Media and popular culture have often portrayed psychedelic experiences as widely varied in nature, with extremes in both positive and negative directions. The reality in modern psychedelic therapy and research is far from this. In academic and clinical settings, rigorous screening is conducted to minimize the risk associated with use of psychedelic drugs. Things like medical and psychiatric history are carefully considered, along with measures to make participants physically and psychologically comfortable. Adverse reactions in these settings are rare, and far less dramatic than movies and TV would have you believe. There is a lot of variability in how people react to psychedelics, and two people taking the same drug, in the same setting, with the same therapy, are likely to describe their responses in different ways. What causes this great variability has largely been left unstudied. Recently, a systematic review of literature was conducted to examine some factors that might contribute to the variability in reactions.

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MDMA, sometimes known as molly or ecstasy, has just passed an important hurdle in becoming FDA approved for therapeutic use, according to a recent article by The New York Times. In a phase three clinical trial, researchers paired talk therapy with three doses of the drug and saw powerful results in treating chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

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