Ayahuasca and the Treatment of Drug Addiction

Bouso, José Carlos; Riba, Jordi

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-40426-9_6

Cited by 34 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Today treatment centers in a number of different countries offer ayahuasca-based therapies for the treatment of addictions [49,50].…”

Section: Treatment Programs and Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychedelics as Medicines for Substance Abuse Rehabilitation: Evaluating Treatments with LSD, Peyote, Ibogaine and Ayahuasca

Winkelman

2015

CDAR

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Substances known as psychedelics, hallucinogens and entheogens have been employed in ethnomedical traditions for thousands of years, but after promising uses in the 1950's and 1960's they were largely prohibited in medical treatment and human research starting in the 1970's as part of the fallout from the war on drugs. Nonetheless, there are a number of studies which suggest that these substances have potential applications in the treatment of addictions. While these substances are generally classified as Schedule I, alleging no established medical uses and a high drug abuse potential, there is nonetheless evidence indicating they might be safe and effective tools for short term interventions in addictions treatment. Evidence suggests that the psychedelics have a much greater safety profile than the major addictive drugs, having extremely low levels of mortality, and producing little if any physical dependence. This paper reviews studies evaluating the use of LSD, peyote, ibogaine and ayahuasca in the treatment of dependencies and the possible mechanisms underlying the indications of effectiveness. Evidence suggests that these substances help assist recovery from drug dependency through a variety of therapeutic mechanisms, including a notable "after-glow" effect that in part reflects their action on the serotonin neurotransmitter system. Serotonin has been long recognized as central to the psychedelics' well-known phenomenological, physical, emotional and cognitive dynamics. These serotonin-based dynamics are directly relevant to treatment of addiction because of depressed serotonin levels found in addict populations, as well as the role of serotonin as a neuromodulators affecting many other neurotransmitter systems.

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“…Today treatment centers in a number of different countries offer ayahuasca-based therapies for the treatment of addictions [49,50].…”

Section: Treatment Programs and Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychedelics as Medicines for Substance Abuse Rehabilitation: Evaluating Treatments with LSD, Peyote, Ibogaine and Ayahuasca

Winkelman

2015

CDAR

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“…Anecdotal reports and limited observational evidence from psychotherapeutic centers around the world that use ayahuasca in the treatment of drug dependence suggest that the brew has beneficial effects (Barbosa et al 2012;Bouso and Riba 2014;Labate et al 2010;Mabit 2002;Miranda, Labigalini, and Tacla 1995). A few qualitative studies and observational investigations that did not perform statistical analysis also suggest potential therapeutic effects.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Ayahuasca and its Alkaloids on Drug Dependence: A Systematic Literature Review of Quantitative Studies in Animals and Humans

Nunes

Santos

Osório

et al. 2016

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs

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Recently, the anti-addictive potential of ayahuasca, a dimethyltryptamine(DMT)- and β-carboline-rich hallucinogenic beverage traditionally used by indigenous groups of the Northwest Amazon and currently by syncretic churches worldwide, has received increased attention. To better evaluate this topic, we performed a systematic literature review using the PubMed database to find quantitative studies (using statistical analysis) that assessed the effects of ayahuasca or its components in drug-related symptoms or disorders. We found five animal studies (using harmaline, harmine, or ayahuasca) and five observational studies of regular ayahuasca consumers. All animal studies showed improvement of biochemical or behavioral parameters related to drug-induced disorders. Of the five human studies, four reported significant reductions of dependence symptoms or substance use, while one did not report significant results. The mechanisms responsible for the anti-addictive properties of ayahuasca and its alkaloids are not clarified, apparently involving both peripheral MAO-A inhibition by the β-carbolines and central agonism of DMT at 5-HT2A receptors expressed in brain regions related to the regulation of mood and emotions. Although results are promising, controlled studies are needed to replicate these preliminary findings.

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“…Ayahuasca is an Amazonian psychoactive brew made from the Banisteriopsis cappi vine and the Psychotria viridis bush, along with a variety of other Amazonian plants (26), which produces an altered state of consciousness involving perceptual and affective changes (27). Ayahuasca is taken in religious and shamanistic settings, as well as in informal treatment centres (26).…”

Section: Ayahuascamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ayahuasca is taken in religious and shamanistic settings, as well as in informal treatment centres (26). The compounds thought to be critical in its psychedelic effects are dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors such as harmine; the latter compounds allow DMT to be active via the oral route as they block its metabolism in gut and liver (28) and then bind strongly to 5HT-2A receptors (29).…”

Section: Ayahuascamentioning

confidence: 99%

Tripping up addiction: the use of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of problematic drug and alcohol use

Morgan

McAndrew

Stevens

et al. 2017

Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences

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 Psychedelic drugs may have their therapeutic qualities due to anti-depressant effects, stimulating neuroplasticity and long-term psychological changes.3 Abstract Psychedelic drugs have been used as treatments in indigenous cultures for thousands of years. Yet, due to their legal status, there has been limited scientific research into the therapeutic potential of these compounds for psychiatric disorders. In the absence of other effective treatments however, researchers have begun again to systematically investigate such compounds and there is now evidence pointing to the use of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of addiction. In this review we focus on human evidence for the effectiveness of preparations used by indigenous cultures in the Amazon (ayahausca) and Africa (ibogaine) and worldwide (psilocybin), and more recently synthetised drugs such as the serotonergic hallucinogen LSD and the dissociative anaesthetic ketamine. Potential mechanisms explored are anti-depressant effects, changes in neuroplasticity and existential psychological effects of these drugs. [Francis Hartigan, Bill W., Chapter 25, p. 190-197 and p. 170-171, St. Martins Press, 2000,] The founder of alcoholics anonymous, Bill Wilson, is reported to have been treated with lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) to help him stay abstinent from alcohol (1) and he credited it with helpful therapeutic properties. Yet the idea that illicit drugs can be used in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction sits uncomfortably with many clinicians and researchers. It can appear paradoxical: illicit drugs are allegedly controlled due to their high abuse potential so it seems unethical to give them to people who already have a propensity for problematic alcohol and other drug use. Will they not then become addicted to the very substances that are being used to treat them?Centuries of practise and decades of research suggest that this is not the case. And now with emerging neurobiological understanding of their mechanisms, these compounds are poised to change the future of addiction treatment. Lysergic acid diethylamideLSD was first synthesised in 1938 from ergotamine, a chemical from the ergot fungus.LSD's psychological effects, usually last between 6 and 12 hours and can vary greatly in content across sets and settings (2). Pharmacologically, LSD is a classic serotonergic hallucinogen, with its psychedelic effects attributed to its 5HT-2A receptor agonism (3).In the 1950s and 60s, there was substantial research into LSD being used as a treatment for alcohol dependence (4). In recent years, this interest has been reignited. A number of review papers and one meta-analysis have reviewed studies from the height of LSD research (5-7) . The meta-analysis (6) combined the results of 6 randomised controlled trials, to assess efficacy of LSD as a treatment for alcoholism (536 participants in total).Across the studies included, 59% of active treatment participants vs. 38% of controls showed reliable improvement during the first follow up (1-2 months) and these dif...

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Ayahuasca and the Treatment of Drug Addiction

Cited by 34 publications

References 28 publications

Psychedelics as Medicines for Substance Abuse Rehabilitation: Evaluating Treatments with LSD, Peyote, Ibogaine and Ayahuasca

Psychedelics as Medicines for Substance Abuse Rehabilitation: Evaluating Treatments with LSD, Peyote, Ibogaine and Ayahuasca

Effects of Ayahuasca and its Alkaloids on Drug Dependence: A Systematic Literature Review of Quantitative Studies in Animals and Humans

Tripping up addiction: the use of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of problematic drug and alcohol use

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