Abstract

Healing Drugs (German trailer)
Arte
Production: Micafilm
A film by Caroline Haertel and Mirjana Momirović

Banned substances such as LSD and psilocybin from magic mushrooms are seen as hope in the treatment of depression and addiction. Scientists all over the world are currently researching their healing potential as part of a therapy.

After their discovery by the hippie movement in the 1960s and 70s, the substances disappeared from research. But in the meantime, their potential is being explored again in numerous studies. One of the largest worldwide, with 144 patients, is currently taking place at the Charité in Berlin and the Central Institute for Mental Health in Mannheim.

The search for new treatment approaches for depression is desperate, because more than a third of the people suffering from depression cannot be helped with either antidepressants or standard therapies; they are considered therapy-resistant. Lia and Andreas, for example, are among them, and they have high hopes for the new treatment method.

Psychedelics are known to reduce defence mechanisms of the psyche and can thus act as a door-opener to deeply hidden traumas, allow access to repressed feelings and thus initiate a healing process. This is the approach of psychiatrist Peter Gasser in Switzerland, who has been allowed to administer psychedelics with an exemption since 2014. At the University of Amiens, a team of researchers is investigating their potential in alcohol addiction.

However, it is important not to lose sight of the possible risks and side effects of the substances in the midst of all this hope. Further studies still need to be conducted.