For Cancer Patients, Psilocybin Brings Much-needed Relief

D-brief
By Nathaniel Scharping
Dec 1, 2016 9:18 PMOct 15, 2019 4:32 PM
psilocybe_semilanceata_6576
Fruit bodies of the fungus Psilocybe semilanceata. (Credit: Alan Rockefeller/Wikimedia Commons)

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Two recent studies of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in so-called magic mushrooms, contend that the chemical can act as a powerful remedy for cancer patients suffering from depression and anxiety.

The two studies, one from New York University and one from Johns Hopkins University, are the largest and most rigorous studies of psilocybin and depression in decades, and they report that the anti-depressant effects of the drug can last for months, offering relief to chronically ill patients for whom traditional treatments have failed to work.

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