Farrah Sharpe
Southern New Hampshire University
Sacred Medicine Profane Laws Literature Review
Introduction
When treating addiction, traditional counseling coupled with current pharmaceutical medication is limited in its ability to heal and on occasion the prescribed medications prove to be more addictive and or harmful to the human body. This research paper suggests that by modernizing substance abuse programs to include Ayahuasca and other plant medicines to be used in individual and group sessions, in a controlled environment with daily meditation will increase the success rates of patients addicted to various substances and also heal a number of psychological issues that plague American society.
Problem Statement
The results of the 2008 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (NSSATS) show that there are over one million 1 million people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol in the United States. (National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services, 2008) The NSSATS provides an ample amount of relevant information with its primary focus on:
- Multipurpose data that is used to assist the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
- State and local governments in assessing the nature and extent of services provided
- Forecasting treatment resource requirements
- Updating SAMHSA’s Inventory of Behavioral Health Services (I-BHS)
- Analyzing general treatment services trends
- Generating the online Behavioral Health Treatment Facility Locator
- Generating the National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs (SAMHDA, 2012)
This data is complete and comprehensive in its data set yet the survey fails to include in its research surveys the success rates of each facility, the treatment programs they provide and the success rates of each treatment program.
The research study and data provided by NSSATS is geared to studying data which relates to a materialistic view of substance abuse and discounts the varying levels of needs that each person has as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs points out. According to one widely accepted theory of motivation there are six motivational stages for those attempting to stop using drugs. These stages are precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and relapse. (Marvin-Humann, 2008) The concern here is that all available sources of treatment are not being surveyed, studied or acknowledge as a viable resource for curing dis-ease and addiction. The human being and the varying levels of consciousness the mind is able to experience presents a finer distinction between the physical and mental spheres that the surveys and tests of today are equipped for. Social and cultural constructs tend to deny this phenomenon but it demands reconsideration.
Literature Review
For Treatment or For Profit?
Another important survey to mention here is National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) which as mentioned above gathers information from all treatment facilities in the United States. As stated in the report several facilities offer Methadone/LAAM as a treatment and is dispensed by 9 percent of all facilities. The study went on to say that facilities most likely to dispense methadone were private for profit facilities and federal government facilities, particularly those operated by the Veterans Administration (VA). State government facilities also were more likely than nongovernment facilities to dispense methadone. (Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, 2002) A substance like methadone is preferable to heroine but in actuality it is an unnatural substance that is harmful to the human being. Methadone may give hereon addicts an alternative to shooting up or snorting the drug but in alignment with the APA ideals of do no harm and in keeping transparency it exchanges one drug for another alleviating physical symptoms of withdrawal. (Galloway, 2007)
Little Change
As in the case with data collected from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in December 2009, as they surveyed Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities, studies show that outpatient, residential (nonhospital), and hospital inpatient services changed very little from 2004 to 2008 in terms of the proportion of facilities offering each type of care or the proportion of clients in treatment in each type of care. This study illustrates that there has little change in the success rates of current treatment plans. The DHHS study lists a proportion of clients receiving methadone ranged from 22% to 24% and clients in treatment for both drug and alcohol abuse made up 45% to 46% of all clients. (Department of Health and Human Services, December 2009) Methadone and similar treatments are very addictive and tend to band aid the psychological causes of heroin addiction. These numbers are high considering the untapped non addictive medicines that are available but are labeled illegal by the United States. This halt in studying plant medicines found in indigenous cultures also halts the progress of treating people afflicted by substance abuse.
Malevolent Agents and Pathogens
There are two dominant metaphors that underlie current drug policies “malevolent agents” and “pathogens” which are 2 words that are unsupportive in framing policies with respect to entheogenic substance use. Ayahuasca has been labeled a pathogen and its long tradition of use as a ritual, medicine, and plant teacher have been discounted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA maintains strict guidelines for approval for products that are appropriate and fit for human consumption. Kenneth Tupper from the Department of Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia states the FDA has approved cigarettes and alcohol and these are both items that can be purchased at any corner store and both of these substances are known for their addictive qualities and long term use of either cigarettes or alcohol result in death. (Tupper, 2008) The sale of products that produce death as an outcome is sketchy and one must consider the underlying objective of the FDA by its legalization and sale of cigarettes and alcohol and ban of plant medicines that grow in nature.
Decriminalization of Plant Medicines
Alcohol can be noted throughout history as a human cultural universal as archaeologists have found evidence of it through the ages. Other research shows that other cultures enjoy the chewing of coca and other psychoactive plants, including the opium poppy plant which grows abundantly in several regions of the world. These and other substances are used in spiritual and religious rituals by native indigenous cultures since prehistoric times. Schmoke’s stated that for generations the United States had been pursuing policies of prosecution and repression that resulted in little more than overcrowded courts and prisons, increased profits for drug traffickers, and higher rates of addiction (Schmoke, 1989). In a February 4, 1979 speech, Dr. Robert DuPont (the previous director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA) stated, “There are sound reasons for decriminalizing [marijuana]” (DuPont, 1979). DuPont suggests that tobacco and alcohol are psychotropic drugs that are already on the market, legal and widely distributed by legitimate businesses, and it is senseless to criminalize a substance (marijuana) that is apparently much less harmful than those two already available drugs. He also makes a point to suggest that if legalization had negative consequences, it is the right of the law makers to reverse the decision.
Bans on plant medicines like marijuana and Ayahuasca regardless of their health benefits suggest bias based on profit and the criminalization of these and other plant medicines by the FDA unwarranted. Could the anti-drug war propagation of recent history be inaccurate and deprecatory representations of plant medicines and their benefits be misconstrued intentionally? As any scientist would suggest a proactive approach to include research trials assessing the risks and benefits of plant medicines would provide new and new informed research which can then be presented for review.
Brazil at Forefront of Research
In the United States, Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) an ingredient found in Ayahuasca is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (Erowid, 2011). In 1971 a United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances also classified DMT as a Schedule I drug, indicating that scientific research, medical use, and international trade is meant to be closely monitored; however, because no plants or natural materials containing DMT are controlled under the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substance, preparations such as Ayahuasca are not subject to international control, Ayahuasca has been left to religious usage. (Osborn, 2012)
In 1987 the Brazilian government concluded a study on the use of Ayahuasca and declared Ayahuasca legal within the context of religious practice. In 1992, Brazil legalized the possession and use of Ayahuasca from the list of illicit drugs. Through Conselho Federal de Entorpecentes (CONFEN) (Brazil’s Narcotic Federal Council), commission was created to study the ritualistic use of Ayahuasca. (Osborn, 2012) The assignment was given to a varying group of professionals such as doctors, psychologists, anthropologists, representatives from the Brazilian Justice Ministry, federal police, and army. The commission conducted tests and interviews throughout varying populations (e.g., Ceu do Mapia village and Rio do Ouro Seringal) and reported:
Excellent social organization, cohesion in the spiritual and personal lives of its members, and superior levels of physical health and education in comparison to others similar settlements in the region (Purus River Valley). In their report, the commission noted an absence of alcoholism and chronic malnutrition; infant mortality and delinquency rates near zero; an absence of violence; and self-respecting habitation, nutrition, and working patterns. These findings led the commission to conclude, in 1987, that “the religious rituals conducted with the sacramental drink Santo Daime/Ahyauasca didn’t bring injuries to the social life, though contributed to its better integration, being remarkable the benefits testified by the usuary, religious groups members” (CONFEN Working group, as cited in “Legalization in Brazil,” 2009, para. 4).
This study cites Brazil as the first country in almost 1600 years to allow plant medicines to be used by non-religious personnel.
Research questions. This inquiry seeks to answer these questions:
- Can Ayahuasca be used as a tool to facilitate the healing of addiction and other psychological issues?
- Are the patients mental and emotional traumas addressed in the use of plant medicines? (those that caused the addictive behavior initially)
- How long will this process take? (How many Ayahuasca ceremonies)
- If proper evidence is provided will the United States Government release its ban on plant medicines?
- What are the long term effects of Ayahuasca?
Hypothesis: It is hypothesized that legalization of sacred plant medicines such as Ayahuasca once ingested and used in a therapeutic setting with a licensed psychologist, psychiatrist, counselor and or shaman will connect the user to a deeper part of themselves allowing for a transformative experience that will mentally and physically release the person from the grips of addition and other psychological issues.
References
DuPont, R. L. (1979). Marihuana: A review of the issues regarding decriminalization and legalization. In G. M. Beschner &.A. S. Friedman (Eds.), Youth drug abuse: Problems, issues, and treatment (pp. 279-284). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Erowid. (2011). Ayahuasca: Legal status. The vaults ofErowid. Retrieved from http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/ayahuasca/ayahuasca_law.shtml
Inciardi, J. A. (1999). The Drug Legalization Debate. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Marvin-Humann, K. (2008). The relationship between motivation, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, time, and craving levels in the mandated substance abuse treatment population (Order No. 3335429). Available from ProQuest Central; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text. (304835158). Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/304835158?accountid=3783
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2012, December 1). Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide (Third Edition). Retrieved November 23, 2014, from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/drug-addiction-treatment-in-united-states
Osborn, S. N. (2012). A phenomenological study of Ayahuasca and its effect on anxiety (Order No. 3537480). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text. (1321627504). Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1321627504?accountid=3783
Schmoke, K. L. (1989). Foreword. American Behavioral Scientist? 32(3), 231-232
Tupper, K. (2008). The Globalization of Ayahuasca: Harm Reduction or Benefit Maximization? International Journal of Drug Policy, Volume 19(Issue 4), 297-303.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (SAMHSA) United States Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Applied Studies. National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS), 2000- 2008. ICPSR03436-v5. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2014-04-25. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03436.v5
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