Drug in “Magic Mushrooms” May Have Long-term Benefits

14 months after taking a psychedelic drug, participants in a study still reported feeling and behaving better.

Research on hallucinogenic drugs has largely come to a halt since the 1960s, when recreational use of the drugs was widely abused.

In the controlled study, of psilocybin (pronounced SILL-oh-SY-bin), found in “magic mushrooms,” two thirds of participants reported having a spiritual awakening, while a third reported feeling uncontrollable fear, which is why scientists warn against using it outside a scientific setting.

Scientists have hope that psilocybin will prove useful in treating addiction and drug abuse.

A participant in the study, Dede Osborn says of her experience, "I feel more centered in who I am and what I'm doing. I don't seem to have those self-doubts like I used to have. I feel much more grounded (and feel that) we are all connected."

She also says the experience was simultaneously painful and joyful and although she and others have described it as a spiritual experience as well, lead author Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins cautions that the study had nothing to do with finding the existence of God.

Researchers didn’t ask for proof or improved behavior by participants, but had no reason to doubt the positive answers they received 14 months later.

The study is likely to serve as a first step in future studies about the effects of psychedelic drugs, says Dr. Charles Grob, a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and is also on the board of the Heffter Research Institute, which promotes studies of psychedelic substances and helped pay for the new work.