"Spiritual" effects of mushrooms last a year?

[AllardChardon]

"Spiritual" effects of mushrooms last a year?
By Maggie Fox
Health and Science Editor
Wed Jul 2, 12:23 PM ET

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.

While psilocybin is widely outlawed, many U.S. states and some countries overlook its use by indigenous people in religious ceremonies.

Supervision of its use is key, the researchers noted.

"While some of our subjects reported strong fear or anxiety for a portion of their day-long psilocybin sessions, none reported any lingering harmful effects, and we didn't observe any clinical evidence of harm," Griffiths said.

Hallucinogens should not be given to people at risk for psychosis or certain other serious mental disorders, the researchers said.

But Griffiths stressed that even those who reported fear said a year later they had no permanent negative effects.

Of the volunteers who took the one-day test of psilocybin, 22 of the 36 had a "complete" mystical experience, based on a detailed questionnaire.

Griffiths said 21 continued to rate highly on this standardized scale 14 months later.

"Even at the 14-month follow-up, 58 percent of 36 volunteers rated the experience on the psilocybin session as among the five most personally meaningful experiences of their lives and 67 percent rated it among the five most spiritually significant experiences of their lives," the researchers said.

The report included some comments from the volunteers.

"Surrender is intensely powerful. To 'let go' and become enveloped in the beauty of -- in this case music -- was enormously spiritual," one volunteer said.

(Editing by Will Dunham and Vicki Allen)


Albert(?) Hoffman, inventor of LSD, said basically the same thing, long ago. He recently died at 102, I think I read. I took alot of LSD and some magic mushrooms back in the 60s. It did have a positive and spiritual effect on my life.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

"Spiritual" effects of mushrooms last a year?
By Maggie Fox
Health and Science Editor
Wed Jul 2, 12:23 PM ET

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.

While psilocybin is widely outlawed, many U.S. states and some countries overlook its use by indigenous people in religious ceremonies.

Supervision of its use is key, the researchers noted.

"While some of our subjects reported strong fear or anxiety for a portion of their day-long psilocybin sessions, none reported any lingering harmful effects, and we didn't observe any clinical evidence of harm," Griffiths said.

Hallucinogens should not be given to people at risk for psychosis or certain other serious mental disorders, the researchers said.

But Griffiths stressed that even those who reported fear said a year later they had no permanent negative effects.

Of the volunteers who took the one-day test of psilocybin, 22 of the 36 had a "complete" mystical experience, based on a detailed questionnaire.

Griffiths said 21 continued to rate highly on this standardized scale 14 months later.

"Even at the 14-month follow-up, 58 percent of 36 volunteers rated the experience on the psilocybin session as among the five most personally meaningful experiences of their lives and 67 percent rated it among the five most spiritually significant experiences of their lives," the researchers said.

The report included some comments from the volunteers.

"Surrender is intensely powerful. To 'let go' and become enveloped in the beauty of -- in this case music -- was enormously spiritual," one volunteer said.

(Editing by Will Dunham and Vicki Allen)


Albert(?) Hoffman, inventor of LSD, said basically the same thing, long ago. He recently died at 102, I think I read. I took alot of LSD and some magic mushrooms back in the 60s. It did have a positive and spiritual effect on my life.

I used Renaissance masses and motets to achieve the same purpose. It was cheaper.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

No one's going to use psilocybin for guided therapy. Believe me, they just aren't. It's a wonderful drug and the results can be marvelous but you never know what's going to happen when you take it. It's not that much different from LSD or mescaline in effect.

 

[tickledkitty]

I been lying on your feathers
You keep talkin’ about the weather
I’m a psilocybin pony
You’re a flick fandango phoney
It’s a sticky contradiction
It’s a thing you call creation
Everything is science fiction
And I ought to know
(I’m in touch with your world)


I can't see it happening either.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

The "spiritual" effects of the acid I took in 1970 are with me still.

(No, really. I think these drugs actually provide insight on the nature of consciousness, and suspect that's what the effect described in the OP is actually about. In this I think I disagree with Mab.)

 

[AllardChardon]

The fact that scientists conducted a study using magic mushrooms on people that were not already "experienced" and followed it through a year later with an update impressed me greatly. The fact that it was on yahoo news also impressed me and the fact this story lasted three days on yahoo news added to that amazement (granted weekend news does not turn over as quickly). The fact that the participants had a good trip despite a few bumps through fear and anxiety and found surrender is wonderful. A year later some of them rated the experieice in the top five. Equally good news. It seems like a crack letting in a little light to a much needed area. I will pray for the crack to widen.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

The fact that scientists conducted a study using magic mushrooms on people that were not already "experienced" and followed it through a year later with an update impressed me greatly. The fact that it was on yahoo news also impressed me and the fact this story lasted three days on yahoo news added to that amazement (granted weekend news does not turn over as quickly). The fact that the participants had a good trip despite a few bumps through fear and anxiety and found surrender is wonderful. A year later some of them rated the experieice in the top five. Equally good news. It seems like a crack letting in a little light to a much needed area. I will pray for the crack to widen.

Just so long as it isn't "crack" that widens. Nasty stuff.

 

[AllardChardon]

That is not the crack I was referring to. More like a tiny light at the end of a long dark tunnel.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

That is not the crack I was referring to. More like a tiny light at the end of a long dark tunnel.

I posted too close to when I should have gone to bed. Forgot the at the end of my attempt. Brain shuts down around 10:00 p.m. 'cause I'm a morning species of bear.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

The fact that scientists conducted a study using magic mushrooms on people that were not already "experienced" and followed it through a year later with an update impressed me greatly. The fact that it was on yahoo news also impressed me and the fact this story lasted three days on yahoo news added to that amazement (granted weekend news does not turn over as quickly). The fact that the participants had a good trip despite a few bumps through fear and anxiety and found surrender is wonderful. A year later some of them rated the experieice in the top five. Equally good news. It seems like a crack letting in a little light to a much needed area. I will pray for the crack to widen.

Concur. Good stuff. (Double entendre not intended but apt. )

 

[AllardChardon]

The proper use of hallucinogens is severly underrated. Although I have not tripped in years, some of my fondest memories were made under that influence.

 

[bwallard]

And the proper use of mushrooms is not sufficiently discussed.

Well - proper... I don't mean to say that you mustn't gobble a handful if you feel like chasing down bunny holes, but really, just a nibble, with a toke, gives the brightness of cocaine without the silly jiggliness and the morning from hell after.

 

[cloudy]

The proper use of hallucinogens is severly underrated. Although I have not tripped in years, some of my fondest memories were made under that influence.

Indeed. No acid hangover with 'shrooms, either.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Indeed. No acid hangover with 'shrooms, either.

I understand buds are good, too.

 

[bwallard]

Well yes, of course. One must have the bud.

I'm thinking it should be a dietary supplement.

A bit of wake and bake, a leisurely wank saving the shot for later, workout, brisk walk to work, be cheerful be cheerful be cheerful, come home. collapse, weep, think about going out for cigarettes.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

Huh - I don't recall any "acid hangovers." Just exhaustion from 12+ hours of manic energy and laughter.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Huh - I don't recall any "acid hangovers." Just exhaustion from 12+ hours of manic energy and laughter.

I'll stick with music. It costs less and still rewires the brain, gives pleasure to others, glorifies Creation, etc. And you can't get arrested for singing.

Of course, you can end up with a shoe in the ear if you aren't any good . . .

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

I'll stick with music. It costs less and still rewires the brain, gives pleasure to others, glorifies Creation, etc. And you can't get arrested for singing.

Of course, you can end up with a shoe in the ear if you aren't any good . . .

I'm dating myself, but back in the day a hit of purple microdot was $2 and would send three or four people on one of those 12-hour excursions. I forget how much alblums were, but I'm sure they were more than that.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I'm dating myself, but back in the day a hit of purple microdot was $2 and would send three or four people on one of those 12-hour excursions. I forget how much alblums were, but I'm sure they were more than that.

Never fear about dating. I was there then but had no contact with anything stronger than grass. And since all it did was put me to sleep (and since I'm a world class competition sleeper) I didn't get into anything else.

Yannow, if I weren't Cali-born and bred, I suspect I could qualify as a redneck . . . with a Masters!

 

[bwallard]

Hey Roxanne, what does "dating yourself" mean.

You a masturbator?

 

[dr_mabeuse]

The "spiritual" effects of the acid I took in 1970 are with me still.

(No, really. I think these drugs actually provide insight on the nature of consciousness, and suspect that's what the effect described in the OP is actually about. In this I think I disagree with Mab.)

Yeah, I agree. That's why this "research" is so silly. I learned more in a night on acid than i learned in 4 years of college, and it was all real.

I mean, what did these people think? that these drugs make you hallucinate things that aren't there? They make You see things that really are there that you just don't notice most of the time.

I just think the dream of guided therapy using these kinds of drugs -- that is, achieving a therapeutic goal (which was Timothy Leary's dream)-- will never come to pass. They're just too powerful and unpredictable.

BTW, the proper name for these kinds of drugs now is "entheogens", meaning, "to invoke the god within."

 

[rgraham666]

My god within and I aren't on speaking terms anymore.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

Yeah, I agree. That's why this "research" is so silly. I learned more in a night on acid than i learned in 4 years of college, and it was all real.

I mean, what did these people think? that these drugs make you hallucinate things that aren't there? They make You see things that really are there that you just don't notice most of the time.

I just think the dream of guided therapy using these kinds of drugs --acieving a therepeutic goal (which was Timothy Leary's dream)-- will never come to pass. They're just too powerful and unpredictable.

Really? Powerful yes, but not entirely unpredictable. I tripped with a number of people back in the day, and the experience we shared was, um, shared, and pretty much the same each time (notwithstanding the lack of FDC-approved labeling and predictable-dosages). I do know of individuals who reportedly had "bad trips," but these were almost certainly due to their own neuroses and/or likely misuse of the drug. I imagine some simple screening could eliminate that potential problem.

BTW, I've done acid, 'shrooms and peyote, and prefer acid. The main advantage of the others is that you don't have to commit to a 12+ hour trip - 2-3 hours more like - but I always felt that the physical effects were more "edgy" and the experience more "peaky" - you soar very high very fast, fall back from that peak fairly quickly, and then for about have the duration gradually drop back to normal. Acid comes on slow, keeps you at a fairly steady high for a long time, and then also gradually returns you to normal.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

The fact that scientists conducted a study using magic mushrooms on people that were not already "experienced" and followed it through a year later with an update impressed me greatly. The fact that it was on yahoo news also impressed me and the fact this story lasted three days on yahoo news added to that amazement (granted weekend news does not turn over as quickly). The fact that the participants had a good trip despite a few bumps through fear and anxiety and found surrender is wonderful. A year later some of them rated the experieice in the top five. Equally good news. It seems like a crack letting in a little light to a much needed area. I will pray for the crack to widen.

Drug research is politically controlled like no other. You can't get funding or permission to do studies on any beneficial uses of marijuana anymore, and the same goes for the entheogens, so I don't know how they managed this. It certainly didn't come from the feds, who stopped all funding except for animal studies and will block you and fight you tooth and nail at the state level.

The travesty and tragedy of medical marijuana use is well known. Thousands of people are suffering needlessly because of it, and the same is true with morphine and fentanil, powerful narcotic pain relievers used in terminal cancer that many patients can't get because of the feds' fear of abuse.

Studies on the therapeutic use of entheogens all had their funding cut off in the early 70's as part of the Nixon's War on Drugs. Marijuana research stopped when work showed it wasn't as dangerous as the government had hoped. None of the psychedelics are very toxic, it turns out. They're dangerous, but not from toxicity.

There are special Shaman Tours of South America you can take where you'll get to sample psilocybin, ayahuasca ("the psychic vine"), mescaline, yopo, and other indigenous Amazonian psychedelics in guided ceremonies (I know; psilocybin & mescaline aren't indigenous but they throw them in anyhow). They're not so terrified of them down there.

 

[AllardChardon]

Yes, this study did make me wonder and that is why I posted it and I am glad that I did.

Doc, thanks for entheogens. That alone is worth the post, I do love learning at your knee...

I am a medical marijuana patient and I vote whenever I can to protect patients and I like what Obama has to say on the subject. That the
Feds will quit harassing legitimate patients. It is about time.

I will go to sleep imagining a time when fear recedes over little things like knats and we are able to swallow larger ideas (hallucinogens/entheogens can be helpful) like camels.