
and if we manage to get FDA
approval,

914
00:45:19,766 --> 00:45:23,066
it will be for PTSD
from any cause.

915
00:45:24,233 --> 00:45:26,033
NARRATOR:
Rick Doblin thinks
that the treatment

916
00:45:26,033 --> 00:45:28,733
could be beneficial to many more
people,

917
00:45:28,733 --> 00:45:32,400
including some who struggle
with stressful experiences

918
00:45:32,400 --> 00:45:35,366
that aren't easily associated
with PTSD,

919
00:45:35,366 --> 00:45:38,133
like bullying
and systemic racism.

920
00:45:39,133 --> 00:45:41,700
But introducing psychedelic
therapies

921
00:45:41,700 --> 00:45:45,966
to communities of color brings
a special set of challenges.

922
00:45:45,966 --> 00:45:48,500
MONNICA WILLIAMS:
Because this is a new treatment,

923
00:45:48,500 --> 00:45:50,566
because it's connected to
research,

924
00:45:50,566 --> 00:45:52,266
and because it's connected to a
substance

925
00:45:52,266 --> 00:45:54,533
that's been stigmatized due to
being illegal,

926
00:45:54,533 --> 00:45:57,866
a lot of people of color
are very wary.

927
00:45:57,866 --> 00:46:00,300
The African-American community
has suffered a great deal

928
00:46:00,300 --> 00:46:01,900
from the war on drugs

929
00:46:01,900 --> 00:46:04,833
and having their communities
targeted due to drugs.

930
00:46:04,833 --> 00:46:08,700
Just growing up, I was always
taught, stay away from drugs.

931
00:46:08,700 --> 00:46:10,066
This is a trap.

932
00:46:10,066 --> 00:46:12,066
This is a way that people are
gonna get you

933
00:46:12,066 --> 00:46:13,433
and put you behind bars.

934
00:46:15,166 --> 00:46:16,966
NARRATOR:
Aware of abuses in the past,

935
00:46:16,966 --> 00:46:20,066
MAPS teamed up with therapists
from communities of color

936
00:46:20,066 --> 00:46:21,366
to offer them training

937
00:46:21,366 --> 00:46:24,466
in the use
of MDMA-assisted therapy.

938
00:46:24,466 --> 00:46:27,533
One of the participants,
Sara Reed,

939
00:46:27,533 --> 00:46:30,466
chose to experience
an MDMA dosing session

940
00:46:30,466 --> 00:46:32,100
as part of her training

941
00:46:32,100 --> 00:46:35,233
to become a psychedelic-assisted
therapist.

942
00:46:35,233 --> 00:46:37,800
REED:
One of my therapists
made a comment about,

943
00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:40,966
"There's a part of you that
doesn't want to be understood."

944
00:46:40,966 --> 00:46:43,033
As a Black woman,

945
00:46:43,033 --> 00:46:45,933
there is nothing more that
I want than to be understood.

946
00:46:45,933 --> 00:46:48,533
I felt that

947
00:46:48,533 --> 00:46:52,866
so deeply in that moment.

948
00:46:52,866 --> 00:46:55,133
Particularly with problems
like racism,

949
00:46:55,133 --> 00:46:57,533
I mean, one of the ways
that it hurts people so much

950
00:46:57,533 --> 00:46:59,666
is that you're experiencing it
all the time,

951
00:46:59,666 --> 00:47:01,333
but other people don't see it.

952
00:47:01,333 --> 00:47:03,266
And even when you point it out,
they're, like,

953
00:47:03,266 --> 00:47:05,000
"Oh, are you sure
that's what happened?"

954
00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:06,333
Or, "That didn't really happen,"

955
00:47:06,333 --> 00:47:08,266
or, "Maybe you're being too
sensitive,"

956
00:47:08,266 --> 00:47:10,766
so your whole experience is one
of being invalidated.

957
00:47:10,766 --> 00:47:12,666
And of being not seen
and not heard.

958
00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:16,066
NARRATOR:
Learning from this experience,

959
00:47:16,066 --> 00:47:18,200
Sara went on to provide one of
the first

960
00:47:18,200 --> 00:47:21,933
MDMA-assisted therapy sessions
for a participant of color

961
00:47:21,933 --> 00:47:24,933
experiencing racism and
post-traumatic stress disorder,

962
00:47:24,933 --> 00:47:28,300
or PTSD.

963
00:47:28,300 --> 00:47:30,700
(music playing, singing along)

964
00:47:30,700 --> 00:47:32,633
♪ I'm dropping new weights ♪

965
00:47:32,633 --> 00:47:34,533
♪ Bugs Bunny, feelin' so sunny ♪

966
00:47:34,533 --> 00:47:37,333
NARRATOR:
From a young age, Kanu Caplash

967
00:47:37,333 --> 00:47:39,300
had been the target
of racist remarks

968
00:47:39,300 --> 00:47:40,833
and bullying.

969
00:47:40,833 --> 00:47:44,700
WILLIAMS:
With racism, often
it's not necessarily

970
00:47:44,700 --> 00:47:46,300
one big problem.

971
00:47:46,300 --> 00:47:49,666
It's not necessarily, like,
oh, the Ku Klux Klan came,

972
00:47:49,666 --> 00:47:51,133
and burned a cross on your lawn.

973
00:47:51,133 --> 00:47:53,366
And now you have trauma.

974
00:47:53,366 --> 00:47:56,766
It's usually a lifetime of
smaller things that may have

975
00:47:56,766 --> 00:47:58,766
some big things here and there,
but at some point,

976
00:47:58,766 --> 00:48:02,000
the stress becomes overwhelming,

977
00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:05,266
and it tips into PTSD.

978
00:48:05,266 --> 00:48:06,500
We call that racial trauma.

979
00:48:06,500 --> 00:48:08,866
♪ ♪

980
00:48:08,866 --> 00:48:12,866
NARRATOR:
Kanu was already experiencing
racism when, as a swimmer,

981
00:48:12,866 --> 00:48:15,766
he was sexually assaulted
in the locker room,

982
00:48:15,766 --> 00:48:18,800
tipping him into PTSD.

983
00:48:18,800 --> 00:48:20,566
CAPLASH:
So the nightmares
and the symptoms

984
00:48:20,566 --> 00:48:23,633
really started to take effect
after the sexual assaults,

985
00:48:23,633 --> 00:48:25,600
which happened when I was 13.

986
00:48:25,600 --> 00:48:27,800
I was sexually assaulted,
uh, four times.

987
00:48:27,800 --> 00:48:29,266
If it wasn't for the study,

988
00:48:29,266 --> 00:48:31,266
I don't know if I'd be,
you know, alive today.

989
00:48:31,266 --> 00:48:33,366
'Cause, like, there was times
kind of right before the study,

990
00:48:33,366 --> 00:48:34,566
where I was really, really
struggling,

991
00:48:34,566 --> 00:48:35,733
where I really wanted
to kill myself.

992
00:48:37,433 --> 00:48:40,333
REED:
Our site was focused on
providing participants

993
00:48:40,333 --> 00:48:44,400
with a culturally informed
experience with MDMA therapy.

994
00:48:44,400 --> 00:48:47,733
And as one of his therapists
who is attuned to his

995
00:48:47,733 --> 00:48:51,100
racial background,
his religious background,

996
00:48:51,100 --> 00:48:56,000
his childhood upbringing,
I wanted to incorporate chants.

997
00:48:58,933 --> 00:49:00,966
During one of his dosing
sessions

998
00:49:00,966 --> 00:49:02,700
where one of those chants
played,

999
00:49:02,700 --> 00:49:05,466
I just remember it seemed like
something

1000
00:49:05,466 --> 00:49:07,966
really resonated with
him in that moment.

1001
00:49:07,966 --> 00:49:10,700
♪ ♪

1002
00:49:10,700 --> 00:49:15,466
He was actually able to go
back to a childhood memory.

1003
00:49:17,700 --> 00:49:22,266
CAPLASH:
I'd be transported to,
like, a different galaxy.

1004
00:49:22,266 --> 00:49:25,933
Look down, and I see this long
set of piano keys

1005
00:49:25,933 --> 00:49:27,933
going on to infinity.

1006
00:49:27,933 --> 00:49:30,066
And it's crazy, 'cause
as I'm going down the keys,

1007
00:49:30,066 --> 00:49:31,700
I can see different parts
of my life.

1008
00:49:33,133 --> 00:49:34,500
I find that sexual assault,

1009
00:49:34,500 --> 00:49:35,966
'cause I'm, like,
that's the big one.

1010
00:49:35,966 --> 00:49:37,833
That's the one that I had
trouble remembering,

1011
00:49:37,833 --> 00:49:40,000
and kind of
trouble processing.

1012
00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:42,566
And I remember, I jumped in and
I woke up on another world.

1013
00:49:45,166 --> 00:49:47,900
I sat there and I meditated on
that planet

1014
00:49:47,900 --> 00:49:49,500
for, like, a thousand years.

1015
00:49:49,500 --> 00:49:51,600
And I was able to go through
my memory,

1016
00:49:51,600 --> 00:49:53,233
and walk through it like
a museum.

1017
00:49:53,233 --> 00:49:55,066
And, like, walk through each of
the incidents

1018
00:49:55,066 --> 00:49:57,166
and remember vividly everything
that happened.

1019
00:49:57,166 --> 00:49:59,100
I was, like, flexing my arms
really, really hard

1020
00:49:59,100 --> 00:50:03,166
and just getting out all of the,
effectively, like, pain.

1021
00:50:03,166 --> 00:50:04,333
You know, that was just kind of

1022
00:50:04,333 --> 00:50:06,366
stuck in my arms, stuck in my
body.

1023
00:50:06,366 --> 00:50:08,133
The one thing I learned through
the study

1024
00:50:08,133 --> 00:50:11,466
is, like, there's no
other way but through.

1025
00:50:11,466 --> 00:50:14,533
The only way to handle the
beast is to confront it.

1026
00:50:14,533 --> 00:50:18,133
To recognize it is what it is,
it's a part of you, um,

1027
00:50:18,133 --> 00:50:20,100
but it doesn't necessarily have
to define you.

1028
00:50:20,100 --> 00:50:22,833
And when you do that,
eventually, you know,

1029
00:50:22,833 --> 00:50:24,266
you will accept more of
yourself.

1030
00:50:24,266 --> 00:50:28,000
But also, you will
accept, like, the larger world

1031
00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:30,600
in a more kind of
positive light.

1032
00:50:32,433 --> 00:50:34,300
NARRATOR:
As of 2022,

1033
00:50:34,300 --> 00:50:36,900
MDMA-assisted
therapy for PTSD

1034
00:50:36,900 --> 00:50:40,266
is in the final stages of the
FDA approval process.

1035
00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:44,733
Psilocybin-assisted therapies
for major depression

1036
00:50:44,733 --> 00:50:48,200
and other conditions are also in
the FDA pipeline.

1037
00:50:49,433 --> 00:50:52,466
While hope runs high for
psychedelic medicine,

1038
00:50:52,466 --> 00:50:55,500
scientists are quick to point
out the inherent risks.

1039
00:50:55,500 --> 00:50:59,266
WILLIAMS:
People think about psychedelic
drugs and they think, oh,

1040
00:50:59,266 --> 00:51:01,666
you know, you're gonna kind of
zone off into

1041
00:51:01,666 --> 00:51:04,500
a world with clouds
and unicorns.

1042
00:51:04,500 --> 00:51:07,300
But I see them more as
medicines, as tools for healing.

1043
00:51:07,300 --> 00:51:09,933
And, um, and they are
powerful tools.

1044
00:51:09,933 --> 00:51:12,666
And so, I think, as such, they
require a lot of respect,

1045
00:51:12,666 --> 00:51:17,433
because I think something that
has that kind of power to heal

1046
00:51:17,433 --> 00:51:19,433
could also cause harm.

1047
00:51:19,433 --> 00:51:21,600
You gotta use it safely.

1048
00:51:21,600 --> 00:51:25,900
NARRATOR:
Scientists are cautiously moving
forward.

1049
00:51:25,900 --> 00:51:29,300
AGRAWAL:
The psilocybin therapy has been
most powerful tool I've seen.

1050
00:51:29,300 --> 00:51:31,133
It's not for everybody,

1051
00:51:31,133 --> 00:51:33,300
it's not to be, it's not a magic
bullet,

1052
00:51:33,300 --> 00:51:37,766
but it does change things
meaningfully for many patients.

1053
00:51:37,766 --> 00:51:40,933
GRIFFITHS:
It's so different than any other
intervention

1054
00:51:40,933 --> 00:51:42,733
we have within psychiatry,

1055
00:51:42,733 --> 00:51:46,533
because it's changing the very
narrative structure

1056
00:51:46,533 --> 00:51:49,266
about how people

1057
00:51:49,266 --> 00:51:50,800
tell their own story,

1058
00:51:50,800 --> 00:51:54,700
what they believe going forward.

1059
00:51:54,700 --> 00:51:57,166
YEHUDA:
We're not going to have this
whole jigsaw puzzle

1060
00:51:57,166 --> 00:51:58,866
completed for a while.

1061
00:51:58,866 --> 00:52:02,266
And I think that we want to
stay a little humble about that.

1062
00:52:02,266 --> 00:52:06,933
The less we kind of interpret,
and the more we just

1063
00:52:06,933 --> 00:52:10,533
state what
our observations are,

1064
00:52:10,533 --> 00:52:12,600
I think the better off we're
going to be.

1065
00:52:47,733 --> 00:52:55,266
♪ ♪

1066
00:53:02,566 --> 00:53:07,433
ANNOUNCER:
To order this program on DVD,
visit ShopPBS.

1067
00:53:07,433 --> 00:53:10,166
Or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.

1068
00:53:10,166 --> 00:53:13,033
Episodes of "NOVA"
are available with Passport.

1069
00:53:13,033 --> 00:53:16,766
"NOVA" is also available
on Amazon Prime Video.

1070
00:53:16,766 --> 00:53:21,966
♪ ♪

1071
00:53:30,766 --> 00:53:37,933
♪ ♪