Hey guys, Kye here. I am the owner of Zoombag.ca - This article is about a study that has shown psilocybin mushrooms can help reduce use of alcohol in alcohol dependent people.... And I personally can attest to this. I got sober 5+ years ago, and mushrooms played a huge role in that. To read about my experience check out my personal blog post here. I really am a walking example of this study.
One of the reasons I started this business is because mushrooms helped me so much. Now my mission is to: 1) Educate as many people as possible on the power of magic mushrooms along with other organic plant & earth based medicines. Annd 2) Make mushrooms safely & easily accessible for those who need them most. (Most of the people who could benefit from mushrooms know absolutely nothing about them, so this is why the educational aspect of my business is so important. Randomly discovering one of these articles through google could save someones life!)
Psilocybin Magic Mushrooms shown to reduce alcohol dependance...
THE STUDY:
A recent study conducted by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine has shown that two doses of psilocybin, a compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, combined with psychotherapy, can reduce heavy drinking by an average of 83 percent among individuals with alcohol dependence. Yes, Psilocybin Magic Mushrooms indeed have reduced alcohol dependance in many people. Lets take a look into this shall we...
The study involved 93 men and women diagnosed with alcohol dependence who were randomly assigned to receive either two doses of psilocybin or an antihistamine placebo. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew which medication they received. Over an 8-month period, those who received psilocybin reduced their heavy drinking by 83 percent compared to their drinking habits before the study began. In contrast, those who received the placebo reduced their drinking by 51 percent.
Notably, 8 months after their first dose, nearly half (48 percent) of the participants who received psilocybin completely stopped drinking, whereas only 24 percent of the placebo group achieved the same outcome. Dr. Michael P. Bogenschutz, the senior author of the study and a psychiatrist at NYU Langone's Center for Psychedelic Medicine, emphasizes that the findings strongly suggest that psilocybin therapy holds promise for the treatment of alcohol use disorder, a challenging condition to manage effectively.
Excessive alcohol use is a significant public health issue, leading to thousands of deaths each year and causing substantial economic and social consequences. Current approaches for addressing alcohol use disorder include psychological counseling, supervised detoxification programs, and specific drug regimens to reduce cravings.
Previous research has indicated that psilocybin treatment can alleviate anxiety and depression in individuals with severe forms of cancer. Dr. Bogenschutz and other researchers have also explored the potential of psilocybin as a therapy for alcohol use disorder and other addictions.
Published in JAMA Psychiatry, this new study is the first placebo-controlled trial to investigate psilocybin as a treatment for excessive alcohol consumption. The researchers recruited participants diagnosed with alcohol dependence who consumed an average of seven drinks on days when they drank. Forty-eight patients received one to three doses of psilocybin, while 45 patients received the antihistamine placebo. All participants underwent up to 12 psychotherapy sessions both before and after the drug treatments.
The participants reported the percentage of heavy drinking days experienced during weeks 5 to 36 of the study and provided hair and fingernail samples to confirm their abstinence from alcohol. Furthermore, all participants were offered a third session of psilocybin to ensure that those who initially received the placebo had the opportunity to receive the psychedelic drug.
Dr. Bogenschutz points out that as research on psychedelic treatment continues to expand, more potential applications for mental health conditions are being discovered. In addition to alcohol use disorder, psilocybin therapy may also prove useful in addressing other addictions such as smoking, cocaine, and opioids.
The research team's next step is to conduct a larger, multicenter trial under the Food and Drug Administration's Investigational New Drug Application. While Dr. Bogenschutz acknowledges the need for further documentation of psilocybin's effects and appropriate dosing, he mentions that such trials have already been initiated.
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring compound derived from fungi, and it shares mind-altering qualities with substances like LSD and mescaline. Most study participants experienced profound alterations in perception, emotions, and sense of self, often accompanied by experiences that held great personal and spiritual significance. Due to the potential increase in blood pressure, heart rate, and the capacity to induce overwhelming psychological effects, researchers emphasize that psilocybin should only be used in carefully controlled settings and in conjunction with psychological evaluation and preparation.
The study was funded by the Heffter Research Institute and individual donations, and Dr. Bogenschutz has received research funds from and served as a consultant to various organizations involved in psychedelic research, including Mind Medicine, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, B.More, AJNA Labs, Beckley Psytech, Journey Colab, and Bright Minds Biosciences. However, none of these organizations were involved in funding the current study.
In addition to Dr. Bogenschutz, the research team included other NYU Langone researchers such as Dr. Stephen Ross, Tara Baron, Eugene M. Laska, Sarah E. Mennenga, Kelley O'Donnell, Samantha Podrebarac, and Dr. John Rotrosen. Collaborating researchers from other institutions included Dr. Snehal Bhatt and Dr. Jeffrey Tonigan from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and Lindsey Owens from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Alyssa Forcehimes from the Change Companies in Carson City, Nevada, was also an additional investigator involved in the study.
The study's findings highlight the potential of psilocybin therapy as a promising approach for the treatment of alcohol use disorder. However, further research is necessary to better understand the effects of psilocybin and determine the appropriate dosing before it can be widely implemented in clinical settings. Ongoing trials are already underway to address these considerations. Overall, this study represents an important step in exploring the therapeutic potential of psilocybin and adds to the growing body of evidence supporting its use in the treatment of mental health conditions and addictions.
Comentários