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Psychedelic drugs were more associated with hippies and the counterculture of the 1960s than people in white lab coats and clinical trials. Some studies have found psychedelics to show promise in treating mental health disorders like depression, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder, often where other treatments have failed.
Researchers at Imperial College London are to compare the magic mushroom compound psilocybin with a leading SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) antidepressant, escitalopram, in a large trial expected to take at least two years.
Psychedelics have a revolutionary potential, studies found that psilocybin reduced depression in 80% of patients with life-threatening cancer and, separately, were much more effective at getting people to quit smoking than current treatments when combined with cognitive behavioural therapy.
Psilocybin can “reset” the brains of people with untreatable depression, psilocybin affected two areas of the brain: The amygdala, which is heavily involved in how we process emotions such as fear and anxiety, and the default-mode network – a collaboration of different brain regions.
There are also differences between using the drugs recreationally and in the safety of a scientific trial. Scientists use pure, medical-grade drugs, offer guidance and support with the experience and exclude people at risk of a psychotic reaction.
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