Essay #2: Inquiry-Based Research Reflection
With the medical community beginning to validate psilocybin and mdma for therapeutic treatment and their legalization in certain states on the frontier, have these substances been an effective treatment and to what extent will our society begin to see them? Psychedelics have been a large part of American history and have left a large imprint on the American people both positive and negative. With the changing times and perhaps the changing outlook, I think it is imperative to take a good look at the science behind the use to better understand these substances and possibly even chip away at hidden biases and preconceived notions. Another aspect worth looking at would also be the legislative support these substances are beginning to have in certain states and other countries that we may not have expected. I think this is a very important topic because whether we like it or not it looks fairly likely that these substances will no longer be restricted by our government and the more scientific information we can have about them, the more we can make educated decisions in our own lives. I came up with this topic because I have had a long interest to understand the philosophy of the mind with the use of physics and I think psychedelics may provide a great aid in that quest. I think the best way to approach a topic like this is to stay adamantly to the science and to be wary of implanting my own opinions into the subject. Another interesting thing is to choose wisely the opinions of others that I will allow for opinions in itself, though useful if used correctly, can give the wrong impressions to the readers.