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Johns Hopkins Study Finds Psilocybin's Ideal Dose For Long-Term Positive Effects

Groundbreaking research at Johns Hopkins University of Medicine has provided insight into the benefits of mediated doses of psilocyben, the active psychedelic compound found in "magic" mushrooms.

Though undeniable benefits are reported across the world from those that use mushrooms, there have also been many accounts of "bad trips," or people having taken too much and experienced waking nightmares. The researchers wanted to get to the bottom of this and so they began a study consisting of individuals between the ages of 29 and 62. The team selected 18 of sound mind and body to undergo five sessions, each of which were eight hours in length and timed one month apart. During four of the sessions, the volunteers would receive varying dosages of the psilocybin compound and a placebo at the remaining session to serve as a control.

In the study, participants were encouraged to lay down and wear head phones or eye masks to provide a comfortable environment.

No participants knew how much psilocyben they were ingesting.

Researchers noticed higher doses correlated with more positive effects and that at the highest dose, 30mg/70kg, 78 percent of the subjects reported having experienced on of the top five most spiritually significant events of their lives, though the reported moments of anxiety, fear, and stress increased by six times.

The second highest dose, 20 mg/70kg, resulted in only one of the volunteers reporting any negative experiences and all volunteers reporting positive experiences and the lowest dose used for the study, 5 mg/70 kg, demonstrated discernible and long-lasting positive effects on behavior, attitude and overall outlook. So much so that even friends and family members of the volunteers were able to notice the changes.

"We seem to have found levels of the substance and particular conditions for its use that give a high probability of a profound and beneficial experience, a low enough probability of psychological struggle, and very little risk of any actual harm," says lead author Roland Griffiths, PhD.

A followup 14 months after the study showed that 94 percent of the subjects felt the experience was definitely within their top 5 most significant spiritual experiences.

These exciting studies at Johns Hopkins continue to unlocked the potential of psilocyben as a medicine that is helping people come to terms with death and other severe forms of stress, while allowing them a new awakening and spiritual perspective.

ReferencesGriffiths, Roland R., Matthew W. Johnson, William A. Richards, Brian D. Richards, Una McCann, and Robert Jesse. "Psilocybin Occasioned Mystical-type Experiences: Immediate and Persist." Ing Dose-related Effects. Psychopharmacology, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.Griffiths, Roland R., William A. Richards, Una McCann, and Robert Jesse. "Psilocybin Occasioned Mystical-type Experiences: Immediate and Persist." Ing Dose-related Effects. Psychopharmacology, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.Ridden, Paul. "Johns Hopkins Study Finds Psilocybin Dosage 'sweet Spot' for Positive and Lasting Effects." Johns Hopkins Study Finds Psilocybin Dosage 'sweet Spot' for Positive and Lasting Effects. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.Council on Spiritual Practices: Psilocybin http://csp.org/psilocybin/

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ReferencesGriffiths, Roland R., Matthew W. Johnson, William A. Richards, Brian D. Richards, Una McCann, and Robert Jesse. "Psilocybin Occasioned Mystical-type Experiences: Immediate and Persist." Ing Dose-related Effects. Psychopharmacology, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.Griffiths, Roland R., William A. Richards, Una McCann, and Robert Jesse. "Psilocybin Occasioned Mystical-type Experiences: Immediate and Persist." Ing Dose-related Effects. Psychopharmacology, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.Ridden, Paul. "Johns Hopkins Study Finds Psilocybin Dosage 'sweet Spot' for Positive and Lasting Effects." Johns Hopkins Study Finds Psilocybin Dosage 'sweet Spot' for Positive and Lasting Effects. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.Council on Spiritual Practices: Psilocybin http://csp.org/psilocybin/

Researchers Treating Addiction, ADHD, And PTSD With Magic Mushrooms, And It’s Working

The bulk of William Richards life’s work was spent dosing people with a variety of psychedelics to research the therapeutic benefits for treating a number of conditions — or even to enrich the lives of perfectly healthy people.

Richards helped to co-found a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine program 15 years ago, through which hundreds of people have had life-changing experiences. He credits the “sacred molecules” in such chemicals for causing the beneficial effects. While many psychedelics are employed, psilocybin — found in ‘magic’ mushrooms — is most often used by the researchers for its reliable and promising indication in the treatment of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among other conditions.

Albert Garcia-Romeu, a researcher at Hopkins, working on a study to use psilocybin for smoking cessation, said of Richards, “Bill was part of the pioneering team here in the U.S. doing psychedelic research and psychedelic therapy model,” according to The Guardian.“ Basically, you give someone a really high dose and they have a really transformative experience. And you’ve prepared them for that,” he explained about the program. “And then after the fact, you help them integrate it, and they get on with their lives.”

In 2006, the Hopkins group published their first study of psilocybin, titled “Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance” — which Charles R. Schuster, former director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, described as “noteworthy both for the rigorousness of its design and execution, as well as the clarity of its results.” In a commentary about the study, Schuster stated:

“It is striking that majority of participants reported 2 months later that the psilocybin-induced experience was personally very meaningful and spiritually significant. Indeed, most of them rated the psilocybin-induced experience as one of the top five most important experiences in their life. It is especially notable that participants reported that the drug produced positive changes in attitudes and behaviors well after the sessions, and these self-observations were consistent with ratings by friends and relatives […]

“The term psychedelic, when applied to drugs, implies that the drug experience is ‘mind-expanding.’ The paper [reporting the study findings] illustrates the accuracy of this description for psilocybin, and I hope that this landmark paper will also be ‘field-expanding.’”

Richards, who had his first personal experience with psychedelics “in a laboratory basement in Germany, in 1963,” when he received an injection of liquid psilocybin — an experience about which he described, “‘Awe’, ‘glory’, and ‘gratitude’ were the only words that remained relevant.” Recently, Richards published a new book, “Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experience” — in which he claims he and his colleagues“ have so reliably been able to induce mystical experience that they have empirically proven Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious — the idea that there is archetypal imagery we all share, regardless of our culture,” reported The Guardian.

Research into psychedelics wasn’t without difficulty; in 1977, Richards led the last legal study before such research was shut down in, as The Independent noted, “the worst case of censorship since the Catholic Church banned the works of Galileo.” But, 22 years later, he regained permission to begin again, with a comparison study between psilocybin and Ritalin — with results so astonishing, even 14 months after it ended, participants continued to report “enduring positive life changes.” One of the study’s participants even “ended up resigning from his job in weapon design and became a Zen monk.”

Richards opts for a different term than psychedelic drugs, instead choosing “entheogens” — meaning “generating god within.” With such extraordinary results, that description isn’t surprising — nor is the government’s concerted effort to squash research into such a promising field.

New Research Says Magic Mushrooms Actually Turn Off Part Of The Brain That Causes Depression

For thousands of years, humans have consumed psilocybin mushrooms for their psychoactive "tripping" effects. Seen primarily as a recreational drug, most people eat them for the euphoria and the visuals. But science is revealing that the humble mushroom is actually useful for more than a good time.

Related: Magic Mushrooms Are Helping Terminal Cancer Patients Find Peace With Death

Controlled studies have revealed that magic mushrooms can actually treat depression and a host of other psychological issues. The trip is often mind-expanding, consciousness altering, and actually shuts off the part of the brain responsible for depression.

The more these parts of the brain were shut off, the less intensely people reported their changes in perception to be, the researchers wrote in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"One of the parts of the brain that is markedly switched off [with psilocybin] is the anterior cingulate cortex, which is particularly overactive in people with depression," said David Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College, London. Researchers "put electrodes in that part of the brain to switch it off. It would be a lot simpler and safer to use psilocybin instead of electrodes."

Their next study will involve 15 healthy individuals who have had experience with hallucinogens in their lives. For 2 days, researchers will monitor activity in the participants' brains. During the first day, they receive a placebo. On the second day, they receive a real dose of psilocybin.

Related: This Guy Got High On 52 Drugs Then Drew These Trippy Self-Portraits

Scientists Studied What Psychedelics Do to the Brain, And It’s Not What You’ve Been Told

It turns out that psychedelics aren’t just good for turning into an elf and jousting a car. Psychiatrists, psychologists and specialists in addiction and recovery from traumatic experiences have been investigating the use of hallucinogens in treatment programs, and the results indicate that psychedelics actually have practical therapeutic uses.

And one drug has proven particularly useful. Repeated studies have found the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms, psilocybin, can help people move past major life issues — like beating alcoholism and becoming more empathetic.

The research: One study concluded that controlled exposure to psilocybin could have long-lasting medical and spiritual benefits. In 2011, Johns Hopkins researchers found that by giving volunteer test subjects just the right dose (not enough to give them a terrifying bad trip), they were able to reliably induce transcendental experiences in volunteers. This provoked long-lasting psychological growth and helped the volunteers to find peace in their lives, all without side effects. Nearly all of the 18 test subjects, average age 46, were college graduates. Seventy-eight percent were religious and all were interested in finding a scientific experience.

Fourteen months later, 94% said their trip on magic mushrooms was one of the five most important moments of their lives. Thirty-nine percent said it was the most important thing that had ever happened to them. Their colleagues, friends, and family members said the participants were kinder and happier; the volunteers had positive experiences ranging from more empathy and improved marriages to less drinking.

Lead author Roland Griffiths told TIME’s Healthland that “The important point here is that we found the sweet spot where we can optimize the positive persistent effects and avoid some of the fear and anxiety that can occur and can be quite disruptive.”

What’s more, the researchers say that those changes in personality are highly atypical, because personalities tend to be pretty set in stone after the age of 25-30. According to postdoctoral researcher Katherine MacLean, who contributed to the study, “This is one of the first studies to show that you actually can change adult personality.”

“Many years later, people are saying it was one of the most profound experiences of their life,” she continued. “If you think about it in that context, it’s not that surprising that it might be permanent.”

This is strictly do-not-try-this-at-home. Maclean says that “in an unsupervised setting, if that sort of fear or anxiety set in, the classic bad trip, it could be pretty dangerous.” But “On the most speculative side, this suggests that there might be an application of psilocybin for creativity or more intellectual outcomes that we really haven’t explored at all.”

More research: Within the past few decades, interest in hallucinogens has expanded from the counter-culture to dedicated, methodological research. For example, another study published in 2010 conducted research into whether psilocybin can lend some comfort to terminal cancer patients — finding evidence that it reduced death anxiety and experienced significantly less depression. According to study researcher Dr. Charles Grob, “Individuals did speak up and tell us that they felt it was of great value.” NYU’s Dr. Stephen Ross, who conducted a similar study, told SCPR that “To me it’s been some of the most remarkable clinical findings I’ve ever seen as a psychiatrist.”

Psychologist Clark Martin, Ph.D., who participated in the study as a volunteer, describes his experience below:

As well as participant Janeen Delaney:

As a result of the studies, a joint UCLA, NYU and Johns Hopkins team is conducting large-scale phase three trial next year.

Cluster headache patients say (with the backing of some doctors) that psilocybin and LSD provide them with significant relief, which researchers argue need further study.

A 2012 study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found evidence that psilocybin “enhances autobiographical recollection,” suggesting psychiatric uses in “the recall of salient memories or to reverse negative cognitive biases.” A review of the pyschiatric research performed on psilocybin concluded that the risks of therapy were acceptable and that “most subjects described the experience as pleasurable, enriching and non-threatening.” And this year, Zürich researchers released a study in which they administered psilocybin to 25 volunteers. The treatment was found to be associated with an “increase of positive mood in healthy volunteers.”

So basically, there’s at least some hard evidence that this:

… Has the potential to be helpful, leading to introspection, self-reflection, and relief from psychiatric conditions.

Other drugs: Other illegal drugs have been linked to positive psychological outcomes. Trials with MDMA have had positive results in patients suffering from PTSD. Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies founder Rick Doblin, who works with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, discusses why MDMA might be the first psychedelic to “open the door into traditional psychiatry and psychology”:

So why isn’t there more evidence? The federal government is only now beginning to loosen its restrictions on medical uses of mind-altering substances, and it’s doing so very cautiously. In 2013, a group of psychiatrists released a review saying government restrictions made even researching psychoactive drugs “difficult and in many cases almost impossible.”

About The Author

Tom McKay

Tom is a Live News Writer for PolicyMic, where he produces killer trending content on politics, media, and technology.

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