MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD and therapeutic breakthroughs
Psilocybin is a psychedelic compound naturally derived from mushrooms that can bring about insight, self-realization, and overcoming psychological barriers. This healing drug is also known as mushrooms, magic mushrooms, or shrooms. A growing body of evidence supports the use of professionally guided Psilocybin experiences for anxiety, depression, PTSD, grief related to end stage cancer, migraines, and even smoking cessation.
"Mushrooms have taught me the interconnectedness of all life-forms and the molecular matrix that we share. I no longer feel that I am in this envelope of a human life called Paul Stamets. I am part of the stream of molecules that are flowing through nature."
The psilocybin mushroom first captured the Western imagination in the 1950s. American banker Robert Gordon Wasson was inspired to learn mycology by his wife Valentina Pavlovna. Starting in 1953, Wasson made several trips to the Sierra Mazateca region of Oaxaca, Mexico. In 1955, in Huaulta de Jiminez, Wasson and photographer Allen Richardson participated in a mushroom ritual with the Oaxacan Curandera Maria Sabina.
Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, also known as the man who discovered LSD, was the first to chemically isolate psilocybin from the Central American mushroom Psilocybe mexicana. From his lab at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, he produced Psilocybin pills to be distributed for research purposes, and extensive scientific studies soon began.
There are nearly 200 species of Psilocybin mushrooms growing in Mexico, Canada, The United States, Asia, Africa, and Australia. The most common varietal is Cubensis, followed by Mexicana, Liberty Bell, and Flying Saucer.
Psilocybin is rapidly metabolized to psilocin, which is a potent serotonin receptor agonist directly correlated with human hallucinogenic activity. Once ingested, psilocybin becomes readily and uniformly distributed throughout the body and can be detected in the blood within 30 minutes.
Psilocybin for therapeutic purposes has generally been studied at doses around 20-30mg. Johns Hopkins reported that at 30mg, 78 percent of volunteers reported their experience to be one of the top five most spiritually significant happenings of their lives.
Set and setting variables are important. Individuals entering their psychedelic experience in an active, open state of mind reported the most positive experiences. We encourage professionally guided Psilocybin use in a comfortable and thoughtfully designed setting.
Research around Psilocybin has produced excitement for decades. Harvard Psychologist Timothy Leary first tried magic mushrooms in 1960 and launched the Harvard Psilocybin Project. After decades of prohibition, psychedelic research has been revived.
In 2021, the US Government funded its first Psilocybin research project in 50 years, granting Johns Hopkins Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and NYU $4 million to investigate smoking cessation.
Johns Hopkins Medical Center has established a multi-million dollar Psychedelic Research Center, producing well-designed studies on addiction, grief, anxiety, and treatment-resistant depression, with ongoing studies on opioid addiction, Alzheimer's, PTSD, Lyme disease, anorexia nervosa, and alcohol abuse.
Psilocybin is a low-risk drug with tremendous potential for benefits. Multiple clinical studies have demonstrated safety and effectiveness in treating addiction, depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and grief.
The FDA has lauded Psilocybin as a "breakthrough therapy" for PTSD and treatment-resistant depression. Benefits have been validated in high-quality randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies for anxiety and depression, with effects lasting six months or more.
Additional research shows significant reduction in migraines and effective treatment of anxiety for advanced-stage cancer patients.
Psilocybin remains federally illegal in the United States as a Schedule I substance. However, several cities and states have decriminalized possession, including Oregon, Colorado, and Washington D.C. Always check local laws before considering use.