[neoterran]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/07/10/psychedelic.research.ap/index.html?section=cnn_topstories

NEW YORK (AP) -- People who took an illegal drug made from mushrooms reported profound mystical experiences that led to behavior changes lasting for weeks -- all part of an experiment that recalls the psychedelic '60s.

Many of the 36 volunteers rated their reaction to a single dose of the drug, called psilocybin, as one of the most meaningful or spiritually significant experiences of their lives. Some compared it to the birth of a child or the death of a parent.

Such comments "just seemed unbelievable," said Roland Griffiths of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, the study's lead author.

But don't try this at home, he warned. "Absolutely don't."

Almost a third of the research participants found the drug experience frightening even in the very controlled setting. That suggests people experimenting with the illicit drug on their own could be harmed, Griffiths said.

Viewed by some as a landmark, the study is one of the few rigorous looks in the past 40 years at a hallucinogen's effects. The researchers suggest the drug someday may help drug addicts kick their habit or aid terminally ill patients struggling with anxiety and depression.

It may also provide a way to study what happens in the brain during intense spiritual experiences, the scientists said.

Funded in part by the federal government, the research was published online Tuesday by the journal Psychopharmacology.

Psilocybin has been used for centuries in religious practices, and its ability to produce a mystical experience is no surprise. But the new work demonstrates it more clearly than before, Griffiths said.

Even two months after taking the drug, pronounced SILL-oh-SY-bin, most of the volunteers said the experience had changed them in beneficial ways, such as making them more compassionate, loving, optimistic and patient. Family members and friends said they noticed a difference, too.

Charles Schuster, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and a former director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, called the work a landmark.

"I believe this is one of the most rigorously well-controlled studies ever done" to evaluate psilocybin or similar substances for their potential to increase self-awareness and a sense of spirituality, he said. He did not participate in the research.

There's more at the link.

I am finally very glad to see some serious research being carried on psychadelic drugs. I have had some very profound experiences myself, including one after an accidental overdose (about 50 doses) of LSD that involved my death and rebirth. It was quite scary at times and at other times it was amazing. I really feel like those drugs can offer a glimpse into your own psyche that is extremely important.

Discuss.

[Ashrak]

drugs are bad for you mkay

[Ford Prefect]

I don't use drugs. There's too much **** that goes on in my head already. I fear that drugs would amplify it and thus make me a danger to myself.

[Descenterace]

Alcohol's useful when I need to shut down my brain for a while. Caffeine's useful when I've got a lot to do overnight or when I need to wake up early.

[Descenter]

I'm still part ADHD, so i don't need any of thoes things.   And in fact it might have a reverse effect on me.... who knows....

{ahem}...Anyhow, Ashrak's right,..... drugs bad

[Fineus]

I don't use drugs. There's too much **** that goes on in my head already. I fear that drugs would amplify it and thus make me a danger to myself.

At the risk of not putting much effort into this comment: Ditto.

[aldo_14]

*hums Mario theme*

[MechMantis]

I see your Super Mario Brothers theme and raise you a Katamari Damacy intro song.



But... who in their right mind would do something like this? In anycase...

drugs are bad for you mkay

Kthxbai.

[IceFire]

I don't use drugs. There's too much **** that goes on in my head already. I fear that drugs would amplify it and thus make me a danger to myself.

I'll also have to agree with that statement.  My brain's pretty scattered about as it is.

[Sandwich]

My parents did enough drugs before I was born, thank you very much.

[Mefustae]

Ooooh, that explains it.

 

[Sandwich]

[aldo_14]

Drugs give baby googly eyes, as we see above.

[Flipside]

Heh, just goes to show yet another aspect of  the next generation up from 'yours' (if you're aged 16-21ish). Theres all this thing about the 'violent Youth of today' etc, but in truth, your parents' generation took a damn site more drugs and were more violent

[aldo_14]

Heh, just goes to show yet another aspect of  the next generation up from 'yours' (if you're aged 16-21ish). Theres all this thing about the 'violent Youth of today' etc, but in truth, your parents' generation took a damn site more drugs and were more violent

Not if it was the happy wacky tobaccy, mind.

Maaaaaaaaan.

[Flipside]

True, then they couldn't be arsed to do anything

[neoterran]

Well, i've learned that not a lot of people play freespace that have experimented with chemicals... 

Oh well, what do they say ? "A nods as good as a wink to a blind man"

[watsisname]

I saw my neighbor high on shrooms once.  He came outside in the middle of the night, and started babbling things like '"Duuuuude.... DUUUUUDE!  It's like... EVERYTHING is CONNECTED!"  Then he spent about 40 minutes staring at the sky and making strange gestures.  Later he went out for a drive with a friend of his, and told me afterward that he had no idea where they ended up, but they kept seeing churches everywhere.  

Ah, that must've been fun.

 

[Flipside]

LOL When I was younger, I was far from sweet and innocent, but then, at 33, I'm not quite sure which generation I fit into

[Sandwich]

Heh, just goes to show yet another aspect of  the next generation up from 'yours' (if you're aged 16-21ish). Theres all this thing about the 'violent Youth of today' etc, but in truth, your parents' generation took a damn site more drugs and were more violent

Well, my dad was a teacher at a dojo, so......