Magic Mushrooms: To Harm or To Heal?

Written By Max Gibson

Psilocybin [sil-uh-sahy-bin] – noun – a hallucinogenic indole obtained from a fungus. – Webster’s Dictionary

Although considered a Schedule 1 controlled substance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recent research conducted by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine has revealed new insights about psilocybin, the psychedelic ingredient in what many refer to as “magic mushrooms.” Regarded as a drug with a high potential for abuse with no recognized medical uses, hallucinogenic mushrooms have been deemed illegal by the United States since the enactment of the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. However, researchers at Johns Hopkins have recently shed new light on the possible benefits of this illegal drug.

While researchers including Terence McKenna speculate that the effects of hallucinogenic mushrooms were discovered as far back as a million years ago in parts of Africa, many consider mycologist R. Gordon Wasson to be responsible for introducing hallucinogenic mushrooms to the Western world. Intrigued by the psychedelic properties of the plant, Wasson and his wife traveled to Mexico to study the ceremonial uses of mushrooms within native traditions. Partaking in the rituals of the Mazatec tribe of Southern Mexico, the couple became the first known Westerners to participate in the spiritual practice. Returning home after their experience, Wasson and his wife published their findings in the May 1957 issue of Life magazine. An editor for the magazine titled the piece, “Seeking the Magic Mushroom,” effectively giving the plant its notable name that still endures today.

The May 1957 issue of Life Magazine

Inspired by Wasson’s findings, Swiss psychedelic drug enthusiast Albert Hoffman and his acquaintance Roger Heim came together to identify psilocybin and psilocin as the active ingredients in magic mushrooms. Equally enthused by Wasson’s discoveries, writer, psychologist and counterculture icon Timothy Leary would help bring mushrooms to the forefront of youth culture in the 1960’s. After embarking on his own psychedelic excursion to Mexico, Leary returned to create the Harvard Psilocybin Project, alongside spiritual teacher Richard Alpert. Together the duo helped make Harvard one of the preeminent destinations for psychedelic experimentation. However, by 1971 the U.S government had labeled psilocybin a “hallucinogen,” and as such deemed the substance illegal.

Although psilocybin has been illegal in the U.S. for the past 40 years, this has not quelled the use of magic mushrooms throughout the world. Embraced by spiritual practitioners and recreational users alike, hallucinogenic mushrooms have been celebrated for centuries for the mystical experiences they can provide. However, most recently, researchers have been eager to find out if a specific dosage of psilocybin can consistently yield positive experiences. According to lead scientist Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins, the school’s recent discoveries with psilocybin have helped solve one of the more puzzling aspects of digesting mushrooms. “In cultures before ours,” he writes, “the spiritual guide or healer had to discern how much of what type of mushroom to use for what purposes, because the strength of psychoactive mushrooms varies from species to species and even from specimen to specimen.”

Isolating the primary hallucinogenic ingredient psilocybin, scientists at Johns Hopkins were able to monitor dosages of the substance, providing a group of 18 volunteers with varying degrees of psychedelic experiences. “In our laboratory, we’re working with the pure chemical psilocybin, which we can measure out precisely,” stated Griffiths. “We wanted to take a methodical look at how its effects change with dosage.”

During the experiment volunteers participated in five sessions, each a month apart. Given four different doses of psilocybin and one placebo dose where no psilocybin was administered, researchers ran tests to find out which dosage would yield the most positive experience. Surprisingly, while increased doses led to more positive outcomes for volunteers, the likelihood of fear and anxiety also increased with larger dosages. However, a year later, two-thirds of the volunteers stated that the second highest dosage given during the sessions was one of the top five most spiritually significant moments of their lives.

The findings from the research, recently published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology relate an overwhelmingly positive outcome for the volunteers. Following the tests, Griffiths related the encouraging conclusions from the study: “We seem to have found levels of the substance and particular conditions for its use that give a high probability of a profound and beneficial experience.” Griffith also stated that the study revealed “a low enough probability of psychological struggle, and very little risk of any actual harm.”

Fourteen months after the experiment researchers polled the volunteers and their acquaintances to learn more about the outcomes of their psychedelic experiences. In addition to the seemingly life-altering moments the psilocybin provided, the volunteers also cited improved relationships with family and enhanced spiritual direction as positive outcomes from the tests. One patient said the psilocybin not only enriched his spirit, but also added clarity to his life and purpose, “[I] virtually eliminated all religious practices; much more spiritual now,” reads his personal records. “Accepting of my parents and have a more open and honest dialogue with them. Less judgmental and more open hearted. Taken a more active role in pursuing what I want for myself.”

So where does this leave the magic mushroom? Still illegal within the United States, the beneficial effects of psilocybin have been scientifically documented. As journalist Andrew Price states, “These results illustrate the artificial dichotomy between medicine and recreational drugs in America. Stateside, Prozac is regarded as medicine, but psilocybin is [still] a Schedule 1 controlled substance like heroin.”
The Hopkins study raises significant questions about the potential benefits of magic mushrooms and psilocybin. If specific dosages can yield positive effects in controlled settings, should psilocybin be administered to those who seek the experience? “We should aim to evaluate any drug objectively,” posits Price. “Whether it’s made by an enormous pharmaceutical company or grows in the forest. If an engineered antidepressant generated reports like those from the volunteers in this study, it would be regarded as a breakthrough in psychiatric medicine.” Adding fuel to the ongoing debate concerning drug policy in the U.S, the study of psilocybin and its potential benefits should encourage us to reconsider the meaning and uses of psychedelic drugs in America.