cannabisnews.com: Go Ask Alice: Mushroom Drug Is Studied Anew





Go Ask Alice: Mushroom Drug Is Studied Anew
Posted by CN Staff on July 11, 2006 at 09:09:08 PT
By Ron Winslow
Source: Wall Street Journal
USA -- In a study that could revive interest in researching the effects of psychedelic drugs, scientists said a substance in certain mushrooms induced powerful, mind-altering experiences among a group of well-educated, middle-age men and women.Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions researchers conducted the study following carefully controlled, scientifically rigorous procedures. They said that the episodes generally led to positive changes in attitude and behavior among the 36 volunteer participants and that the changes appeared to last at least two months.
Participants cited feelings of intense joy, "distance from ordinary reality," and feelings of peace and harmony after taking the drug. Two-thirds described the effects of the drug, called psilocybin, as among the five most meaningful experiences of their lives.But in 30% of the cases, the drug provoked harrowing experiences dominated by fear and paranoia. Two participants likened the episodes to being in a war. While these episodes were managed by trained monitors at the sessions where the drugs were taken, researchers cautioned that in less-controlled settings, such responses could trigger panic or other reactions that might put people in danger.A report on the study, among the first to systematically assess the effects of hallucinogenic substances in 40 years, is being published online today by the journal Psychopharmacology. An accompanying editorial and commentaries from three prominent neuroscientists and a psychiatrist praise the study and argue that further research into such agents has the potential to unlock secrets of consciousness and lead to new therapeutic strategies for depression, addiction and other ailments.In one of the commentaries, Charles R. Schuster, a neuroscientist and former head of the National Institute for Drug Abuse, called the report a "landmark paper." He also expressed hope that it "renews interest in a fascinating and potentially useful class of psychotropic agents."Still, the research is likely to stir controversy. Though psilocybin mushrooms, which can be found growing wild throughout the world, have been used for centuries in some societies during spiritual rituals, they also were agents, along with such hallucinogens as LSD and mescaline, that fueled the "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out" counterculture of the 1960s personified by Timothy Leary.Researchers acknowledge that the study's positive findings may encourage inappropriate use of the agents. Roland Griffiths, the Hopkins neuroscientist who headed the research, warned against viewing the results as a green light for consuming the mushrooms. "We don't know all their dark sides," he said. "I wouldn't in any way want to underestimate the potential risks" of indiscriminate use of the drugs.The National Institute for Drug Abuse, which co-sponsored the study as part of its support for research into drugs of abuse, also warned against eating psilocybin mushrooms. They "act on serotonin receptors in the brain to profoundly distort a person's perception of reality," the institute said, possibly triggering psychosis, paranoia and anxiety.It was widespread abuse in the 1960s that led to hallucinogens becoming illegal, effectively shutting down then-burgeoning corporate and academic research programs that had suggested the agents might be valuable research and therapeutic tools. One of the last influential studies was the Good Friday Experiment in 1962 in which 20 seminary students were given either psilocybin or nicotinic acid during a religious service. The 10 who got psilocybin reported intense spiritual experiences with positive benefits; one follow-up study suggested those effects lasted 25 years."It's remarkable that we have a class of compounds that has sat in the deep freeze for 40 years," Dr. Griffiths said. "It seemed to me scientifically it was high time to look again" at psychedelic agents.Known colloquially by such names as magic mushroom or sacred mushroom, psilocybin is considered a Schedule I substance under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act. That puts it in the same class as heroin and LSD, drugs that have a high potential for abuse and no known medical use. It isn't considered addictive. The psilocybin used in the study was synthesized by David E. Nichols, a professor of medicinal chemistry at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., under a special permit.After getting approval from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration and an institutional review board at Hopkins, Dr. Griffiths and his colleagues circulated a flier seeking volunteers for a "study of states of consciousness brought about by a naturally occurring psychoactive substance used sacramentally in some cultures."From among the 135 people who responded, 36 were eventually selected, based in part on their lack of a history of psychedelic drug use or family history of serious psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. The 36 -- 14 men and 22 women -- ranged in age from 24 to 64 years old, with an average age of 46; 97% were college graduates, and 56% had post-graduate degrees. All 36 participated at least occasionally in religious or spiritual activities. (Dr. Griffiths declined to make any participants available for interviews, citing privacy issues.)Thirty of the participants were randomly assigned to receive either psilocybin or Ritalin (known generically as methylphenidate) as a control for the first eight-hour session; two months later, they were given the other drug in another session. Neither the participants nor the monitors who were present during their sessions knew which agent was being taken. To further reduce chances that participant responses would be affected by expectations they were getting psilocybin, a third group of six participants was randomly assigned to receive Ritalin in both sessions, followed by a third session when they knew they were getting the psychedelic agent. Ritalin was selected as the control agent in part because it can cause mood-changing effects similar to those of psilocybin, researchers said. It also takes effect at about the same time and lasts for about as long.Participants were given the drug in individual sessions in a living-room environment with two experienced monitors. They were blindfolded, given headphones to listen to classical music and encouraged to lie down and direct their thoughts inward.Researchers provided participants with a battery of questionnaires and mysticism scales, some of which were developed based on research from more than four decades ago, to measure their impressions of their experience at the end of the session and again two months later.A third of the participants said the experience with psilocybin was the single most significant experience of their lives, and an additional 38% rated it among their top five such experiences -- akin to, say, the birth of a first child or the death of a parent. Just 8% of the Ritalin episodes were reported to be among the top five meaningful occurrences. Two months after the sessions, 79% of the participants indicated in questionnaires that their sense of well-being and satisfaction increased after the psilocybin episodes, compared with 21% for Ritalin.Researchers hope the findings will spur other studies that will, for instance, compare the effects of other hallucinogens and use MRIs to observe how such drugs affect the human brain. Other efforts are expected to test the value of psilocybin as a therapy. Charles Grob, a researcher at UCLA, is heading a small study to see if the drug relieves anxiety, depression and pain among patients with advanced cancer.Dr. Griffiths said another goal is to understand the consequences of spiritual experiences -- both drug-induced and spontaneous -- and to determine how long they last and whether they lead to personality changes.Source: Wall Street Journal (US)Author: Ron WinslowPublished: July 11, 2006 - Page B1Copyright: 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.Contact: wsj.ltrs wsj.comWebsite: http://www.wsj.com/Related Articles:Hallucinogen Found To Have Diverse Effectshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21987.shtmlCounterculture Drug Provides Spiritual Boosthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21985.shtml
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Comment #20 posted by afterburner on July 12, 2006 at 00:31:34 PT
rchandar, runderwo & others
Thanks for making my points about Leary. Early psychedelic explorers disagreed on methodology, just like the leaders of medical cannabis and spiritual cannabis and hemp who have been known to flame each other here and at Cannabis Culture forums and at rallies. They (early psychedelic explorers) and they (contemporary cannabist activists) were/are often friendly to those who agree with their approach and not friendly to those who disagree with their approach. I heard many catcalls at the first Canabian Day in Toronto from medical activists when Turmel showed up unexpectedly.Leary was a scientist who favored a "controlled" psychedelic experience, set and setting, guided etc. The Merry Pranksters were in favor of uncontrolled experiences, the kind that could lead to accidents and paranoia that scares the parents and the "straights." No wonder there was bad blood between them. Ironically, Leary got the blame for the activities of Merry Pranksters and for the activities of MK-ULTRA. Dr. Leary was in favor of lifting the veil of the formerly hidden secret societies that passed on the psychedelic initiations, but he was not in favor of irresponsible use.As for the so-called snitching. Yes, Leary revealed some information, but he maintained that nothing not already known was revealed and that no one was in danger from his "revelations."Even if he did make a mistake, he does not deserve the scorn that the US Government has heaped on him. He accomplished lots for freedom of thought and responsible use of psychedelics. He was only one imperfect man fighting against an evil empire, which was responsible for millions of deaths in Vietnam as well as coercive drug experiments on unsuspecting test subjects. Frank Olson was not a victim of Timothy Leary's proselytizing, but of the nasty MK-ULTRA maniacs. This thread has connected some dots for me too. I did not previously know that Frank Olson was a victim of MK-ULTRA, nor the extent of the depravity of the CIA experiments.
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Comment #19 posted by runderwo on July 11, 2006 at 23:29:53 PT
Frank Olson and MKULTRA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Olsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKULTRA
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Comment #18 posted by Telarus on July 11, 2006 at 23:11:00 PT
Crazy-ness
afterburner   13 & 14 :Exactly.One has to question the methods used, really. Gee, 1 in three people, who where BLINDFOLDED , and then told to ly down, and NOT MOVE , and who KNEW THEY WERE BRING WATCHED , reported the experience as "fearfull", with incidents of paranoia.I wonder, I really do.I think with the correct set, and setting, you could really push the lower limits of that negative threshold.->
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on July 11, 2006 at 21:34:21 PT
Truth
My goodness you have met some very impressive people from the 60s era.
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Comment #16 posted by Truth on July 11, 2006 at 21:21:01 PT
Bear
Then there's this guy...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley_StanleyBesides buying some of his sculpture pieces I have his autograph in my collection along with Timothy Leary and Albert Hoffman, who just recently turned 100.These men reshaped our world.
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Comment #15 posted by rchandar on July 11, 2006 at 19:35:13 PT:
Dr. Leary...
...was not all that friendly. When conducting his "controlled" LSD experiments, the Merry Pranksters showed up and asked if they could participate. Leary showed them the door, along with several obscenities.Leary was in some respects brave; he defended himself against narcotics charges and attempted to escape prison. He also snitched on his entourage when threatened with jail.Ever hear the Moody Blues' song, "Timothy Leary's Dead"?There was a lot of infighting among the early psychedelists. Two groups: one, led by Leary and Aldous Huxley, favored the "controlled experiment": the other, led by The Beat Generation, The Merry Pranksters, and many other rock bands, wanted to "turn on" as many people as possible.--rchandar
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Comment #14 posted by afterburner on July 11, 2006 at 17:44:32 PT
It Was Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters
Who Hosted the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Tests, not Dr. Leary. Dr. Leary was a serious but friendly scientist, who preached the importance of set and setting, relaxed musical environment, spiritual guide to help the patient through the experience, the use of psychedelics to break addictions (like his own to alcohol), and not using coercion on the subjects of the experience. Dr. Leary studied many religions to find a psychedelic vocabulary to help initiates to understand the experience, to gain wisdom from the good trips, and to survive and learn from the bad trips.
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Comment #13 posted by afterburner on July 11, 2006 at 17:32:04 PT
Edited to Fit Reality:
"psilocybin mushrooms, which can be found growing wild throughout the world, have been used for centuries in some societies during spiritual rituals, ... personified by Timothy Leary."And don't forget the CIA's MK-Ultra tests on unsuspecting members of the populace, without their knowledge or consent.Dr. Timothy Leary: "THE TWO COMMANDMENTS FOR THE MOLECULAR AGE"I "Thou shalt not alter the consciousness of thy fellow man."II"Thou shalt not prevent thy fellow man from altering his own consciousness." --page 81, The Politics of Ecstasy by Timothy Leary (Ecstasy refers to the experience, not the club drug!)Dr. Leary also reports the Good Friday Miracle on pages 14-16 in Chapter 1: The Seven Tongues of God in The Politics of Ecstasy.Timothy Leary, not aware of the religious potential and the therapeutic qualities of psilocybin and psilocybe mushrooms? A bald-face lie! Revisionist history! 
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on July 11, 2006 at 15:56:27 PT
Hope
Thanks for the link on Hendrix. Ergot is used in some capacity to make LSD (I'm not sure I'm saying this right) and some people think that the Salem Witch Trails were because of contaminated Ergot that made them trip.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergothttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_Witch_Trialshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_Witch_Trials#Possible_Explanations_of_the_.22Possessed.22
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Comment #11 posted by Toker00 on July 11, 2006 at 15:47:23 PT
Thanks, whig
I read that story when I was very young, and it terrorized me that they would give someone a substance as powerful as LSD, without even TELLING them about it. That's when I remember the first notions that my government might not be exactly what I thought it was. I'm remembering bits of the story now. You are right. He was murdered. What else have they done to people, without their awareness, and how many? Sheesh. Frankengovernment.Toke. 
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on July 11, 2006 at 15:39:59 PT
Good ole Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_Haze
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Comment #9 posted by whig on July 11, 2006 at 15:28:06 PT
Toker00
The fellow that allegedly jumped out a window on LSD was 1) dosed without his knowledge or informed consent, and 2) died before he went out the window because he was apparently murdered first.Google "Frank Olson" to find out more about this strange story.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on July 11, 2006 at 15:22:24 PT
Hope
I think that Purple Haze was LSD but I did a search and it says that Psilocybin was part of the different experiences back in the 60s.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Electric_Kool-Aid_Acid_Test
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Comment #7 posted by Toker00 on July 11, 2006 at 15:17:50 PT
Is Cannabis Rescheduling coming?
How did they gain permission to study a Schedule One substance, a hallucinogenic WAY more so than cannabis, and yet Cannabis's potential is being ignored? I'm not understanding this..."Known colloquially by such names as magic mushroom or sacred mushroom, psilocybin is considered a Schedule I substance under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act. That puts it in the same class as heroin and LSD, drugs that have a high potential for abuse and no known medical use."I believe they left out Cannabis. PURPOSEFULLY? Is this an admittance that Cannabis is no longer believed to have a high potential for abuse, and that it is now a recognized medicine? Now will they be arresting the Shroom Heads, instead of the Pot Heads, along with the Hard drug users in their on-going War on Drugs? Or are they actually, officially, recognizing that Natural Medicine, not Chemecology, is the Medicine of the Future as it was in the
 Past? Why do they feel no fear from the DEA to once again dabble in psychedelia again? Hmmm...If they rescheduled cannabis, would they have to reschedule ALL hallucinogens?How is psilocybin different from LSD? One of their test subjects for LSD jumped out a window, didn't he? Is that before they realized a need for a "monitor"? Why the curiosity ALL of a sudden?Whig, they ARE gross tasting. The only thing we could come up with to mix the strained juice with back in the days, was Grape cool aid. And it was STILL gross! lol. To me, they are between Mescaline and LSD. I loved the brainy parts, but my midsection always felt kind of tense and queasy. Mescaline is the only other illegal drug I would even consider doing again. It was sooo smooth and I can see how the American Indians related to animals and nature while "tripping" on Mescaline. Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #6 posted by Hope on July 11, 2006 at 15:13:16 PT
Wasn't Mushrooms in grape Kool-aid
Purple Haze?Or am I confusing something with something else.Whig...I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of them didn't know the difference between mushrooms and cacti. These are the same people that would give monkeys meth and call it ecstacy.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on July 11, 2006 at 11:09:22 PT
whig
I never heard anyone call them Shrooms because they were called Psilocybin way back when. I would never want to do any again but it was a trip you usually don't forget. So maybe flashbacks are not such a bad thing after all.
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Comment #4 posted by whig on July 11, 2006 at 11:03:46 PT
FoM
A friend grew p. cubensis mushrooms, and I found them very enjoyable although not so great tasting. P. mexicana sclerotia, on the other hand, have an actually decent taste and a texture not unlike eating nuts. They have the further advantage of not looking like shrooms, not needing to be dried, and their fresh potency is about double by weight.Yeah, shrooms are still around.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on July 11, 2006 at 10:44:53 PT
whig 
I just posted another article from the Washington Post. Almost every major paper is covering this story. I haven't had that kind of mushroom since the 70s but it was a remarkable experience. The Hippie Culture from back in the 60s and early 70s didn't mess with a lot of different drugs. Basically it was marijuana and LSD or mushrooms. 
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Comment #2 posted by whig on July 11, 2006 at 10:38:32 PT
FoM
Hi, barely checking in. I looked at the WSJ graph on "Modern Mushrooms" and was kind of amused that they included a datestamp for peyote. Do they not know the difference between a cactus and a mushroom? And it isn't psilocybin, either, nor is mescaline in the same chemical class. Psilocybin is a tryptamine, mescaline is a phenethylamine. Totally, totally different.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 11, 2006 at 09:32:19 PT
From the Wall Street Journal Article
Graph from the WSJ: http://tinyurl.com/jsfwr
Alice, Mushroom and Hookah jpg
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