Magic Mushrooms Treat Severe Depression in Scientific Trial
A relatively new study coming out of the UK is now using science to confirm what many people have known for centuries – that psilocybin, the hallucinogenic chemical found in magic mushrooms is able to lift and treat severe depression in humans.
At Imperial College London scientists gave 12 people high doses of psilocybin. Going into the experiment, all of the volunteers were severely depressed and were considered untreatable. A week after the experiment, however, all of the volunteers were depression free.
Three months later, five of them still had no symptoms. The results of the study were published in the Lancet Psychiatry Journal; and while the study welcomed the results, it strangely labeled them as “promising, but not completely compelling.”
READ:Â Study Shows Psilocybin, LSD Very Successful In Treating Cluster Headaches
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The researchers are now attempting to find more funding from the medical research council as well as other sources to conduct further and more effective experiments. Scientific research has shown that psilocybin can relieve depression by targeting certain receptors in the brain and disrupting the default mode network. The DMN is responsible for a person’s sense of self and in depressed people the DMN is overactive.
But the scientists are not merely suggesting that the psychedelic experience was related only to a chemical reaction. The scientists are saying that it is possible that the trip actually produced “a spiritual awakening” in the subjects and that the awakening was responsible for the disappearance of depression.
Lead author Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris said:
Psychedelic drugs have potent psychological effects and are only given in our research when appropriate safeguards are in place, such as careful screening and professional therapeutic support.
I wouldn’t want members of the public thinking they can treat their own depressions by picking their own magic mushrooms. That kind of approach could be risky.
While Dr. Carhart-Harris and the research team are obviously trying to be careful with their words, the truth is – the biggest danger from picking your own magic mushrooms is accidentally picking the wrong mushroom.
For centuries humans have used psilocybin mushrooms for spiritual enlightenment with great success. Mushrooms are relatively safe, and the fact that they’re listed both in the United States and the UK as Schedule 1 drugs is an indictment of politicized science, corporate control of government and an assault against individual freedoms.
For instance, even scientifically controlled research requires enormous amounts of money and hoop-jumping from researchers simply to explore the possibilities of the benefits of these substances.
READ:Â Study: LSD And Psilocybin Mushrooms Treat Roots Of Criminality
This recent study of psilocybin and depression cost 1500 pounds per person and 32 months of waiting before the experiment could even take place.
As researcher Professor David Nutt stated:
It costs 1500 pounds to dose each person, when in a sane world it might cost 30 pounds. It is important that academic research groups try to develop possible new treatment for depression as the pharmaceutical industry is pulling out of this field.
Our study has show psilocybin is safe and fast-acting, so may, if administered carefully, have value for these patients.
Professor Nutt was actually fired from his position as the government’s drug adviser in 2009 for being outspoken in his opinion that psilocybin should be removed from the Schedule 1 designation of the Misuse of Drugs Act.
We agree with Professor Nutt that psilocybin should be removed from Schedule 1, that more research into the benefits of the substance should be conducted and that it has value in terms of treatment for depression.
And we also argue for the “sane world” that Professor Nutt mentions in his own statement. This means that non-violent people who possess, sell or distribute psilocybin mushrooms should not be thrown into cages and have their lives ruined as a result of a ridiculous and bull-headed police state drug war policy.
Top image credit: jonboy mitchell via Visualhunt.com / CC BY, modified
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Brandon Turbeville – article archive here – is an author out of Florence, South Carolina. He is the author of six books, Codex Alimentarius — The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies,Five Sense Solutions and Dispatches From a Dissident, volume 1 and volume 2, The Road to Damascus: The Anglo-American Assault on Syria, and The Difference it Makes: 36 Reasons Why Hillary Clinton Should Never Be President. Turbeville has published over 600 articles dealing on a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. Brandon Turbeville’s podcast Truth on The Tracks can be found every Monday night 9 pm EST at UCYTV. He is available for radio and TV interviews. Please contact activistpost (at) gmail.com.
