How Magic Mushrooms Can Help Smokers Kick The Habit : NPR
▻https://www.npr.org/2019/10/01/766057380/how-magic-mushrooms-can-help-smokers-kick-the-habit
Magic mushrooms have been used by indigenous communities for thousands of years, and research on psilocybin isn’t all that new either. Work began in the 1950s and 1960s. But studies involving it and other psychedelics dropped off following the passage of the Controlled Substance Act in 1970, which outlawed hallucinogens and other drugs.
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But there are some reasons to be cautious.
First, don’t try this at home. The amount of #psilocybin Johnson administers in his trials is considered a high dose, and it’s paired with months of counseling. Nutt of Imperial College says that bad trips of the sort Chen-McLaughlin experienced can be common for those using the drug for treatment of diseases. Memories and experiences dredged up by the drug can be challenging and disturbing.
“You need therapists to help guide them and also prevent those memories from turning into traumatic memories,” Nutt says.
Second, the treatment is really expensive and the whole process takes months.
Finally, not everybody should use psilocybin. People with predispositions for schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses may be harmed by taking the drug.