Rock Creek Park: A 1700-acre park established in 1890. It’s filled with serene, wooded trails that transport visitors away from the political hubbub and into a space of peace and tranquility.
Yeah, sounds beautiful, and indeed it is. The only place I ever tried psilocybin, and I sometimes wish I could do it again. Over fifty years ago, as a freshman at Georgetown University, I was in awe of the campus and the city. When a young fellow I scarcely knew invited me to go to Rock Creek Park for an evening of walking and psilocybin, I agreed without hesitation. I wish I’d written about the experience; how did we get there, how far did we walk, what all did we see? No falling, no freaking out, no amazing revelations from the universe. Not sure about hallucinations on that balmy night, but I’m completely sure that the dancing orbs of light surrounding us were the kind of magic that I will never forget.
Around that time, several studies in the mid ‘60s and and early ‘70s (most focused on LSD), suggested that such compounds might be effective in treating psychological distress in cancer patients. The earliest research work on psilocybin (recognizing that many college students etc. were probably conducting scads of their own ‘studies’ on the magic mushrooms) I found was from 2006. This involved 9 volunteers with notable obsessive compulsive disease which is considered an anxiety disorder.
Conclusions: Improvement generally lasted past the 24-hour timepoint. In a controlled clinical environment, psilocybin was safely used in subjects with OCD and was associated with acute reductions in core OCD symptoms in several subjects. Francesco Moreno, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, Tucson
The next study I found was conducted by researchers at the Cognitive Psychology Unit & Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands. This group worked with ‘psychedelic truffles’ (that’s a new one for me!) with the goal “to quantitatively explore the cognitive-enhancing potential of micro-dosing psychedelics in healthy adults.” The participants were given problem-solving tasks performed with and without imbibing a trifle of truffle. The results showed that a smidge of this fungus did improve their convergent thinking that uses rules and logical reasoning, and also pepped up their divergent reasoning, a more spontaneous and creative approach to thinking that includes exploration of many possible solutions. This interest in micro-dosing mushrooms continued for years into a 2020 study of microdosing psychedelics as a treatment for depression. The conclusion? Another call for more research!
Let’s move on to the really exciting news. After years of political and medical controversy over use of mini-bits of psychedelics in medical treatments, additional studies, using moderate dosing, began to emerge. In a moment, I will turn you over to a link taking you to “One doctor’s psychedelic journey to confront his cancer.” Pradeep Bansal, MD, a gastroenterologist, has stage IV kidney cancer and signed up to join an FDA-approved study with mid-sized mushroom dosing during a 7-hour treatment trial with an experienced oncologist as a guide.
"I don't have much patience for holistic medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, or alternative medicines with claims of spiritual upliftment or altered states of mind." But Bansal had done his homework on psilocybin and was impressed.
Having read his journey on webmd.com, I too am impressed. A friend of mine dropped by yesterday, and I filled her in on the psilocybin research study. I was completely sold on such therapy based on my long ago night in Rock Creek and all that I’ve read since. She felt completely uncomfortable with the possibility of using psychedelics to improve anxiety resulting from serious illness.
What’s your opinion?
https://st-0066175.stprod.webmd.com/mental-health/story/psychedelic-psilocybin-study-depression
Hey Judy, as long as you're good at research would you be willing to investigate viagra and the mind? I remember when you gave some to a christmas tree and it seemed to like it. I've been hearing men who use it are less likely to get dementia so naturally I'm curious. What's the specific ingredient? what about women, are they checking on that? I don't need an erection but I would like my words and names to stick around. I imagine blood flow being improved, including in the brain (the head brain, not the little brain). Of course there is no rush and if you're not up for it, not a problem. If you are, thank you!
What a beautiful article. I've read others like it. Clearly, this therapy does wonders -- or at least has the potential to do wonders. The careful preparation, witnessing, and aftercare make it seem very safe. Having just lost a friend to bladder cancer, this was very powerful.