psychedelic drugs

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Anxious? Research Suggests LSD Might Help
Anxious? Research
Suggests LSD Might Help
new study
Sep 6, 2025 3:00 PM CDT

Anxious? Research Suggests LSD Might Help

New study shows promise in the drug's ability to improve symptoms

(Newser) - LSD reduced symptoms of anxiety in a midstage study published this week, paving the way for additional testing and possible medical approval of a psychedelic drug that has been banned in the US for more than a half century, the AP reports. The results from drugmaker Mindmed tested several doses...

For Some, the Psychedelic Trip Is a 'Gamble Worth Taking'
He Gambled His Life
on Ibogaine, and Lost
longform
Aug 18, 2024 9:30 AM CDT

He Gambled His Life on Ibogaine, and Lost

The psychedelic drug can help people get over their addictions without withdrawal symptoms

(Newser) - For some, ibogaine is a wonder drug, a psychedelic that can help cure addiction and eliminate any symptoms of withdrawal in one dose. It's also illegal in the US, and can be deadly, as detailed by Mattha Busby in a lengthy piece for Rolling Stone . His story revolves around...

FDA Says Microdosing Candy Bars Are Making People Sick
FDA Says Microdosing Candy
Bars Are Making People Sick
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 15, 2024 4:15 PM CDT

FDA Says Microdosing Candy Bars Are Making People Sick

6 people have been hospitalized so far

(Newser) - According to the FDA, a brand of microdosing chocolate bars sent some consumers on a very unwanted trip, and now the agency is warning others not to eat the bars. Eight people so far have reported getting sick after eating one of the bars from Diamond Shruumz, and six of...

FDA: LSD Is Now a Breakthrough Therapy

Mind Medicine's anxiety-treating MM120 granted designation ahead of Phase 3 trials

(Newser) - The FDA has bestowed breakthrough therapy status on an LSD formulation found to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression with a single dose. Mind Medicine's MM120 (lysergide d-tartrate) is used to treat generalized anxiety disorder. Twelve weeks after receiving a dose in a Phase 2 trial, 48% of patients...

As Shroom Seizures Spike, Businesses Are Unfazed

273% increase in US seizures over 5 years tied to increased availability of the 'new glass of wine'

(Newser) - At a luxury resort in British Columbia, guests swim in a saltwater pool and trip on magic mushrooms. It might not be entirely legal, but as Journeymen Collective co-founder Rob Grover tells the Wall Street Journal , "we don't give it any energy." Use of psilocybin, the psychoactive...

Harvard Gets 'Visionary Gift' to Study Psychedelics

Former Tesla director's $16M donation comes 60 years after university fired Timothy Leary

(Newser) - A former Tesla director has given Harvard what one professor describes as a "visionary gift"—$16 million to establish a Study of Psychedelics in Society and Culture. The gift from Antonio Gracias via the Gracias Family Foundation will fund an interdisciplinary effort across the Faculty of Arts and...

What It's Like Inside a Ayahuasca Church

Participants claim they're healed, though a crackdown could be coming. The AP digs in

(Newser) - One night in October in a small town in Utah, a mix of military veterans, corporate executives, thrill seekers, ex-members of a polygamous Mormon sect and a man who supposedly struck it rich on a game show converged for a $900 "healing" weekend. Together, overseen by a Colombian shaman,...

One State Is Training Magic Mushroom 'Facilitators'

Oregon, set to be the first state to offer controlled use of psilocybin, is training students

(Newser) - At a woodsy retreat center in Oregon, some 30 men and women are seated or lying down, masks covering their eyes and listening to serene music. They're among the first crop of students being trained on how to accompany patients tripping on psilocybin, as Oregon prepares to become the...

Trial Raises Hope for Psilocybin as Depression Treatment

Regulatory approval could come 'potentially within a few years' time'

(Newser) - One or two doses of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, has been found to help people with cancer , alcohol problems , anxiety, and depression , and now those with a severe, treatment-resistant form of depression, according to researchers. A phase 2 randomized, double-blind clinical trial involving 233 people with treatment-resistant...

She Forged a Path for Psychedelics in Mental Health
Pioneer of Psychedelics
in Therapy Dies at 91
OBITUARY
Jul 13, 2022 8:34 AM CDT

Pioneer of Psychedelics in Therapy Dies at 91

Ann Shulgin, along with late husband Alexander, was psychotherapy pioneer

(Newser) - Ann Shulgin, who together with her late husband, Alexander Shulgin, pioneered the use of psychedelic drugs in psychotherapy and co-wrote two seminal books on the subject, has died at the age of 91. Shulgin had been in ill health due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, daughter Wendy Tucker said. She...

This Toad's Poison Could Kill a Dog—or Get You High

The 'New York Times' takes a look at the Sonoran desert toad

(Newser) - When threatened, the Sonoran desert toad secretes poison strong enough to kill a full-grown dog, writes Simon Romero for the New York Times. The poison can also be harvested, dried, and smoked, inducing feelings of euphoria intense enough to inspire the nickname "God molecule." And as Romero explains,...

3 Canadians Get Permission to Use 'Magic Mushrooms'

They all have mental health conditions, waited up to 283 days for a decision

(Newser) - Psilocybin mushrooms, sometimes called "magic" or psychedelic mushrooms, are banned in Canada with rare exceptions made for medical purposes. Three such exemptions have recently been granted, the Vancouver Sun reports. Three people with mental health conditions now have legal access to psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, a development that nonprofit TheraPsil, which...

Psychedelic Drug Shows Great Promise for PTSD Sufferers

Therapy assisted by MDMA (aka ecstasy) could be approved by 2023

(Newser) - Ecstasy appears on track to become an FDA-approved prescription treatment if the results of the first Phase 3 trial on psychedelic-assisted therapy are any indication. As the New York Times reports, 67% of PTSD patients who were given a dose of the drug during therapy no longer qualified for a...

The 'Magic' in 'Shrooms Could Really Help You
The 'Magic' in 'Shrooms
Could Really Help You
new study
Oct 8, 2018 4:16 PM CDT

The 'Magic' in 'Shrooms Could Really Help You

New study says it can serve medicinal purposes

(Newser) - Want to quit smoking or alleviate depression? In a few years you might be taking the psychedelic "magic" in magic mushrooms—if the FDA ever agrees, the New York Times reports. Researchers from John Hopkins University suggest the FDA should reclassify psilocybin—the psychedelic drug in hallucinogenic mushrooms—to...

Paul McCartney: I Got High, 'Saw God'

'That moment didn’t turn my life around, but it was a clue'

(Newser) - Former Beatle Paul McCartney believes he once saw God during a psychedelic trip. The 76-year-old star told the Sunday Times (paywall) that he was "humbled" by the experience. He said that "it was huge. A massive wall that I couldn't see the top of, and I was...

Hipsters Are Healing Their Souls With 'Grandmother' Drug
Hipsters Are Healing
Their Souls With
'Grandmother' Drug
in case you missed it
Sep 17, 2016 4:25 PM CDT

Hipsters Are Healing Their Souls With 'Grandmother' Drug

Amazon's ayahuasca is said to offer therapeutic benefits—though not without a cost

(Newser) - A psychedelic concoction known as yage, or ayahuasca, has been brewed in indigenous communities in the Amazon region for centuries. But now it's found a relatively new audience: Americans immersed in what Ariel Levy, writing for the New Yorker , calls "the Age of Kale," who are tapping...

Single Dose of Magic Mushroom Ingredient Did Months of Good

When given to patients with life-threatening cancer

(Newser) - People who receive life-threatening cancer diagnoses and find themselves battling depression and anxiety might consider munching on magic mushrooms, and that's not coming from a snake oil salesman. Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine announced last week at the annual meeting of the American College of...

For Some, Tiny LSD Hits Are Like Cup of Coffee

Hallucinogen enthusiasts are popping micro-portions of acid

(Newser) - Some users of LSD like taking tiny amounts of the hallucinogenic drug—often by drinking acid-laced water—to experience subtle benefits like increased focus, creativity, or friendliness toward people, LiveScience reports. "It's like the coffee to wake up the mind-body connection," says former poker player Martijn Schirp,...

Psychedelic Drugs Don't Break Your Brain
 Psychedelic Drugs 
 Don't Break Your Brain 
STUDIES SAY
Mar 5, 2015 4:40 AM CST

Psychedelic Drugs Don't Break Your Brain

Use may actually reduce risk of some conditions

(Newser) - Are "acid casualties" a myth? While using LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, or mescaline carries the risk of a bad trip, there doesn't seem to be any increased risk of psychosis or other mental-health conditions, according to a pair of new studies. Researchers using National Survey on Drug Use and...

'Godfather of Ecstasy' Dead at 88
 'Godfather 
 of Ecstasy' 
 Dead at 88 
obituary
Jun 3, 2014 12:44 PM CDT

'Godfather of Ecstasy' Dead at 88

Chemist Sasha Shulgin was a 'psychedelic pioneer'

(Newser) - A chemist named Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin has died at age 88, notes Gawker , and while that might not be a household name, his nickname explains the attention: "godfather of ecstasy." Shulgin didn't invent the drug otherwise known as MDMA, but he "rescued the circa-1912 pharmaceutical...

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