Science

World’s largest study on naturalistic [non-clinical, real-world settings] psilocybin use… reveals lasting therapeutic benefits

September 19, 2023By

The study, which represents the world’s largest longitudinal dataset on naturalistic psilocybin use to date, is published in Frontiers in Psychiatry and indicates broad therapeutic potential of a single dose of psilocybin to produce lasting improvements in mental health and wellbeing… data was collected from surveying 8,006 participants over a two year period… self-reported information on the…

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Science

Standards without labs: drug development in the psychedelic underground

September 16, 2023By

How, then, might citizen scientists develop standards given the difficulty of obtaining these tools? Our discussion highlights how the pragmatic goals of knowledge production… consumed their medicine in the form of homegrown psilocybe mushrooms because they lacked access… of citizen science differ from the institutionalized scientists’ need to legitimate their findings with academic journals, peers,…

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UC Berkeley… psychedelics survey

July 17, 2023By

The majority of American voters support policy reforms for psychedelics, the survey revealed… over half of voters (56%) polled support obtaining FDA approval for psychedelics by prescription. Almost half (49%) support removing criminal penalties for personal use and possession with support for spiritual and religious use polling at just over four out of ten (44%)……

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Reductions in experiential avoidance play a key role in the therapeutic effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy, study finds

July 16, 2023By

A new study indicates that reductions in experiential avoidance play a significant role in the therapeutic effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy among depressed patients, leading to improvements in well-being and reductions in depression severity, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. The findings, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, highlight the importance of experiential avoidance as a potential mechanism…

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Magic mushroom chocolate…

June 14, 2023By

“Similar to cannabis edibles, if psilocybin products look like candy and/or are labeled like candy, and have no protective packaging…” says Dr. Sudakin… a medical toxicologist… “When you’re looking at toxicology you’re looking at how much you’re ingesting compared to the patient’s body size,” says Dr. Meghan Martin, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist at Johns…

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Can psilocybin stimulate neurogenesis in the hippocampus?

June 14, 2023By

Increasing evidence suggests psilocybin may promote neuroplasticity, contributing to its antidepressant effects. In some people, postmortem studies indicate, depression may be related to disrupted adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN)—the birth and growth of new neurons in the hippocampus. This mechanism is important for regulating mood and maintaining spatial learning and memory throughout life, and it is critical for brain plasticity……

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Psychedelics reopen the social reward learning critical period

June 14, 2023By

Juvenile mice find social experiences more rewarding than do adults. The discovery [is] that psychedelics can re-engage the social neural circuits for varying durations in adults… Gül Dölen, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.; …ibogaine, ketamine, LSD, MDMA, and psilocybin, can reopen the “critical periods” of brain…

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Science

…fentanyl crisis…

June 11, 2023By

…based on figures released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 195 Americans died every single day in 2021 In Multnomah County, Oregon, fatal opioid-related overdoses saw a fivefold increase between 2018 and 2022, according to public health data. A record-high 209 people in the county died from fentanyl overdoses last year. Andrew Suchocki… medical director……

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