Study shows "Spiritual" effects of mushrooms last a year

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http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUKN0127105120080701


Study shows "Spiritual" effects of mushrooms last a year
Tue Jul 1, 2008 3:18pm EDT


By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The "spiritual" effects of psilocybin from so-called sacred mushrooms last for more than a year and may offer a way to help patients with fatal diseases or addictions, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

The researchers also said their findings show there are safe ways to test psychoactive drugs on willing volunteers, if guidelines are followed.

In 2006, Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and colleagues gave psilocybin to 36 volunteers and asked them how it felt. Most reported having a "mystical" or "spiritual" experience and rated it positively.

More than a year later, most still said the experience increased their sense of well-being or life satisfaction, Griffiths and colleagues report in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

"This is a truly remarkable finding," Griffiths said in a statement. "Rarely in psychological research do we see such persistently positive reports from a single event in the laboratory."

The findings may offer a way to help treat extremely anxious and depressed patients, or people with addictions, said Griffiths, whose work was funded by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

"This gives credence to the claims that the mystical-type experiences some people have during hallucinogen sessions may help patients suffering from cancer-related anxiety or depression and may serve as a potential treatment for drug dependence," Griffiths said.

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http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-136609.html

     
Drug's Mystical Properties Confirmed; 36 Area Adults Took Psilocybin in Study; Many Called Experience Spiritual
From: The Washington Post | Date: July 11, 2006| Author: David Brown - Washington Post Staff Writer | Copyright 2006 The Washington Post. This material is published under license from the Washington Post.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post.Copyright information

Psilocybin, the active ingredient of "magic mushrooms," expands the mind. After a thousand years of use, that's now scientifically official.

The chemical promoted a mystical experience in two-thirds of people who took it for the first time, according to a new study. One- third rated a session with psilocybin as the "single most spiritually significant" experience of their lives. Another third put it in the top five.

The study, published online today in the journal Psychopharmacol...

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