In the 1950s scientists studied the effects of so-called psychedelics: psilocybin from mushrooms, mescaline from cacti and the synthetic lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD. British psychiatrist Humphry Osmond coined the name for this class of drugs based on their mind-altering properties, such as changes in the sense of self. The drugs showed some initial promise in treating chronic pain and depression in terminally ill patients but a wave of recreational abuse in the late 1960s led to outlawing and a halt in research. Now a new, rigorous, double-blind study has reopened the doors of scientific investigation, reporting spiritual effects and long-term impacts from the use of psilocybin.

Neuroscientist Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins University and his colleagues tested the effects of psilocybin--a drug derived from certain mushrooms that appears to mimic the effects of serotonin in the brain--on 36 middle-aged Americans who had never tried psychedelics before. These "squares" ranged in age from 24 to 64 and included 14 men and 22 women, the majority of whom were college graduates, successful in their careers and participants in some form of spiritual activity.

The researchers randomly assigned the participants to receive psilocybin in either their first or second testing session. When not given psilocybin, the subjects received methylphenidate, more commonly known as Ritalin, which shares some of the pharmacological effects of its psychedelic counterpart. Prior to these sessions, the subjects met several times with a team of medical professionals who would monitor their experiences in order to establish trust and comfort.

Many researchers believe that psychedelic effects are driven in large part by expectations of the experience so neither monitors nor subjects knew when they would be given the psychoactive drug. This blinding seemed to work as even the medically experienced monitors misidentified which drug had been given in 23 percent of the sessions. In each session, the subjects lay down on a couch in a comfortable, living room-like environment and were encouraged to use an eye mask to block out visual distraction and headphones that offered classical music. Monitors were instructed to soothe patients via supportive talk or touch if they experienced any anxiety.

Immediately following the roughly eight-hour sessions, the participants were asked to fill out a series of questionnaires designed to probe the nature and quality of the experience. Twenty-two out of the 36 volunteers described a so-called mystical experience, or one that included feelings of unity with all things, transcendence of time and space as well as deep and abiding joy.

In follow-up interviews conducted two months later 67 percent of the volunteers rated the psilocybin experience as among the most meaningful of their lives, comparing it to the birth of a first child or the death of a parent, and 79 percent reported that it had moderately or greatly increased their overall sense of well-being or life satisfaction. Independent interviews of family members, friends and co-workers confirmed small but significant positive changes in the subject's behavior and more follow-ups are currently being conducted to determine if the effects persist a year later.

Further scientific investigation is warranted to determine how the drug achieves its effects as well as how they might be used in the treatment of "the ennui and anguish of impending death" as well as "alcoholism and other forms of drug addiction," argues Charles Schuster, a neuroscientist at Wayne State University and a former director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in a commentary on the paper. "The misuse of these substances ¿ cannot be allowed to continue to curtail their use as tools for understanding the neurobiology of human consciousness, self-awareness and their potential as therapeutic agents." The research and commentaries were published online yesterday in Psychopharmacology.

8 Comments

1. 1. BillNyeTheScienceGuy 03:39 AM 12/4/07

   Psychedelics definitely do have their place in religion. Take for instance the new religious movement called Matrixism that indicates both LSD and psilocybin mushrooms as its sacrament. See: http://www.geocities.com/matrixism2069

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2. 2. OliFra 04:24 AM 3/25/08

   Unfurtanetely there's a risk inducing HPPD with psilocybin.

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3. 3. lloydlonyo 11:41 PM 4/21/09

   If I were in the conducted experiment I would be with the 67% who said the psilocybin experience was one of the most meaningful experiences in their life. My roommates and I experienced a night full of psychedelic activity and we claimed it to be "the best night of our lives so far." Life is good.

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4. 4. Mt.Meaton in reply to OliFra 12:11 PM 8/24/09

   OliFra - That risk is only there when psychedelics are used incorrectly or abused as other illegal drugs are, for recreational purposes. If you let the drug work it's "magic," and take it's course, and you are able to help direct it to the areas of your psyche you want to explore, you should have no problems. In an article on the subject by John Halpern and Harrison Pope, they found that out of the 500 Native American Church members, all users of the psychedelic Mescaline, they found not a single user suffering from HPPD.

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5. 5. adsf 09:09 PM 10/14/09

   I'll second the HPPD comment. I did my research on the drug, had good set and setting, and a good trip, but I can still see static on my ceiling when I go to bed at night, almost 5 years later.
   So I'd think twice before doing it, especially if you're anything but the most happy and joyful person around...

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6. 6. j.pick in reply to OliFra 04:07 PM 2/25/10

   There is an extremely small risk of developing hppd with lsd use, however the onset of hppd brought on by psilocybin is virtually unheard of.
   

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7. 7. Asstrodomus 02:53 AM 6/3/10

   @adsf - Yea HPPD is impossible to aquire with psilocybin alone. I see static on my ceiling at night too, thats your light receptors of your foveal vision in your eyeball. And if your eyes are bad enough, you can see static in you peripheral vision as well. That means you need prescription glasses, not quit using psilocybin.

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8. 8. starman 10:36 AM 9/10/10

   i live in london uk where can i get some psilocybin ?????????

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