Magic Mushrooms helped critically ill cancer patients overcome the anxiety of coping with their last days, as outlined by a 2005 study. Los Angeles researchers released a study Tuesday showing that the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, psilocybin, when given to a critically ill patient, will help them manage having the depression making it easier to deal having the whole ordeal. Research about the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs was derailed within the 1970s when the federal government outlawed mind altering drugs such as Lysergic acid diethylamide. 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 a hard time 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.
More analysis in the future having psychedelic drugs
Researchers who conducted the magic mushroom experiment are seeking funding for more studies. ABC News talks about where psilocybin works in the brain. It works on the area that typically controls the 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. A professor of psychiatry at Harbor-USLA Medical Center called Dr. Charles Grob said to ABC News that “40 years later, society has reached a point where it is sufficiently mature to handle these compounds in a safe and structured manner,” as he lead the magic mushroom studies.
Don’t do on your own
When used clinically, the magic mushroom 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. The study done in the 1950s and ’60s “was promising, but by no means did it reach the kinds of scientific standards that we would expect today” as outlined by Griffiths who’s doing his own psilocybin study reports the Los Angeles Times. Federal and local regulators were expected to approve the experiments. That is the only reason Griffiths and Grob could do their research. Cancer patients are told not to use magic mushrooms by themselves. In these studies, there was a very careful amount of doses given as to stop bad trips from happening.
Additional 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
No comments:
Post a Comment