STUDYING SHROOMS

Psilocybin And Spirituality

Although the religious use of mushrooms containing the psychedelic
drug psilocybin dates back thousands of years, early practitioners
were not familiar with controlled, double-blind experimental methods.

That helps explain the sensation caused by a study in the journal
Psychopharmacology, whose title announced that "psilocybin can
occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained
personal meaning and spiritual significance."

In a more rigorous version of the classic "Good Friday Experiment" of
1962, researchers at Johns Hopkins recruited 30 subjects who had never
used psychedelics but who reported "regular participation in religious
or spiritual activities." The subjects were randomly chosen to receive
either psilocybin or Ritalin, a stimulant with a similar duration and
effect on mood. During individual eight-hour sessions, they were
encouraged to close their eyes, listen to classical music, and "direct
their attention inward." At a second session two months later, the two
groups were switched.

While a few of the volunteers had bad trips after taking psilocybin,
questionnaires the subjects filled out indicated that for most it was
a very positive experience. Six out of 10 subjects met the criteria
for a "complete mystical experience" after taking psilocybin, compared
to about one out of 10 after taking Ritalin. Four-fifths said the
psilocybin session improved their sense of well-being or life
satisfaction "moderately" or "very much," compared to one-fifth who
said the same of the Ritalin session.

Two-thirds of the volunteers considered the psilocybin session among
the top five most meaningful experiences of their lives, a rating less
than one in 10 gave the Ritalin session.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the experiment was that it
occurred at all, given that psilocybin is banned by the Controlled
Substances Act of 1970. Not only did the researchers manage to get the
requisite approvals from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the
Food and Drug Administration; they obtained funding for the study from
the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a federal agency whose mission
is to accentuate the negative aspects of illegal drugs.

NIDA Director Norah Volkow, emphasizing that "NIDA discourages the use
of hallucinogens," claimed "the investigators receiving the grant
supporting this research did not initially propose to evaluate the
effects of psilocybin." At the same time, she conceded that "grantees
maintain the scientific independence necessary to follow up on new
areas of research."