A review of current literature around magic mushrooms for nicotine and alcohol dependency, end of life therapy, and more.

Notes: Per Christopher Toney, a reminder that psilocybin dosing is based on dry weight of the whole mushrooms, for those curious about how dosing is calculated. How well does this approximate actual psilocybin content? This will be a good future topic for discussion.

References:

Link to FDA’s Considerations for Clinical Investigations of Psychedelic Drugs (Accessed 11 July 2023): https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/psychedelic-drugs-considerations-clinical-investigations.

Bogenschutz MP, et al. Percentage of heavy drinking days following psilocybin assisted psychotherapy vs placebo in the treatment of patients with alcohol use disorder: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2022; 79(10): 953-962 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2795625

Carhart-Harris R, et al. Trial of psilocybin versus escitalopram for depression. New England Journal of Medicine. 2021: 384: 1402-1411. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2032994

Ebbesen-Jensen M, et al. Psilocybin assisted therapy for reducing alcohol intake in patients with alcohol use disorder: protocol for a randomized, double blinded, placebo controlled 12 week clinical trial (the QUANTUM trip trial). BMJ Open. 2022; 12(10). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9577917/

Ercolano, A. (2023) Johns Hopkins Center for psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Johns Hopkins Medicine. Available at: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/research/psychedelics-research.html

Fauber J and Fiore K. Slippery slope: Fen-Phen users recall a “miracle” turned nightmare. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/Med Page Today. 19 April 2015. https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/slipperyslope/51044

Goodwin GM, et al. Single dose psilocybin for treatment for a treatment resistant episode of major depression. New England Journal of Medicine. 2022; 387(18). https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa2206443?articleTools=true

Griffiths RR, et al. Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized double blind trial. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 2016; 30(2): 1181-1197

Grob CS, et al. Pilot study of psilocybin for anxiety in patients with advanced stage cancer. JAMA Psychiatry. 2011; 68(1): 71-78. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/210962

Kenney A. What to know about Colorado’s psychedelic law. Colorado Public Radio. 21 June 2023. https://www.cpr.org/2023/06/21/colorado-psychedelic-law-for-psilocybin-mushrooms/

Rosenbaum D, et al. Psychedelics for existential distress in palliative and cancer care. Current Oncology. 2019; 26(4): 225-226. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6726261/

Ross S, et al. Acute and sustained reductions in loss of meaning and suicidal ideation following psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for psychiatric and existential distress in life threatening cancer. ACS Pharmacology and Translational Science. 2021; 4(2): 553-562. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33860185/

Rotz VR, et al. Single dose psilocybin assisted therapy in major depressive disorder: a placebo controlled, randomized double blind trial. The Lancet. 2023;56: 101809. https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2589-5370%2822%2900538-7

To read about “Mad Honey” that we referenced towards the end of the podcast: see here: https://bigthink.com/health/mad-honey/#:~:text=But%20what%20really%20distinguishes%20mad,%2C%20in%20rare%20cases%2C%20death.