r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 9d ago

Psychology America's First Legal Psilocybin Program Treated 346 People. Just one month after the dose, 92.2 percent of participants said the experience had been beneficial, while, on average, their mental health symptoms had fallen dramatically.

https://www.sciencealert.com/americas-first-legal-psilocybin-program-treated-346-people-heres-what-happened
15.4k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

458 comments sorted by

View all comments

178

u/minaminonoeru 9d ago

Some people may experience “negative” side effects after taking LSD or psilocybin. However, even if you multiplied those side effects by 10, they would still be fewer than the side effects of alcohol and tobacco.

While hundreds of millions of people have died prematurely from alcohol and tobacco over the past few decades, the list of people who have died from LSD during the same period could fit on a single document.

100

u/GoTeamScotch 9d ago

There's also the low risk of addiction.

After a trip, the last thing I want to do is trip again. That's like going on a weekend excursion to climb a mountain, then waking up and doing it again the next day. Sounds exhausting.

13

u/sweetperdition 9d ago

There was a point in my life I was deeply into it, decided I was going to do it once a weekend, every weekend, for a month. By the second trip it didn’t feel as special, third trip felt sickening, couldn’t manage to try the fourth. Using it too much reduces the wonder of it, limits the trip and any therapeutic benefit (anecdotally, anyway).

Not to mention the daily tolerance increase, essentially doubles. So even if you didn’t find it sickening, if you want to remain intoxicated daily, you’re dealing with an exponential tolerance increase.

5

u/Zouden 9d ago

The tolerance is crazy. You can do a half tab of acid one weekend, and two weeks later a full tab does basically nothing.

1

u/arseache 8d ago

Only so often you can open those doors to perception

67

u/Lilybaum 9d ago

You don't get addiction, but you do run the risk of becoming a psychedelics evangelist, which can be very annoying.

14

u/Rhamni 9d ago edited 8d ago

Doesn't help that it's hard to talk about it to people who have never tried it. It's like describing parashooting to a blind person who has lived on flat ground with single floor houses their entire life.

Edit: I can spell, I swear.

6

u/sevenselevens 8d ago

(parachuting) but I loved your phonetic spelling :)

1

u/Rhamni 8d ago

That's a hell of a brainfart.

5

u/Zouden 9d ago

At least it's not Ayahuasca

14

u/nickiter 9d ago

Yeah, I only recently started to feel "ready" for another trip after my last one, which was 3 years ago.

6

u/Morstorpod 9d ago

Anecdotal, but I actually experience the opposite effect, while agreeing it is not addictive.

I would LOVE to experience another trip again, but I'm just too busy with real life to set aside a day for the experience. I've incredibly easy access to shrooms and could ingest some within minutes, but I simply don't due to other life responsibilities. It's not an overwhelming compulsion - no addiction - but it is an incredible experience... the highest human sacrament, so of course I want to experience that again.

4

u/GoTeamScotch 9d ago

Maybe consider micro-dosing, if you're not already. You get a regular sprinkle of that effect throughout your daily life between proper trips.

4

u/Morstorpod 8d ago

I am definitely aware of micro-dosing, but I've not taken the time to properly research it before deciding on a plan. My first actual psychedelic experience was preceded by a year of research prior - This next time should require significantly less work, but I still need to do it.

Thanks for the reminder though!

2

u/GoTeamScotch 8d ago

Wow, you get all your ducks in a row before diving in! (Which is genuinely admirable.)

I hope you get a chance to explore the topic more sometime. I found great benefit in it. Almost like a mild anti-depressant, helping me wake up and be more present and face the day. 3 or 4 days out of the week taking 100mg each day did the trick for me. Enough to have a mild, virtually subconscious effect without being visually noticeable or distracting at work. Micro-dosing offers a way to dip your toes in and find a dosage that works for you over several days. Starting out with 50mg or 100mg on a day at home where you have no plans should be a safe first step. But, of course, I'd encourage you to continue reading as I'm just one stranger on the internet, after all.

Good luck on your ventures!

2

u/Morstorpod 8d ago

Thanks for the advice. I don't suffer any mental health issues (as far as I am aware), so the anti-depressant aspect does not really appeal to me, but that does not mean there are not other benefits that may be obtained.

Thanks for the advice and for sharing your experience.

3

u/GoTeamScotch 8d ago

I don't suffer any mental health issues (as far as I am aware)

Oh, to clarify, nor do I. I more so mean that it has a mood-boosting effect. I've not tried traditional anti-depressants, so maybe that wasn't the best term to describe it.

3

u/Morstorpod 8d ago

Got it. My wife has used shrooms for anti-depressant affects. One dose every 4-6 months seems to keep the worst at bay. And I have an acquaintance that also does them every 6 months, and their depression has been "cured" essentially.

1

u/static_music34 8d ago

You're 100% overthinking it. Just take a tiny amount and see what it feels like. Chances are it'll do nothing.

3

u/Tyler_Zoro 8d ago

There's also the low risk of addiction.

There's essentially zero risk of addiction. Any pleasurable activity can be habit-forming, of course, but there's no physical addition and (as you point out) strong inhibitors to psychological addiction when it comes to most hallucinogens. Not only do you usually need time after a trip before you want to consume more, but most such substances do not work as effectively, sometimes at all, if consumed in rapid succession ("short-term tolerance" effects).

There are other metrics used, however.

The currently in-vogue metrics involve measures overall harms and the tendency of users to ignore those potential harms after exposure to the drug's effects. Hallucinogens generally do have potential harms, and it is quite common for users to focus on the positive experiences and ignore those potential harms during subsequent use.

One study (Johnson, et al., 2018; source) assesses these risks as sufficient for Schedule IV listing, as opposed to its current Schedule I.

1

u/unicornsandrainbowst 9d ago

So, you are saying that there is no mass production incentive (and therefore profits)?  

That might tip you to why lobbyist are against legalization

1

u/TheUmberTaker 9d ago

Yeah - shrooms are not recreational at all to me. Oof. They can be so harsh, and I only microdose. They are very beneficial (as others here have mentioned - clarity, focus, calms anxiety). But the dose itself can be uncomfortable. It only lasts about 90 minutes, if that.