A controlled dose of the main ingredient in hallucinogenicmushrooms appears to reduce anxiety and lift spirits in people battling
advanced cancer, researchers report.
In a small pilot study, the compound psilocybin appeared to
be safe, with no participants reporting a "bad trip," said study
author Dr. Charles Grob. His research was published online Sept. 6 and will
appear in the January 2011 print issue of the Archives of General
Psychiatry.
In fact, the trips tended to be good, with patients and
their families reporting improvements up to six months after their single-dose
experience with the substance.
But it took four years to get the funding and necessary
approvals for the trial, even though it only involved a dozen patients (all
with advanced cancer). And it's been 35 years since a similar study was
conducted, in the heyday of medical research into hallucinogens in the 1950s
and 1960s, before cultural and political forces moved to shut the field down.
This raises the question of if and when psilocybin and other
hallucinogens will reach patients who might benefit from it.
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