Personally I think that it can benefit most people to have an annual psychic house cleaning where they take a deep thoughtful long range look at everything in their lives including the things that seem too difficult to deal with. What is wrong with that?

Your article makes it seem easy, as if the terminally ill participating in these studies are taking a short-cut towards inner peace. Needless to say, these individuals don’t have much time left: it is alleged “short-cut,” or no short-cut at all. Regardless, this medicine is not a “cure-all.” It provides the tools, but YOU must utilize those tools in an effective way to make changes in your life yourself. You acknowledge it’s a take-once deal: as Alan Watts wrote in 1962, “When you get the message, hang up the phone.” This is a manuscript for psychotherapy, not reckless partying.

You maintain that this is a “slippery slope” — if cancer patients can get in on this, why not everyone! Well, there are already studies underway exploring various psychological and physical disorders (PTSD, OCD, cluster headaches) demonstrating fantastic results. For instance, Michael Mithoefer’s PTSD study using MDMA — including Iraq War veterans as study participants — is just one of these studies proving (a) beneficial to the participants, and (b) not at all dangerous when used in a clinical setting.

This was the line in your article I found most disturbing: “I, for one, believe that the search for answers to such questions, even when painful, even when undertaken from a hospital bed, is a worthy and human one.” Well, Dr. Keith, apparently not all are as “worthy” or “human” as you. Many faced with the kind of “unfortunate circumstances,” as you insensitively put it might turn to destructive behaviors, i.e. alcohol and/or drug abuse, or even suicide, to quell the pain within them. Denying these individuals the opportunity to receive some clarity on their ever-shortening lives is neither worthy nor human, but incorrigible. Those that have participated in these studies will tell you there was no “short-circuiting” involved; rather, they were in fact able to transcend deep, deep into their own hearts, and no where else. And they’d likely add that their consciousnesses were never so clear, either.

Now I am dealing with a cancer so rare that there are only 44 documented cases in the world and I am on those heavy duty pain meds. I would love to be able to take a “trip” every once and a while to help my mental state.

Not only does the trip enlighten your mind, it also enlightens your spirit. You only have to know how to let go and enjoy what God made for such a purpose.

Abusing such drugs is rare because of the lasting effects. There is no need to get a “fix” right after a good trip. These drugs are not as addictive as beer or tobacco and do a lot less harm to the human body.

If we want to regulate drugs, then we should regulate ALL of them not just the ones that the Government can’t make a lot of money from the sale of.

If the Government would legalize Marijuana we would save hundreds of millions per year in fighting it and the taxes from the sales would be equal to alcohol and tobacco.