A 2005 study showed that cancer patients cope better with anxiety when critically ill with shrooms. Results of a study released Tuesday by researchers in Los Angeles showed that patients who were administered psilocybin, the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms, enjoyed relief from depression that enabled them to deal having the psychological and spiritual ordeal of a terminal illness. Research on psychedelic drugs had to stop when the federal government made it illegal to use drugs for instance LSD that are mind altering in the 1970s. The magic mushroom study is considered a milestone for scientists working to return research on the clinical use of hallucinogens back to respectability.
Less fear of dying with hallucinogens
The magic mushroom study results were posted in the Archives of General Psychiatry. This can be a prestigious psychiatric journal that posted it. CNN showed that 12 patients got small doses of psilocybin. All of these patients were having difficulty having the diagnosis of being terminally ill. There was also a placebo given to a control group. Patients were talked to after one to three months of psilocybin. They reported better moods and hardly any anxiety at death. Six months later, the study group’s average score on a scale used to measure depression had dropped 30 percent. Some said that they were closer than ever with loved ones as they psilocybin gave them a different perspective on life.
Psychedelic drug analysis continues to be planned
The magic mushroom experiment researchers are trying to get more funding to conduct more experiments. ABC News reports that psilocybin acts on the region of the brain responsible for nonverbal imagery and emotion. Magic mushroom hallucinogens have been used by native cultures for centuries. Cultural and political conflict brought therapeutic research having psychedelic drugs to a halt within the 1970s. Dr. Charles Grob said to ABC that “40 years later, society has reached a point where it is sufficiently mature to handle these compounds in a safe and structured manner.” He led the shrooms studies as the professor of psychiatry at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Do not do on your own
When used clinically, the shrooms analysis shows hallucinogens are helpful. It also showed that psilocybin, as outlined by Roland Griffith of Johns Hopkins University, could be used in studies safely. Griffiths, who is conducting his own study using psilocybin, told the Los Angeles Times the study conducted on psychedelic drugs in the 1950s and ’60s “was promising, however by no means did it reach the kinds of scientific standards that we would expect today.”. Approval for experiments was only given to Griffiths and Grob by, reports the Times, federal and local regulators. Cancer patients are told not to use magic mushrooms by themselves. There were minimal amounts of bad trips within the studies. This is because doses were carefully regulated.
Further reading
CNN
cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/09/06/magic.mushrooms.ease.anxiety/?hpt=T2
ABC News
abcnews.go.com/Health/ucla-study-finds-magic-mushrooms-curb-anxiety-advanced/story?id=11568335
Los Angeles Times
latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-magic-mushrooms-20100907,,4230087.story?track=rss
