This post is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be medical advice***
A recent groundbreaking clinical study at John’s Hopkins University which was published in JAMA Psychiatry showed that one particular medicine was 4 times more effective than antidepressants in treating treatment-resistant depression. This is an absolutely astounding discovery but one that people who have used this medicine have known for decades if not thousands of years.
What medicine was used in this study?
None other than “shrooms,” or psilocybin, which is the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms.
The study was released one day after Oregon became the first state in the United States to legalize psilocybin assisted psychotherapy in last week’s election (Nov 2020). Studies done around the world have shown that psilocybin or magic mushrooms is the least dangerous “drug”on the planet. I would argue unequivocally that it’s far less dangerous than alcohol. And let’s be clear, alcohol is a drug, whereas magic mushrooms are medicine, as they help people to heal, often in profound ways. Indigenous people around the world have always treated these mushrooms as sacred and not to be trifled with.
For more information on the many other studies that Johns Hopkins has done with psilocybin, please click HERE. New York Times bestselling author Michael Pollen recently wrote a book from a skeptical journalist’s perspective on the subject. Check out this fantastic book here – How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence.
Such enormous societal stigma exists surrounding magic mushrooms, but things are changing. When one of the most prestigious universities in the world shows what the potential is for healing people of depression, anxiety and additions, it is time for people to change their long held opinions about this sacred medicine. Magic mushrooms or psilocybin is still listed as a schedule 1 drug, which means that it has no medicinal value and is extremely addictive. Marijuana is still listed as a schedule 1 drug even though the medical benefits are very clear and have been clear for thousands of years.
Have you ever heard of anybody being addicted to magic mushrooms? The experience they provide leads people powerfully out of addiction, which is why these entheogenic substances are being used to help hopeless addicts recover. Imagine how much of a threat this is to the pharmaceutical companies who make billions of dollars on antidepressant medication every year, which in independent studies work no better than a placebo. Antidepressant medications are toxic drugs that don’t heal depression at its root.
In this study, 71% of the participants showed more than a 50 percent reduction in depressive symptoms after four weeks. One month after that, their average depression score had dropped from 23 to 8, and 50 percent were considered to be in full remission. This is an experience that these people had two times and that was all it took to completely heal 50% completely of their depression.
In the Psychedelic Explorers Guide Book written by Dr. James Fadiman talks about the two most important ingredients for having a good experience – set and setting. When people in non-therapeutic, non-clinical settings have a “bad trip” it usually is because people are in the wrong set and setting. It is critically important with this medicine to take under the care of somebody who is trained to know how to navigate these spaces and to have them done in a space of love and acceptance.
When experiences are done where there is chaos in the environment and someone is not there to lovingly guide the person on their journey or experience, people can end up having a bad experience. In a clinical setting, the set and setting is loving and guided by trained professionals, which is how it should be done. This is what the state of Oregon just recently legalized.
Because I’m an intensely curious person, I have asked many people over the years about their own experiences with magic mushrooms and other entheogens. The reports are almost always unanimously life changing. I, too, have had my own life changing experiences with Ayahuasca, which is a similar medicine that has been used for thousands of years by people in the Amazon to help people heal. Ayahuasca is 100% legal in Peru and here in the USA. My experiences were extraordinary and helped me to become a more loving, joyful and peaceful human being.
The future looks rather magical for those struggling with treatment resistant depression, anxiety and addiction. Oregon will serve as a beacon of hope for those who wish to try something different in a safe, therapeutic setting.
