health education

Magic mushrooms or psylocibin mushrooms can measurably decrease the anxiety of patients in the later stage of cancer.

Magic mushrooms contain psychoactive substance called psylocibin. The body metabolizes the psylocibin to produce psilocin, which generates the hallucinogen effect of the shroom.

Scientists claim that there is potentially less addiction with psylocibin mushroom. Tolerance with the mushroom effect increases with frequent use and it give less desirable effects after subsequent usage.

Dr. Charles Grob of Harbor-University of California Los Angeles Medical Center and the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute and a group of researchers establish the study to find out the effect of psylocibin mushrooms to patients with late-stage cancer. They want to prove the medical benefit of the compound in alleviating anxiety symptoms.

Researchers tested the preparation of magic mushroom with 12 cancer patients. Another group of 12 cancer patients received placeboes. Researchers gave a single dose of the drugs each day. Finally, they compared the evaluation of level of anxiety of patients after six months of dosing and observation.

The study reveals that the drug is safe to use in managing the anxiety of the cancer patients. Researchers note no negative or adverse effect of the drug preparation with subjects of the study. Furthermore, the patients portray improvement in anxiety level and mood.

The study about psilocybin started in 1950s. However, progress of the studies halt in the early 1970s because of the discovery of same hallucinogenic drug called lysergic acid diethylamide or LSD. Widely usage of LSD becomes a threat to the people thus the federal government issued regulation with the hallucinogenic drugs.

Currently, the federal law forbids any usage of the magic mushroom. They consider the compound under Schedule I drugs, which suggests that the drug has high abusive potentials and should not be use even in medical purposes.

Grob thinks that the current drug regulation will change with the discovery of the usage of the mushroom.