Article

2008-07-04 -Short Attention Span Theater-

"Spiritual" effects of mushrooms last a year?

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The "spiritual" effects of psilocybin from so-called ~~magic~~ 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.
That's my story an' Imma stickin' to it.
The researchers also said their findings show there are safe ways to test psychoactive drugs on willing volunteers, if guidelines are followed.
Pick me! Pick me!
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.
Tambourines and elephants were playin' in a Band!
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.
I took a ride on a Flyin' Spoon, dot dot doo.
"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."
A Dinosaur Victrola listnin' to Buck Owens.
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 ~~Clearwater Revival~~ 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.
I just sat back and watched the pretty pictures.
While psilocybin is widely outlawed, many U.S. states and some countries overlook its use by indigenous people in religious ceremonies.
I'm Indigenous. I've lived here all my life.
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.
Me either.
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.
Except for the desire to sit on a cowpie.
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.
It was, like, WOW, dude.
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.
Listening to Dark Side of the Moon was very interesting.

Posted by Deacon Blues 2008-07-04 00:00|| || Front Page|| [8 views ] Top

#1 ...none reported any lingering harmful effects, and we didn't observe any clinical evidence of harm.

They should have interviewed the girl that took mushrooms and fell off a 300 foot cliff on Mount Sopris. Oh wait, she is dead.

Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader 2008-07-04 21:32|| 2008-07-04 21:32|| Front Page Top

#2 While psilocybin is widely outlawed, many U.S. states and some countries overlook its use by indigenous people in religious ceremonies.

NO! Indigenous people used Peyote in religious ceremonies. Similar effects but not religious ritual. One's a cactus, one is a fungus then there is that weed nobody talks about that grows in the jungle in Mayan areas that actually has LSD in its sap. (sh....)

Posted by 3dc 2008-07-04 22:58|| 2008-07-04 22:58|| Front Page Top

#3 How could they not mention the VILE tastes of those mushrooms? No mention of the elephant killing bad breath. Nothing about how the only way to down them is inside a peanutbutter sandwich swallowed in one chew followed by chugging a beer or two....
VILE... Even worse for Peyote. Puke city....
Yeah. Talking to the toilet could be a "spiritual" experience.

Its like talking about smoking and not mentioning lung cancer.

Oh and its a really good at causing yeast infections for some women.

A positive life affirming substance.....

Posted by 3dc 2008-07-04 23:06|| 2008-07-04 23:06|| Front Page Top

#4 Years ago, a couple of hippies showed me how to recognize psilocybin mushrooms and how to differentiate them from similar fungi.

They are extremely common. They grow in my back yard.

As a tea is the recommended way of ingesting them.

Posted by phil_b 2008-07-04 23:52|| 2008-07-04 23:52|| Front Page Top

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