In a groundbreaking trial, scientists from Imperial College London gave two doses of psilocybin—the active compound that produces a psychedelic effect in humans—to twelve subjects suffering from depression. Some reported that the doses were enough to lift their symptoms for three weeks, while others said three months. All agreed that the treatment helped.
The size of the subject group and the fact that no placebo was administered means the research isn’t complete. But the trial is still proof of principle. Scientists hope that the experiment’s findings convince other researchers to fund more studies. That may be difficult considering the government’s controls on “magic mushrooms.” For this trial alone, it took 30 months to acquire the drugs at a cost of almost $2,000 per dose. Find out more about the trial here. Also, watch the BBC video below, which includes exclusive access to the laboratory where the trials were conducted.
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