UPDATE: Magic mushrooms used to treat terminal cancer patients

The results of a new study show that the psychedelic drug psilocybin, the active ingredient in the drug known as “magic mushrooms,” can improve mood, reduce anxiety and depression in terminal cancer patients.

“Magic Mushrooms” that contain psilocybin are used both recreation ally, and in some cultures, for spiritual purposes.

Charles Grob from Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, and colleagues, enrolled 12 people with advanced-stage cancer who were also diagnosed with anxiety. The participants took a low dose of psilocybin, while under the supervision of trained therapists. In a separate session, the participants took a placebo pill.

The research, issued in Archives of General Psychiatry, showed that psilocybin could be safely given to cancer patients. After six months, the study’s participants average score on a common scale used to measure depression had declined by 30%.

It reintroduces a field of study from the 1950s to the early 1970s that proposed some patients had powerful and sustained improvement in mood and anxiety from hallucinogens. Studies on these drugs was abandoned and rigorous federal regulations were enforced after hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD were abused by users. Among the earliest advocates of the research, Dr. Timothy Leary, was at one time described by President Richard Nixon as the “most dangerous man in America.”