> I am wondering what members of this group think about the new

> psychedelic and MDMA therapies that are starting to be used now by by
> a few psychotherapists.
>
> As you know, in the 1950s, through to the very early 1970s, there was
> various psychotherapeutic therapies using LSD, psilocybin, MDMA etc.
> And then psychedelics became banned, as was MDMA in mid 1980s, so it
> has been quite a long prohibition!
>
> I know that Thomas Szasz is all for freedom of people to take whatever
> drug they like. Although I haven't yet read his book, Ceremonial
> Chemistry, I believe it is mainly about that. But what is his thoughts
> about psychedelics, and MDMA (and your feelings)for therapeutic use?
> That is what I would like to explore.

A person should be free to take any drug he likes. But unless he feels better
because the drug gets rid of a lesion that is to quote Thomas Szasz "objectively
identifiable by anatomical, physiological, or other physicochemical observation
or measurement", then it isn't a medical treatment and the only point of
pretending that it is medical treatment is to provide a pseudojustification for
coercion:

http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_10_3_01_szasz.pdf

A person might like or benefit from taking psychedelic drugs or he might not. He
should have the freedom to make his own decisions about that.

Jim should be free to advise Jack to take a drug or not to take it for as long
as Jack is willing to listen or to supply a drug to Jack if he will buy it. Jim
should not be given a big stick and allowed to use it to force Jack to take
drugs or refrain from taking them. Nor should Jim be allowed to force Jack to
listen to his advice on drugs.

Alan