Fourteen months after study participants were given psilocybin – the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms – as part of a controlled experiment, 64% say that the hallucinogenic experience has increased their sense of well-being, Johns Hopkins University researchers reported July 1 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. “I feel more centered in who I am and what I’m doing,” study participant Dede Osborn told the Associated Press. “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.”

Amen to that.

For the groundbreaking experiment, JHU researchers selected 36 adults who were “hallucinogen-naive,” but who reported having “regular participation in religious/spiritual activities.” The participants were given 30 milligrams of psilocybin, then encouraged to close their eyes and “direct their attention inward.” At their first follow-up, two months after the monitored trip, 79% of the participants reported “moderately or greatly increased well-being or life satisfaction,” JHU reported in 2006. “A majority said their mood, attitudes and behaviors had changed for the better” – assessments that were confirmed through structured interviews with the participants’ family and friends.

Now, 14 months later, two-thirds of participants still regard the experience as life-changing; 58% report that the experience is among the five most personally meaningful or spiritually meaningful experiences in their lives. “This is a truly remarkable finding,” said JHU’s lead researcher, Roland Griffiths. “Rarely in psychological research do we see such persistently positive reports from a single event in the laboratory. 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. … We’re eager to move ahead with that research.”

Monday, July 7, 5:59pm

Newsdesk

This article appears in July 11 • 2008.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US