According to a very small study involving 12 terminally ill cancer patients led by Charles Grob, MD, of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif., psychedelic shrooms may be effective in treating the anxiety experienced by end-stage cancer patients.
The effects of psilocybin are said to be similar to LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) but more euphoric and not quite as intense. Past research with psilocybin in terminally ill patients has shown lots of promise in elevating their moods, experiencing spiritual epiphanies and even lowering their need for pain medication. Those early studies were shut down over three decades ago, making this small trial the first of its kind in 35 years.
CANCER TYPE(S)
All
TREATMENT TYPE(S)
Control of end-stage anxierty, depression
WHERE WAS THIS PUBLISHED?
Archives of General Psychiatry
By Ross Bonander
Source
Grob CS et al. "Pilot Study of Psilocybin Treatment for Anxiety in Patients With Advanced-Stage Cancer".Arch Gen Psych 2010; DOI: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.116.
