Psilocybin - Are There Any Medical Reasons for Taking This Substance?
Are There Any Medical Reasons for Taking This Substance?
Psilocybin and other hallucinogens have been studied for use in psychotherapy and the treatment of mental illness. At one time researchers thought that psilocybin might help to make criminals less violent. In a study conducted between 1961 and 1963 by Professor Timothy Leary (1920–1996) and Ralph Metzner, this theory was put to the test. The researchers attempted to prove that psilocybin could be used to reform criminals at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute in Concord.
As part of the study, a group of inmates was given two high doses of psilocybin over six weeks, along with several sessions of therapy. It was hoped that in the drug-induced state, inmates would gain new insights about themselves, understand what they wanted out of life, and decide to leave the life of crime. The real test came when the inmates were released from prison. The researchers found that their test subjects had the same rate of returning to prison for new crimes as the inmates who were not part of the study. In addition, the test inmates ended up having more parole violations than the average parolee.
Other researchers looked into whether psilocybin might lessen the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)An anxiety disorder that causes people to dwell on unwanted thoughts, act on unusual urges, and perform repetitive rituals such as frequent hand washing.), since some users reported that the drug eased their compulsions. This had not been widely studied as of 2005. Since the effects of psilocybin vary so much from dose to dose, and since so little is known about how it actually works in the brain, it is not considered a good candidate for treatment of any illness.
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