People say John Hopkins psilocybin dose rated as top 5 meaningful

[Malraiders]

experiences of their lives

So the Doctors are now studying dosage and such.

Now I want some.

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~~~~~

Johns Hopkins Study Probes "Sacred Mushroom" Chemical

* Scientists seek dosage “sweet spot,” find positive effects lasting over a year
* Former U.S. “Drug Czar” raises policy question
* Clinical trials now underway

Newswise — BALTIMORE, June 15 -- Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have zeroed in on the dose levels of the “sacred mushroom” chemical capable of yielding positive, life-changing experiences, while minimizing the chance of transient negative reactions in screened volunteers under supportive, carefully monitored conditions.

The findings, published online this week in the journal Psychopharmacology, come from the latest in a series of rigorous experiments done at Johns Hopkins designed to shed scientific light on psilocybin, a substance found in certain psychoactive mushrooms and used for centuries in various cultures for divinatory, healing, and religious purposes.

Looking back over a year later, most of the experiment’s 18 volunteers (94 percent) rated a psilocybin session as among the top five most or as the topmost spiritually significant experience of his or her life. Under higher doses, up to a third experienced great fear or anxiety or had delusions, yet those reactions, the researchers report, were managed with gentle reassurance from the study monitors and did not outlast the session or harm the volunteers.

Most volunteers (89 percent) also reported positive changes in their behaviors, and those reports were corroborated by family members or others, the researchers say. The behavior changes most frequently cited were improved relationships with family and others, increased physical and psychological self-care, and increased devotion to spiritual practice.

More on this:

http://www.newswise.com/articles/study-probes-sacred-mushroom-chemical

[panader0]

1. Don't forget the lovely amanita muscaria:

[elias49]

17. Will make you very sick. Be careful what you post! nt

[dilby]

18. If you eat a bunch of them.

Or your a small child or animal. I personally would never do it because I hear the trip is not that fun

[elias49]

19. Seriously. Stick with psyilocibin if you feel the urge for

a mushroom experience. And leave datura alone too. Just trust me. Please.

[panader0]

29. I've taken both amanita and datura.

The amanita was just fine, the datura was a bit heavy.

[postulater]

20. It is lovely. I've seen them grow 14 inches across the top.

Just watch out for its' cousin the Destroying Angel.




Here's a story:
http://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/2006/11/22/i-survived-the-destroying-angel/
"Oh, and by the way, it’s now destroying your liver and 50 to 80 percent of the people who ingest Amanita DO NOT SURVIVE! At that point, I knew I was in deep, deep doo doo and in for the biggest fight of my life, for my life."

[OregonBlue]

2. All of us old hippies could have told them that. But at least they are doing actual

research instead of trying to scare people.

[tridim]

3. Another natural medicine that should be fully legal.

Like Cannabis, it exists for us to use, and it's criminal that we can't.

[djean111]

4. Weirdly interesting quote, from, IMO, a control freak:

Commenting on the findings, Jerome Jaffe, M.D., of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who served as the first White House “Drug Czar” and has also been a consultant to the World Health Organization on drug issues, remarked, “The Hopkins psilocybin studies clearly demonstrate that this route to the mystical is not to be walked alone. But they have also demonstrated significant and lasting benefits. That raises two questions: Could psilocybin-occasioned experiences prove therapeutically useful, for example in dealing with the psychological distress experienced by some terminal patients? And should properly-informed citizens, not in distress, be allowed to receive psilocybin for its possible spiritual benefits, as we now allow them to pursue other possibly risky activities such as cosmetic surgery and mountain-climbing?”

We are ALLOWED to go mountain-climbing? What the fuck about possibly risky activities like, say, suiting up to kill or be killed, as a member of out armed forces?

I admit - I would love to try this! Psilocybin, not war.

[Enthusiast]

9. Psilocybin isn't nearly as profitable as war.

There is a real fear (by the power establishment) that psychedelic drugs might encourage thinking outside the box.

[valerief]

11. The PTB don't want to lose all the power/$$$ afforded them from the War on Drugs.

Divide and conquer to change freedom to submission, change natural drugs and health to Big Pharma control and chronic illness
> Religious vs. other/non-religious
> White vs. other race
> Male vs. other gender
> Straight vs. other orientation
> Thinking/educated vs. non-thinking/obedient

[Enthusiast]

13. You are certainly right on that, valerief.

[jtuck004]

15. "...isn't nearly as profitable as war..." < You should add "...for the few".

It costs the rest of us dearly.

The mushrooms, on the other hand, might actually have a net benefit for everyone.

I wish they would do a study by mail. A home gardening kit seems like it would be helpful.

[pipoman]

5. Fun times 30 years ago....

[HereSince1628]

6. I wonder if they asked if it was their life's top drug experience?

Equating or intersecting sets of "spiritual" with "drugged" seems like an issue needing resolution.

Which is not to say that an state of perception altered by drugs may not be profound, or to challenge people who had what they percieved as profound experience.

It may follow from my sense that healthcare should have as strong a separation from religion as religion is supposed to have with the State, but I really don't see 'devotion to spiritual practice' as measurable axis directly related to mental wellness or wellness of the physiologically whole individual.

[zeemike]

7. That picture is not the mushrooms I know.

They did not look anything like that...and they grew in cow patties.

Man o man those were some good times...and we had some profound experiences.

[Enthusiast]

10. There are a number of varieties.

[Oilwellian]

23. Conditions had to be just right to find cow patty shrooms

We used to collect them by the trash bag full, took them home, boiled them and then made orange Koolaid with the liquid. Never could mask their taste completely but got over it quickly once the tincture began to kick in. I loved the experience and would do it again if given the opportunity.

[zeemike]

31. I used to drink the tea strait up.

It was going to taste like shit no mater what you do to it...mifht as well choke it down and get it over with was my strategy.

I loved it too...some of the best experiences of my life...and they were best for me when I was out in nature...the natural world is full of wonders.
In Florida they came in the spring and fall and there were many to be had.

[Cryptoad]

8. It obvious,,,,,

The GOP is on the "srooms"! only explanation left that would explain their behavior....!

[Stainless]

12. Psychoactive substances changed my life for the better

I never had a bad "trip" when I used LSD and psilocybin. I tried them both about a dozen times in the seventies and the experiences were life changing for me. I became a free thinker and learned to be a skeptic about what our so-called leaders were saying.

I am happy to hear that there is finally some unbiased research taking place. I think it is too little too late for many people who were turned into criminals because they chose to experiment with these substances.

[Zorra]

14. Recommend.

[JaneyVee]

16. Psilocybin was the most spiritual journey I've ever had.

I felt a connection to earth I've never experienced before.

[HereSince1628]

21. can you express what do you mean by spiritual?

I think that is a problem I am having understanding this topic

[Oilwellian]

24. My spiritual experience had nothing to do with religion

and everything to do with feeling connected to earth and nature, or in essence, grounded and much more aware of your surroundings. I would say the feeling is ethereal in nature and could explain why the word spiritual is used to describe it.

[HereSince1628]

25. Thanks.

[NightWatcher]

22. psychedelics are illegal

[F4lconF16]

26. K&R

Best decision of my (admittedly short) life. I cannot begin to describe the positive changes I've made since.

[bigwillq]

27. I had a few good trips.

And one bad one. Overall, it was a good experience.
edit: My most meaningful trips were off ecstasy.

[LiberalEsto]

28. Where can we sign up as study volunteers?

I miss those trippin days

[Chathamization]

30. Studies have also shown them being effective at treating some pretty horrible things, like cluster

headaches and OCD. It's terrible that the fear and misinformation about psilocybin has kept it locked away for so long.