Ranking the Harm of Psychoactive Drugs Including Prescription Analgesics to Users and Others-A Perspective of German Addiction Medicine Experts.

Over the past 15 years, comparative assessments of psychoactive substance harms to both users and others have been compiled by addiction experts. None of these rankings however have included synthetic cannabinoids or non-opioid prescription analgesics (NOAs, e.g.

Serotonergic hallucinogens in the treatment of anxiety and depression in patients suffering from a life-threatening disease: A systematic review.

Anxiety and depression are some of the most common psychiatric symptoms of patients suffering with life-threatening diseases, often associated with a low quality of life and a poor overall prognosis. 5-HT-receptor agonists (serotonergic hallucinogens, 'psychedelics') like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin were first investigated as therapeutic agents in the 1960s. Recently, after a long hiatus period of regulatory obstacles, interest in the clinical use of these substances has resumed.

[Psychotherapy with Adjuvant use of Serotonergic Psychoactive Substances: Possibilities and Challenges].

 Recently, scientific interest in the therapeutic potential of serotonergic and psilocybin hallucinogens (psychedelics) such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and entactogens like 3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) within the framework of psychotherapy has resumed. The present article provides an overview on the current evidence on substance-assisted psychotherapy with these substances.  A selective search was carried out in the PubMed and Cochrane Library including studies investigating the clinical use of serotonergic psychoactive substances since 2000.

Experimental Psychosis Research and Schizophrenia-Similarities and Dissimilarities in Psychopathology.

The aim of experimental psychopathology is to delineate overlapping functional disorders of psychoneurobiologically-defined systems where a set of common symptoms may correspond to a variety of nosological entities. According to the vulnerability model of psychosis, experimental research needs to go beyond categories such as "schizophrenia". Prospective studies of the effects of psychoactive substances in normal control subjects offer several methodological advantages over routine clinical reviews of schizophrenic patients, especially in terms of standardization.

[Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) and Flashback Phenomena – Differential Diagnosis and Explanation Models].

Objective: The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the current research on "Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder" (HPPD) and "Flashback" phenomena. The definition and diagnostic features of "Flashback" and HPPD remained often unclear and since the 1960 s interchangeable.

Methods: Relevant literature was identified by means of a computerized MEDLINE search including the years 1994-2014.