Psychedelic Medicine

Giving psilocybin to rats made them more optimistic in the longer term, suggesting that the psychedelic substance could have great potential in treating a core symptom of depression in humans.

After comparing the long-term effects of the psychedelic psilocybin and a commonly prescribed antidepressant, new research found that both significantly reduced depression. However, psilocybin provided something more: a significant boost to quality of life.

We were this close to seeing Ecstasy being incorporated into therapy in the US in 2024. Now, we have to wait either a little or a lot – depending on how the chips fall. Let's have a closer look at where we're currently at.

Citizen scientists have been key to the discovery of two new species of hallucinogenic fungi, joining the ranks of 140 known types of these psychoactive mushrooms. One even has longstanding roots in traditional healing medicine in mountainous Lesotho.

Laws are opening up to support the use of medicinal psilocybin – and that requires new technology to ensure accurate, consistent dosing. Researchers have now developed a fast and reliable method of determining the potency of magic mushrooms.

An effective single-dose, long-term treatment for anxiety could be within reach, with the phase 2b clinical trial of MM-120 reported to have passed the stage with flying colors.

A clinical trial has demonstrated that psilocybin-assisted therapy is effective at treating depression in patients with cancer. In a first, the drug was given to small groups of patients simultaneously, before they underwent one-on-one and group therapy.

A study into using ketamine to treat depression has yielded surprising results. Despite the unique way in which the researchers ensured the trial was ‘blind’, the placebo and treatment groups had the same improvement in symptom severity.

Researchers have found that treating Special Ops veterans with psychedelics improved their mental health and, unexpectedly, their cognitive functioning, underscoring the benefits of psychedelic therapy for those with complicated trauma histories.

The death of a loved one following a cancer battle can trigger prolonged grief that can seemingly cause life to come to a standstill. It can also be hard to treat, leaving the griever 'stuck' in this stage. Now, magic mushrooms are offering fresh hope.

A new clinical trial has found that psilocybin combined with psychotherapy may be a promising treatment for anorexia nervosa, a mental illness that is notoriously difficult to treat and for which there are currently no approved medications.

In a world first, two illicit substances best known for their ‘recreational’ use have been given the tick of approval by Australian authorities to be prescribed for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and drug-resistant depression.