Power of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms Revealed: "Power of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms Revealed

Call it a 'shroom with a view: Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that people who took psilocybin, the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms, ranked the experience as one of the most meaningful experiences in their life. This is the first detailed examination of the psychological impact of psilocybin since the late 1960s, when hallucinogens came under regulatory scrutiny.

Roland Griffiths and his colleagues worked with 36 subjects who had never taken hallucinogens before, but all reported at least intermittent participation in religious or spiritual activities such as church services, prayer, or meditation. In two or three 8-hour sessions, with two months in between each session, the volunteers were given either psilocybin or Ritalin. Seven hours later, and again months afterward, they completed questionnaires about their experience. More than 60 percent of the subjects who received psilocybin had what they described as a 'complete mystical experience.' Only 11 percent of the placebo group did. Two months later, 71 percent recalled it as one of the five most spiritually significant events in their lives..."