BLApril23ToWeb

The Column
By Chuck Van Riper
Get Better,
But Don’t Have Fun
Well, being a musician my whole life, I’ve certainly
had my experiences with drugs and alcohol. Although
it’s been more than 20 years since I’ve done either,
one thing I gleaned from experiences with both, is the
need for moderation. There’s nothing wrong with having a
drink now and then, but downing a half gallon of Bourbon
every day might have some negative effects. It’s the same
with everything, I think. In fact, there have been many
studies showing the benefit of psilocybin mushrooms to
treat depression and other psychological problems. This is
nothing new, of course. Psychedelics have been used for
thousands of years. Here’s a brief history.
During pre-Victorian times, Belladonna, Henbane,
Mandrake Root and other psychotropic drugs were used to
treat a wide variety maladies including mental and physical
disorders. Eventually, being seen as witchcraft, these
were all systematically eliminated. For hundred of years,
Native Americans used peyote and other natural psychedelics
in rituals and medicine. Got a headache? Here, take
two peyote buttons and call me in the morning. During
the late 1800s, German pharmacologist Arthur Carl Wilhelm,
isolated the active ingredient of the peyote cactus,
which we now know as mescaline. Also, in 1886, an elixir
was contrived by John Pemberton containing the extract
of coca leaves and cola nuts. This was the first iteration of
Coca-Cola. Yes, it indeed contained cocaine. Today, Coke
still uses the coca leaf extract with the cocaine taken out.
By the 1940s and 50s, LSD was being used in research for
various mental ailments, and quite successfully. In 1990,
the FDA approved the research into using psilocybin, the
active ingredient in magic mushrooms, for major depressive
order.
The major reason many of these aren’t more mainstream
is because of their eventual use recreationally.
Once they found out how addictive cocaine was in the
1800’s, it slowly became illegal, as many were using it
recreationally and getting addicted. Once they found out
that a mushroom that grows in the wild can cause psychedelic
experiences, and people were using them recreation-
18 - Brevard Live April 2023