Magic Mushrooms

Our parents read us stories like Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz and are suddenly saying, "Why are you taking drugs?" Well, hello!

— Grace Slick

Pharmacologists at Johns Hopkins have discovered psilocybin cures depression.

They treated 24 people with a history of depression by giving them two doses of psilocybin, the psychoactive component in magic mushrooms, two weeks apart.

Each treatment lasted five hours, during which the subject laid on a couch wearing eye shades and headphones that played music.

Of the 24 people, 12 were no longer depressed after a month and four showed a 70% reduction in symptoms.

Psychiatrist Alan Davis said “the magnitude of the effect we saw was about four times larger than what clinical trials have shown for traditional antidepressants on the market.”

He added that, since most other treatments for depression take weeks or months to work and may have undesirable effects, the findings "could be a game changer."

UPDATE, MARCH 18, 2021: Oregon announced the formation of a Psilocybin Advisory Board this week, according to The New York Times. The board will oversee the therapeutic use of psychedelic mushrooms in licensed facilities.