Can magic mushrooms treat mental illness?
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 10 February 2022
⏱️ 36 minutes
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Summary
They're illegal Class A drugs in the UK - right alongside cocaine and heroine. But new research is exploring whether magic mushroom micro-dosing can treat depression and addiction. So what are the facts?
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Guests:
Dr David Nutt, Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology, Imperial College, London.
Suzanne Duckett and Andy Friedlander, a couple from London.
Host: Manveen Rana.
If you've been affected by any of the issues discussed in this podcast there are some website and helplines available here:
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NHS mental health helpline (England): https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-urgent-mental-health-helpline
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In the UK, they're classified as class A drugs, the most dangerous, according to the |
| 0:13.9 | government, and crucially illegal. |
| 0:17.6 | But why are so many scientists raving about magic mushrooms? |
| 0:23.1 | New research suggests hallucinogenic mushrooms may be beneficial for some patients, two studies |
| 0:28.7 | found that about 80% of patients who were given a single dose of silobscibin, as a substance, |
| 0:34.5 | found in those so-called magic mushrooms, had significant reductions in depression and |
| 0:39.2 | anxiety and had minimal side effects. |
| 0:41.8 | I genuinely believe this is the most important event in psychiatry treatments, probably for |
| 0:48.8 | 50 years. |
| 0:50.8 | So what's the science behind these claims? |
| 0:56.8 | Do therapeutic mushroom retreats really work? |
| 1:00.4 | And what does it feel like to experience one? |
| 1:03.5 | If you take the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz, make them more sort of fairy and |
| 1:08.3 | healthy, and then you imagine you're in a rugby scrum. |
| 1:13.7 | You're listening to stories of our times from the times and the Sunday times, I'm Manvin |
| 1:18.4 | Rona. |
| 1:19.4 | Today, can magic mushrooms help mental health? |
| 1:35.3 | In the last few years, some of the most prestigious scientific institutions in the world have |
| 1:41.1 | become fascinated by magic mushrooms. |
| 1:45.2 | Johns Hopkins in America and Imperial College London have both set up whole centres devoted |
| 1:51.3 | to psychedelic research, whilst last month, a study at King's College London proved that |
| 1:56.8 | silobscibin, the active drug in mushrooms, could be safely given to patients for the treatment |
... |
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