Why Magic Mushrooms Can Be Good for You
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2010/10/26/magic-mushrooms-good/
By Chris Kilham
Published October 26, 2010
On May 13, 1957, an article on the cover of Life Magazine written by
a vice president of the Wall Street banking firm J.P Morgan ignited
the psychedelic revolution.
In 1955, R. Gordon Wasson and his wife Valentina, journeyed to
southern Mexico, where they encountered a native woman named Maria
Sabena, who conducted sacred ceremonies employing hallucinogenic
mushrooms. The first non-natives known to participate in these
rituals, the Wassons were pioneers in consciousness exploration
through the use of natural mind-altering agents. Writing about his
experiences with the mushrooms, Wasson penned the now-famous article
"Seeking the Magic Mushroom."
Not long after the Life article appeared, others traveled to the
mountains of Oaxaca to find out about the sacred mushrooms for
themselves. Among them were notables including Timothy Leary, Allen
Ginsberg, and William Burroughs. Word spread about the strange fungi,
and people who made the trek to southern Mexico enjoyed fantastic
visions and surreal experiences while under the influence of "magic mushrooms."
When the hippy movement broke out in full bloom in the 1960s one
agent of change in the trick bag of the movement was magic mushrooms.
The other big hallucinogen of the time was LSD, originally discovered
in the laboratories of Sandoz Pharmaceuticals in Basel, Switzerland,
by chemist Albert Hofmann. Dr. Hofmann took up analysis of the magic
mushrooms, finding in them two alkaloids, psilocybin and psilocin.
Going further, Hofmann was able to synthesize psilocybin, thus
creating a modern laboratory version of magic mushrooms. With
Hofmann's discovery, it was possible to consume psilocybin in the
comfort of one's own home (or in a field of flowers), and experience
visions and fantastic phenomena. Psilocybin became a staple drug of
the psychedelic 60s, though it took a back seat in popularity to LSD.
The widespread use of hallucinogens in the 60s and early 70s caused a
furor, and eventually psilocybin and magic mushrooms became Schedule
I substances. Their possession, sale or use became felonies, and many
tripsters wound up in jail.
Recent studies, however, show that psilocybin, the hallucinogenic
agent in magic mushrooms, can be highly beneficial. The most recent
study, reported in the September issue of Archives of General
Psychiatry, involved patients with advanced stage cancer. Twelve
adult patients were given psilocybin, and then were subsequently
monitored for 6 months afterwards for overall mood and anxiety. No
adverse effects among the participants were reported. But anxiety was
greatly reduced, and patients were less depressed. This study
demonstrates that magic mushrooms, or more specifically their active
agent psilocybin, can be useful in reducing the anxiety and
depression of the terminally ill. Perhaps as time goes on the use of
psilocybin among the terminally ill may be deemed a mercy medicine.
Even more remarkable, and certainly with broader applications, is the
2006 Johns Hopkins study, reported in the journal Psychopharmacology.
Employing rigorous scientific conditions and measures, researchers at
Johns Hopkins Medical conducted a study showing that psilocybin can
induce mystical/spiritual experiences of great worth and of enduring
effect. In their study, 36 healthy, well-educated volunteers most
of them middle-aged and with no family history of psychosis or
bipolar disorder were selected. The subjects were given psilocybin in
a controlled clinical setting. Among the volunteers, 22 had a
"complete" mystical experience. After a two month follow-up, 67
percent of the subjects rated the experience "the single most
meaningful experience" of their lives, or among the top five most
meaningful "experiences."
These are staggering results from the ingestion of a small capsule.
Since the harsh crackdown on hallucinogens in the 1970s, researchers
have pressed to continue to explore the potential benefits of various
hallucinogens, including LSD, Peyote, psilocybin, and the Amazon brew
ayahuasca. But only in recent years has the climate for such research
thawed sufficiently enough to actually conduct studies. Now we are
seeing evidence that exactly as described by traditional healers,
these agents do in fact offer benefits for mind and mood.
Interesting enough, magic mushrooms, peyote buttons and the ayahuasca
brew are all referred to by those who employ them as "The Medicine,"
for their broad purported healing benefits.
The recent highly controlled, rigorously conducted medical studies on
psilocybin show benefits indeed. Some critics worry that the mystical
experiences described in the John Hopkins study represent a "God in a
bottle," and that this challenges the role of traditional
church-based religious practices. Yet others perceive the same
mystical experiences as deeply beneficial, contributing to a more
whole sense of self and of one's place in a vast universe.
One thing is for certain. The psychedelic genie is now officially out
of the bottle, and the beneficial effects of magic mushrooms are
being discussed in hospitals and clinics, and in regulatory offices.
Don't expect magic mushrooms to show up in your home pharmacy any
time soon. But do expect more good news on the psychedelic frontier,
as researchers continue to conduct medical studies that pry into how
mushrooms and other psychoactive agents from antiquity may play key
roles in health and happiness in the modern world.
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Chris Kilham is a medicine hunter who researches natural remedies all
over the world, from the Amazon to Siberia. He teaches ethnobotany at
the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he is Explorer In
Residence. Chris advises herbal, cosmetic and pharmaceutical
companies and is a regular guest on radio and TV programs worldwide.
His field research is largely sponsored by Naturex of Avignon,
France. Read more at www.MedicineHunter.com
.
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