America is obsessed with drugs. Prescription drug companies are legal drug dealers, while those dealing in lesser degree illegal recreational drugs like marijuana are persecuted. However, the real criminals are the pharmaceutical companies whose evil intentions do more harm than good: they destroy our one and only Earth to obtain the materials necessary for the production and distribution of medicines, through land and land practices. highly unsustainable water resources[1] and land consolidation. The pharmaceutical industry is the nation's most profitable business, with Americans shelling out more than $200 billion each year for prescription drugs.[2] Addiction to prescription drugs is so widespread that 25% of American women take laboratory-developed medications to treat depression, anxiety, ADHD and other chemical imbalances. Western pharmaceutical hegemony has triggered a state of dependence between individuals and laboratory-produced drugs. Drug overdose is a leading cause of accidental death in the country[3] - America has an addiction problem. By turning a blind eye, we become victims of companies profiting from people's illnesses when we could be providing alternative medical treatment options that don't depend on keeping people addicted. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Before an industrialized pharmaceutical hegemony ruled the West, folk medicine had actually been practiced for centuries, well before antiquity. Specifically, Ayahuasca, an ancient healing drink that relies on N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a compound found in almost all living things. DMT induces extremely vivid psychedelic visions, and in the West it is primarily used as a recreational psychedelic. Although some argue that DMT is illegal, this compound has been used in medical and spiritual practices for thousands of years. Traditional medicine practices that use ayahuasca as therapy are not as widespread in Western culture, but they are still practiced by other shamanic cultures around the world. The United States is a country where heroin and cocaine combined do not kill as many people as prescription painkiller abuse.[4] The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) declares DMT - a compound found in most living things that also has incredible healing abilities - as a Schedule 1 criminal drug. a call to global citizens concerned about the health and livelihoods of people suffering from addiction and other chemical imbalances. This is a call to demand that the United States allow alternative treatment options for people suffering from chemical imbalances such as addiction and other related health conditions, because many alternatives are more sustainable than those large pharmaceutical companies. I understand how skeptical and distrustful people can be right now. mention of altered states of consciousness due to its association with hallucinogenic substances such as psilocybin, mescaline and LSD. These substances were all made illegal in the late 1960s and many people could argue that they were commonly used by a counterculture that likely questioned the validity of our society under the influence of these substances and thus gave to these drugsnegative connotation. Yet what people tend to overlook is that things like caffeine, sugar, and meditation can also induce altered states of consciousness, just like any other hallucinogenic substance would. The main ingredient in ayahuasca is DMT, which hyperactivates the prefrontal cortex of the brain and allows people to make new connections and develop new thought patterns. Ultimately, this organic compound has the potential to make people stop thinking and behaving in self-destructive ways. Due to the legal status of DMT and, therefore, ayahuasca in the United States and other Western countries, there is little scientific research into its role. regarding brain chemistry and biology. People may wonder what makes these alternatives different from the mainstream. Couldn't we also abuse ayahuasca and other medicinal plants? It is true that these alternative healing practices could be misused by individuals by exploiting patients' experiences and capitalizing on the substance rather than focusing on the person seeking healing. Bad people who do not work in the fields of medicine, therapy or psychiatry can create unsafe spaces for people seeking rehabilitation. When ingesting ayahuasca, people operate in extremely vulnerable mental and physical states – many people experience lucid visuals while vomiting and releasing toxins from the body. Those who are inexperienced would not be equipped to care for patients in this state, especially under the influence of DMT. Certainly, people have every reason to be hesitant to support a relatively abstract or "taboo" alternative to prescription drugs because of the fundamental lack of research in this area. Using ayahuasca as a method of drug rehabilitation should not be taken lightly. or neglected in any capacity. A biomedical study conducted at a confidential Ayahuasca church in the Americas advanced the idea that ayahuasca may have therapeutic properties for drug addiction that would help individuals overcome damaging cycles of relapse (McKenna et al. 129) . To be frank, adults should be masters of their own destiny and therefore should have the freedom to choose how they approach their health. All paths to healing must be sought by the individual – this is especially true when it comes to ayahuasca due to the intensity of the entire experience. While there are a plethora of testimonials about ayahuasca, I thought it would be appropriate to include the particular story of an American woman who posted her experience online. This woman experienced a traumatic childhood and became a homeless youth and teenage mother at seventeen. She turned to a life of drug addiction in order to face her demons. She was an alcoholic for 12 years, when she began mixing substances like whiskey and Xanax, to the brink of death. After an intervention, she looked for alternatives, which led her to the Ecuadorian Amazon where she was able to participate in a three-day ayahuasca ceremony. This woman's visions appeared to her on the third day of the retreat and radically changed her entire life. for the better[5]. “When the medicine started to take effect, I started to notice a veil lifting. I was being lifted out of my body by beings made of colored light...about fifteen of them took turns sending light into my heart...[then] they started at my feet and moved across eachcell in my body...they got to my stomach and showed me that all processed foods were poisoning me. They came to my lungs and showed me all the damage caused by years of smoking. My stomach started bubbling from all the sickness...they pulled me back into my body so I could release the toxins. Vomiting and defecating simultaneously while having visions that I was releasing pain, fear, years of alcohol and drugs, trauma and depression. I was shown that to make room for love in my life, I would have to release all the negativity in my life. I was done with it all and ready to let it go. Many other accounts fit well with this woman's experience of intense out-of-body sensations and bodily manifestations. The effectiveness of these experiments also deserves further examination. In fact, Brazil is already starting to authorize the use of ayahuasca tea in therapies. For example, the country's growing prison population is a major problem that leads to a continued search for new ways to rehabilitate inmates in order to reduce recidivism and allow inmates to reenter society in a nonviolent manner (Romero). Using ayahuasca in therapy to bring about transformational experiences within a person is an effective model of rehabilitation that we Americans should study. Diverse forces must come together to change the current state of modern medicine and rehabilitation for a healthier future; people working in medicine and rehabilitation, drug policy makers, and people concerned about the well-being of others. Although the legal status of these compounds creates obstacles to conducting legitimate research into the role of these chemicals in nature, individuals in the fields of medicine and academia are considering how "guidance for therapy shamanic for drug addiction [could] be suggested.” Additionally, some even believe that the lack of treatment options available to patients prevents the advancement of scientific medicine and preventive health; there is no cure for addiction, and current treatment options only make drug addiction worse (Winkelman 338). While the reality is that the drugs that pharmaceutical companies prescribe to the public kill more people than heroin and cocaine combined in this country, the urgency to find alternative methods of rehabilitation is greatly increasing. It all has to start with the legalization of the chemical DMT in the country. the United States. This would open up space for people to explore different ways of incorporating out-of-body, life-transforming rehabilitation methods that would physically move the person out of their destructive behaviors and mindset. Please reconsider why certain plants and compounds found in nature are considered extremely illegal in a country that produces chemicals in laboratories that also induce altered states of consciousness, but often perpetuate the very culture of addiction that the drugs claim to solve . If there is any chance that patient-oriented rather than profit-oriented modes of rehabilitation will be available, there must be a strong consensus of compassionate global citizens who agree that adults seeking treatment for chemical imbalances should having more options than just replacing one dependency with another. . Consider the alternatives and consider the people. Writing this essay was tricky for me because I feel.