Hallucinogens show promising effects in the treatment of mental health but there is no “golden bullet”.
This is according to Dr Heinz Mödler, an anaesthetist and the author of En daar was dagga: ’n Biografie, at a recent panel discussion held as part of the 2022 Toyota US Woordfees.
The event took place on 11 October at 18:30 on the Stellenbosch University (SU) Museum quad.
This discussion was centred around the topic, ‘Hallucinogens for the treatment of mental health’, and was led by environmentalist Dave Pepler. Louis Awerbuck, a clinical psychologist, was also a panellist.
The event was the first of three Stellenbosch Science Café events that will take place at this year’s Woordfees, all of which will be led by Pepler, according to the festival’s programme.
“The value of how the brain works has been underestimated for many many years,” said Dr Heinz Mödler, an anaesthetist and the author of En daar was dagga: ’n Biografie, at a recent Stellenbosch Science Café panel discussion. This event was held at the Stellenbosch University Museum as part of the 2022 Toyota US Woordfees. PHOTO: Bianke Neethling
‘No golden bullet’
There is no “golden bullet” when it comes to treating depression, said Mödler during the discussion. “There is no magic answer in diseases like that,” he stated, claiming that “big pharma” is to blame for promising people such an answer.
However, hallucinogens show promising effects and it is worth conducting more research into them, said Mödler.
“I am constantly surprised by the human mind,” said Dave Pepler, an environmentalist, at a recent Stellenbosch Science Café panel discussion. Pictured above is Pepler and the two other panellists, Louis Awerbuck, a clinical psychologist, and Heinz Mödler, an anaesthetist and the author of En daar was dagga: ’n Biografie. PHOTO: Bianke Neethling
“We run into very choppy waters – ethically – when we say it works,” said Pepler in the discussion. “But I am becoming an advocate – very quickly and very firmly – for the controlled application in considered cases of these substances.”
There is evidence that one treatment can change your life for the better, Pepler claimed in a conversation with MatieMedia.
During the discussion, Pepler spoke about his experience of using a hallucinogen for his own mental health. He told MatieMedia that his experience made him passionate about both advocating for the controlled use and warning against the uncontrolled use of substances.
Louis Awerbuck, a clinical psychologist, spoke about the effects of hallucinogens on the brain at a Stellenbosch Science Café panel discussion. AUDIO: Bianke Neethling
Science Café
Isabella du Plessis, a fifth-year medical student at SU who attended the discussion, told MatieMedia that she found the discussion very interesting and informative.
“[This discussion] is bringing up things that we need to discuss and [exposing] ‘big pharma’, because I think we all used to look at medicine and think that it was the answer for everything, but we have to question what is actually best for us and what is actually just a drive for marketing,” she said.
The last Stellenbosch Science Cafés will take place on 13 October.
“There has been a lot of research recently on using hallucinogens for major depression,” said Isabella du Plessis, a fifth-year medical student at Stellenbosch University who attended the discussion. “It was interesting to hear a clinical psychologist’s take on it, as well as a medical doctor’s.” Pictured above is Du Plessis, holding the prize she received for asking a question during the discussion’s question and answer section. PHOTO: Bianke Neethling