Can't Get Enough
National Geographic Channel Breakthrough, Season 2
Narrator: Mike Colter
National Geographic/Imagine/Asylum Production
Each episode is 50 minutes in length
6 Episodes in this series
Episode One: Addiction: A Psychedelic Cure?
May 2, 2017
The traditional treatments for addictions run the gamut from group therapy to medical therapy to cold turkey to just about anything to get rid of that addiction. In the first Episode of National Geographic’s second season of “Breakthrough,” the audience explores a different form of treatment---going back to the 1970’s and the use of psychedelic drugs as a treatment and cure. What, you say, hasn't that been tried? Yes, but with the ensuing scientific research, treatment comes from a different angle.
Amanda Fielding, Oxfordshire, England, started the Beckley Foundation years ago to research the use of psychedelic drugs for treatment of addiction and her results are shown here. It was discovered that the frontal cortex of the brain is effected by drugs, and later on, that a lessened blood flow to the brain causes the brain to “reset,” and a lessening of the addiction urge.
There are two volunteers who use psychedelic drugs to fight addiction, Cathy for smoking and T.J. for heroin. Each uses a different psychedelic drug in a controlled environment in a different location. Each describes a feeling of peace during treatment and no urge to smoke or do heroin (T.J.) afterward. T.J. is the difficult situation and as he describes it, he was close to death and had gone through rehab six times before. The new treatment was his first experience with this drug. 39 days later and he is without heroin.
Addictions are varied and some may not think they have an addiction to anything, but then you search your own life. What about all the cups of coffee/cola and sugar/caffeine each day---or exercising every day until you just about faint---it’s something you can't break away from. It is also something you see around you every day. The people in a restaurant during breakfast who complain that the coffee isn't strong enough (when you think it doesn't need a cup to hold it up) and then pour in four packets of sugar per cup and then have four cups in a row. The phrase “iron clad stomach” comes to mind. Addiction, we see, is everywhere.
Direction, cinematography and music are excellent.
Breakthrough: Season 2 is produced by National Geographic/ Imagine and Asylum. The series will run on television in 172 countries and in 43 languages. The six episodes are “Addiction: A Psychedelic Cure?” narrated by Mike Colter and shown on May 2, 2017, “Cyper Terror” narrated by Barry Pepper and shown on May 9, 2017, “Curing Cancer” narrated by Sheila Vand and shown on May 16, 2017, “Game of Drones” narrated by JK Simmons and shown on May 23, 2017, “Predicting the Future” narrated by Aaron Eckhart and shown on May 30, 2017 and “Power to the People” narrated by Chris Pine and shown on June 6, 2017. For more information see www.nationalgeographic.com or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, Linkedin and Pinterest.
Copyright 2017 Marie Asner
