Psychedelic drugs are illegal, but is that a good thing? Studies show there are clear benefits to the use of psilocybin, or magic mushrooms, in treating a wide range of mental illnesses. But it also has a tendency to alter one's personality, shift their religious beliefs, and even channge their political views.
Although its precise therapeutic mechanisms remain unclear, clinically relevant doses of psilocybin can induce powerful mystical experiences more commonly associated with extended periods of fasting, prayer or meditation. Arguably, then, it is unsurprising that it can generate long-lasting changes in patients: studies report increased prosociality and aesthetic appreciation, plus robust shifts in personality, values and attitudes to life, even leading some atheists to find God. What’s more, these experiences appear to be a feature, rather than a bug, of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, with the intensity of the mystical experience correlating with the extent of clinical benefit.
There's a reason it's called a mind-expanding drug. Fully-informed individuals who get the chance to try this therapy might consider it worth the risk when they are suffering. But government approval of the drug, not to mention insurance coverage, might hit a snag. Read about the conundrum facing the use of psilocybin at Scientific American. -via Damn Interesting