mycolog.com
Magic mushrooms can help terminally ill

I have to admit that my first reaction when I heard this was "What???", administer hallucinogenic drugs to terminally ill patients? Having had some experience in ingesting these substances, I was trying to imagine tripping out while knowing with certainty I was going to die soon.

On reflection, I can see how it could work. There's something about the psychedelic experience that changes your outlook on life, no matter how many days you have left. It puts your priorities into focus and enables you to see through the pretenses of day to day life and view what at least feels like the core truths of the universe.

Charles Grob, one of the first scientists in 25 years to administer psilocybin to a person in a therapeutic says, "There is great potential. A significant patient population may gain benefits from these treatments." He convinced the US government.

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved, but not funded, a pilot study aiming to see if the euphoria and insight of a mild psychedelic 'trip' can ease the physical and emotional pain experienced by thousands of terminal cancer patients each year.

Anecdotal information from the sixties already supports this theory.

...the 60s, cancer sufferers reported less anxiety, a reduced fear of death, better moods, and surprisingly, even less pain in the weeks after treatment with LSD, which is similar in structure and effect to psilocybin.

Under the current study, small dosages would be administered and the patients would be guided through the "trip" with only minimal clinical interference.

The rationale says it is better to let the drug gently lift the veil, divorce the association between mind and body and let the patient enjoy the full-on experience as they wish, than interfere in a way that may be incompatible with the patient's psyche.

Other studies are currently being conducted including the use of psilocybin to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which is nearing completion at the University of Arizona and an MDMA (ecstasy) trial for the counseling of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) victims is finally underway having surmounted bureaucratic obstacles.

The research looks promising already. One expects the greatest obstacle, as with cannabis, will be overcoming the public perception that a substance used recreationally also has great medical benefits.