hamilton Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 "Spiritual" effects of mushrooms last a year?Wednesday July 2, 2008By Maggie Fox, Health and Science EditorWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The "spiritual" effects of psilocybin from so-called sacred mushrooms last for more than a year and may offer a way to help patients with fatal diseases or addictions, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.The researchers also said their findings show there are safe ways to test psychoactive drugs on willing volunteers, if guidelines are followed.In 2006, Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and colleagues gave psilocybin to 36 volunteers and asked them how it felt. Most reported having a "mystical" or "spiritual" experience and rated it positively.More than a year later, most still said the experience increased their sense of well-being or life satisfaction, Griffiths and colleagues report in the Journal of Psychopharmacology."This is a truly remarkable finding," Griffiths said in a statement. "Rarely in psychological research do we see such persistently positive reports from a single event in the laboratory."The findings may offer a way to help treat extremely anxious and depressed patients, or people with addictions, said Griffiths, whose work was funded by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse."This gives credence to the claims that the mystical-type experiences some people have during hallucinogen sessions may help patients suffering from cancer-related anxiety or depression and may serve as a potential treatment for drug dependence," Griffiths said.WIDELY OUTLAWEDWhile psilocybin is widely outlawed, many U.S. states and some countries overlook its use by indigenous people in religious ceremonies.Supervision of its use is key, the researchers noted."While some of our subjects reported strong fear or anxiety for a portion of their day-long psilocybin sessions, none reported any lingering harmful effects, and we didn't observe any clinical evidence of harm," Griffiths said.Hallucinogens should not be given to people at risk for psychosis or certain other serious mental disorders, the researchers said.But Griffiths stressed that even those who reported fear said a year later they had no permanent negative effects.Of the volunteers who took the one-day test of psilocybin, 22 of the 36 had a "complete" mystical experience, based on a detailed questionnaire.Griffiths said 21 continued to rate highly on this standardized scale 14 months later."Even at the 14-month follow-up, 58 percent of 36 volunteers rated the experience on the psilocybin session as among the five most personally meaningful experiences of their lives and 67 percent rated it among the five most spiritually significant experiences of their lives," the researchers said.The report included some comments from the volunteers."Surrender is intensely powerful. To 'let go' and become enveloped in the beauty of -- in this case music -- was enormously spiritual," one volunteer said.(Editing by Will Dunham and Vicki Allen) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esau. Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Good news indeed. Now, I'm going eat a few caps, sip on some beer, throw on my headphones and listen to No Rest for the Wicked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberHippie Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Wow this is popping up everywhere these days. I heard about the Hopkins research a while back and am seriously shocked to see stories about the research results popping up everywhere. CBC, and Yahoo!It's interesting stuff. I hope they can continue research. I really think the DTM guy Strassman opened the door for his contemporaries. Nice job!For the google videos fans, check out the sacred weeds series... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewRider Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 anytime I eat them they just make me feel paranoid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeeJig Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 CNN once told me that handrumming relieves stress..........Psylosybins for Dima. Shit I mean dummies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamilton Posted July 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 anytime I eat them they just make me feel paranoid! Having them out at a bar seeing a gig and having them in the comfort of your own home on a quiet night in can be totally different experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ol'Hickster Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Yummy I love mushrooms! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooly Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 this is awesome, i would love to see this go furthur. ive read about this research taking place in the UK as well, i think, not totally sure. the indians have been eating azures for years, and they are wayyyy stronger than anything you or I have tried. and they seem okay, in fact they seem better than okay when compared to this whitebread society lol heres a pic of the P. Azurenscens ive got this awesome mushroom book by paul stamets, and hes got this pic of a sacred patch of these that shamans have been using for years and years, it had a wooden tribal head carved and placed at the top of the patch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wavinginthewind Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 but Tooly, I thought drugs are for dopes??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarahbelle Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 I loove shrooms!! they are both fun and good for u. can't go wrong with that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazlo Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 anytime I eat them they just make me feel paranoid! Having them out at a bar seeing a gig and having them in the comfort of your own home on a quiet night in can be totally different experiences.It also helps if you don't chew them while committing a crime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamilton Posted July 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 anytime I eat them they just make me feel paranoid! Having them out at a bar seeing a gig and having them in the comfort of your own home on a quiet night in can be totally different experiences.It also helps if you don't chew them while committing a crime.Of course, since chewing them *is* a crime, that's a pretty difficult task to accomplish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorgnor Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 don't cross the streams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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