from treating depression all the way to helping to manage alcohol dependence, scientists say that medically legal “magic mushrooms” offer many advantages.
Soft lighting. Furniture that is comfortable. The walls are decorated with art.
To the untrained eye the setting may appear to be a living space. However, it’s not. It’s a facility for research specifically designed to inspire relaxation and comfort.
A psilocybin treatment session is currently taking place.
On the couch is the patient. They wear eyeglasses and headphones. The music is soft and gentle. The research group has two members on hand to guide the discussion throughout the eight hours. The majority of the time is spent in quiet reflection.
Medical staff trained and certified are on site in case of an emergency.
Despite the stigmas associated with normal life the therapy session here is anything but normal.
Psilocybin the active ingredient within “magic” mushrooms also known as “shrooms,” is a potent psychoactive.
Despite being 100 times less powerful than LSD It is capable of altering perceptions of time and space, producing the appearance of visual distortion, feelings of euphoria and mystical sensations.
Contrary to marijuana which witnessed an incredibly dramatic shift in support of legalization as well as recognized medical applications such as MDMA that has made media attention recently due to its ability to treat PTSD (some experts believe the drug could receive Food and Drug Administration approval within 2021) Psilocybin, however, does not have the same amount of cultural significance.
One could be excused to think about “shrooms” as just a leftover from the excessive 1960s’ psychedelic decade.
However, don’t be fooled: Psilocybin has a number of medical benefits that could be derived from it.
The research has proven that psilocybin could be effective in treating various psychiatric and behavior disorders, though it’s still waiting for FDA authorization for something.
The possible causes may include depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and quitting smokingcigarettes, alcohol addiction and headaches caused by clusters, cocaine addiction and other cancer-related terminal psychological issues.
Some high-profile initiatives have also been popping up in the past few time across Denver, Colorado, and Oregon to legalize psilocybin and other mushrooms.
But experts believe that they’re less likely to be approved.
Psilocybin mushrooms are still an Schedule I drug according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, meaning they’re classified as having “no medically accepted use at present and a high risk of misuse.”
Others Schedule I drugs include marijuana, MDMA, and LSD.
However, despite social stigma and legal red tape researchers are advancing clinical trials to get FDA approval.
The Dr. George R. Greer co-founder and president of The Heffter Research Institute, a non-profit research institute that is focused on the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics, including psilocybin and explains his motives:
“Our goal is to accomplish two things. One is to conduct research that will help us better understand the brain, the mind and how it is working, and then to ease suffering by using therapeutic psychoactive substances.”
The institute is currently focusing on two areas of research in psilocybin including addiction and cancer-related mental diseases. Psilocybin therapy for cancer is thought to be as one that is among the most hopeful areas of study related to the medication.
In light of the large variety of possible indications for psilocybin it’s crucial to be aware that the research conducted is also varied, ranging from one-off pilot studies to the phase II and III approval trials conducted by the FDA.
This is what current research indicates about the use of psilocybin to treat a variety of potential conditions.
Depression
Depression is one of the most studied reasons for using psilocybin therapy. As Healthline earlier reported in the this year, Psilocybin therapy has been awarded “breakthrough therapy” designation (a review speed process) from the FDA to treat depression.
The Usona Institute, a psychedelic research facility, is in the process of planning their phase III trial that is expected to begin later in the year to come.
Addictions such as smoking cessation and alcohol addictions
In a brief pilot study conducted by Johns Hopkins University, researchers found that psilocybin therapy dramatically reduced smoking during 12 months of follow-up.
Matthew Johnson, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry, behavioral and clinical sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who was the study’s leader.
He believes that psilocybin is a potential treatment for other addiction disorders that involve substance use like cocaine and alcohol addiction.
“The general concept is that the basis of these conditions is a narrowing of the range of behavioral and mental capabilities,” he told Healthline. “So that psilocybin, in well-organized sessions has the capacity to get someone out of their routine, giving them an insight into a bigger image and to create a mental flexibility that individuals can transcend these issues.”
In actual fact, a brief open-label study of psilocybin as well as alcohol dependence revealed that after treatment both drinking and heavy drinking decreased.
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Researchers from Alabama are conducting research on the use of psilocybin in treating addiction to cocaine.
The psychological stress of cancer-related depression
“There’ve seen some promising initial results in these areas, like the treatment of extreme anxiety in people who are at death, or are diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer.” the Dr. Charles Grob who is a professor of psychiatry at the UCLA David Gffen School of Medicine said to Healthline.
Grob is also associated to The Heffter Research Institute, has been studying psilocybin for a long time and has written research about the subject, which included among others the pilot study that was conducted in 2011 of psilocybin therapy to treat anxiety in patients suffering from cancer.
A double-blind, randomized trial conducted by Johns Hopkins during 2016 showed that a single dose Psilocybin dramatically improved the health and quality of life. It also reduced anxiety and depression among people suffering from cancers that are life-threatening.
“The thing has the most evidence for is depression related to cancer and anxiety. It’s a pretty solid conclusion and I’d be astonished that those findings didn’t stand to the test,” Johnson said, who was a participant in the study.
Although promising, research suggests still no timetable for when, and if, Psilocybin may ever be recognized from the FDA.
The three doctors interviewed by Healthline insist that the drug could be harmful due to a myriad of causes if used incorrectly.
“It can only be administered with specially trained and certified medical professionals, therapists. It’s not going to be sold in the streets in the form of a sale or consume too much or consume too many pills on prescribed prescription.” Greer said.
Psilocybin influences the cardiovascular system and may result in an increase in blood pressure or an irregular heartbeat.
It could also be a way to cause lasting and severe mental problems.
“Psilocybin is much more psychoactively hazardous than cannabis. It’s especially hazardous for a small proportion of people who’ve experienced an episode of schizophrenia manic episode, mania or even, say the close family member who had those problems. It can cause a psychosis or a manic episode in someone who is prone to this,” Greer said.
There’s always the risk of having a “bad experience,” or negative experience when taking the drug. There are very few but documented instances of people jumping to death or behaving in an erratic manner that puts themselves in danger and others around them.
In the words of Grob says: “Taken in uncontrolled settings In reality, all wagers go out the window. You never know what you’re going to get.”
However, it’s not like having mushrooms at an event. It’s designed to be a carefully controlled space to make sure that no unexpected events occur.
“You can identify the risk and we have very effective methods to deal with the issue,” Johnson said.
He also explained that “There are dangers, but they are drastically reduced in medical research and, potentially, in approved medical applications I believe that the risks we face and our capacity to manage them are very reasonable in comparison to other procedures routinely employed in medical practice.”
But the efficacy and safety of psilocybin treatments must be proved in a satisfactory manner to the FDA however, and so to date, has not been.
Although some believe that psilocybin could follow the steps of MDMA treatment and possibly be approved within the next 5-10 years, the route to be taken isn’t entirely crystal clear and is highly uncertain.
If asked about any realistic time frame to get acceptance, Grob told Healthline, “I doubt it. While the research that we’re discussing is generally very positive and positive but there’s not been enough research.”
“There must be more clinical research that is FDA-approved with psychoactive substances,” said the doctor, “exploring both how to enhance their therapeutic effectiveness, as well as gaining more knowledge of the spectrum of effects that medical drugs can have, which can be challenging… There’s certain questions that must be addressed.”