Psychedelics help people with alcoholism drink less
by Nicole Wetsman from The Verge - All Posts on (#62VR3)
Psilocybin is the compound in hallucinogenic mushrooms. A combination of psychedelics and therapy appears to help people with alcoholism cut down on the number of days per month they drink heavily, according to a new study. Researchers used psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms, to treat patients over eight months and saw a dramatic improvement in participants' drinking habits.
Using psychedelics as treatments for alcoholism was a popular idea in the 1960s and 1970s, and studies on LSD found that it reduced alcohol misuse. But the approach went quiet in the decades after, according to an editorial published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry alongside the new study.
The new research marks a rekindling of interest," the authors of the editorial wrote. The study included...