cannabisnews.com: Magic Mushrooms May Ease Anxiety of Cancer: Study
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Magic Mushrooms May Ease Anxiety of Cancer: Study
Posted by CN Staff on September 06, 2010 at 18:30:16 PT
By Julie Steenhuysen
Source: Reuters
Chicago -- The hallucinogen psilocybin -- known by the street name magic mushrooms -- may help ease the anxiety that often accompanies late-stage cancer, U.S. researchers said on Monday.Cancer patients given a moderate dose of psilocybin -- a hallucinogen with effects similar to LSD -- were measurably less depressed six months after a single dose compared with a placebo. Patients seemed somewhat less anxious, they reported in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
The pilot study of 12 cancer patients was designed to prove that hallucinogenic drugs could be studied safely as a way to relieve the distress of advanced cancer.It revives a promising field of study lasting from the 1950s to the early 1970s that suggested some patients experienced powerful and sustained improvement in mood and anxiety from hallucinogens.Researchers said the studies were abandoned in the early 1970s when hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD -- lysergic acid diethylamide -- became widely used on the streets, leading to strict federal laws regulating their use."Forty to 45 years ago, the culture was going through tremendous upheaval. These compounds were associated with a very politically active counterculture," said Dr. Charles Grob of Harbor-University of California Los Angeles Medical Center and the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute."It was something of a public health crisis. Everything had to be shut down," Grob said in a telephone interview.Federal law prohibits the use of the magic mushroom compound for any purpose. If it proves effective among late-stage cancer patients, U.S. regulators would need to make special accommodation for its use, Grob said. 'Times Have Changed' Grob's study looked to see whether psilocybin could help ease some of the anxiety of dying cancer patients.During the treatment phase of the study, patients were given a moderate dose of psilocybin and watched closely for six hours. They were told to lie still with their eyes closed as they wore headphones and listened to soothing music.During the placebo phase, each of the 12 patients received a dose of niacin -- a vitamin that raises levels of good cholesterol -- and given the same instructions.The treatments were given in random order and neither the doctors nor the patients were told which compound was administered.All the volunteers tolerated the treatment sessions well, with no signs of severe anxiety or a "bad trip." Most patients showed a trend of improvement in their symptoms of anxiety and at six months, and there was a statistically significant improvement on one depression scale.Grob said the pilot study proved the drug could be studied safely in cancer patients. He said two other academic research institutions in the United States -- Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and New York University -- were doing similar studies using a slightly higher dose."Times have changed and it's now possible to pick up this research model again," he said.As many as 14 U.S. states and the District of Columbia allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and California voters in November will vote on whether to legalize pot."I think that is an indication that there has been a very strong shift within society to move away from the old cultural bias and politics of the process many years ago. I think there is a greater capacity to be open-minded and let science dictate our conclusion, not politics," Grob said.Editing by Peter CooneySource: Reuters (Wire)Author:  Julie SteenhuysenPublished: September 7, 2010Copyright: 2010 Thomson ReutersCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on September 07, 2010 at 10:54:04 PT
JoeCitizen 
Oh my that was good. Thank you so much.
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Comment #10 posted by JoeCitizen on September 07, 2010 at 08:46:15 PT
Grob's cowardice
This (so-called) Doctor, Charles Grob, sounds like a real coward. He knows psychedelics can have positive therapeutic/clinical effects, but thinks it's fine that people suffered for over 4 decades because of fear of "a very politically active counterculture.""It was something of a public health crisis. Everything had to be shut down," Grob said in a telephone interview.Oh my, the hippies are taking the same things we are investigating. SHUT IT DOWN, SHUT IT DOWN, SHUT IT DOWN!!!Such courage!! Such a strong defender and gatekeeper of medicine! (Rolls eyes.)As with so many ideas, movements, and products, the US could have led the way on this (therapeutic psychedelics), if not for the cowardice of the powers-that-be.*
*
*On a lighter note, it made me think of this classic SNL sketch:Peter (on phone): Uh.. I, uh.. I took some acid.. I'm afraid to leave my apartment, and I can't wear any clothes.. and the ceiling is dripping, and uh.. I, uh..Walter Cronkite: Well, thank you very much for calling, sir..President Jimmy Carter: Just a minute, Walter, this guy's in trouble. I think I better try to talk him down. Peter?Peter (on phone): Yeah..?President Jimmy Carter: Peter, what did the acid look like?Peter (on phone): They were these little orange pills.President Jimmy Carter: Were they barrel shaped?Peter (on phone): Uh.. yes.President Jimmy Carter: Okay, right, you did some orange sunshine, Peter.Peter (on phone): Very good of you to know that, sir.President Jimmy Carter: How long ago did you take it, Peter?Peter (on phone): Uh.. I don't know. I can't read my watch.President Jimmy Carter: Alright, Peter, just listen. Everything is going to be fine. You're very high right now. You will probably be that way for about five more hours. Try taking some vitamin B complex, vitamin C complex.. if you have a beer, go ahead and drink it..Peter (on phone): Okay..President Jimmy Carter: Just remember you're a living organism on this planet, and you're very safe. You've just taken a heavy drug. Relax, stay inside and listen to some music, Okay? Do you have any Allman Brothers?Peter (on phone): Yes, I do, sir. Everything is okay, huh Jimmy?President Jimmy Carter: It sure is, Peter. You know, I'm against drug use myself, but I'm not going to lay that on you right now. Just mellow out the best you can, okay?Peter (on phone): Okay..!
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on September 07, 2010 at 06:17:21 PT
John Tyler 
I agree with you.
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Comment #8 posted by Paint with light on September 07, 2010 at 00:47:06 PT
Canis420
I had a close call with a campfire once but it was more the result of alcohol and the fact my ex-wife and I had just split.There was a combination of Talwin and Valium that two of my cousins used to take.Seems like it was referred to as Ts and blues or something like that.I experimented with a lot of stuff but always came back to the herb.Most other things seemed like either a numbing or overstimulating drug. I have always liked the awakening properties of cannabis.I haven't regretted it at all.Both of those cousins are dead now and we were all born within a year of each other. One overdosed on prescription meds or H a few years ago. The other died mostly as a result of alcohol, cigarettes, a wild life, and a few car wrecks. He probably would have lived to be 95 if he had stuck to cannabis.Legal like alcohol.
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Comment #7 posted by Canis420 on September 06, 2010 at 23:56:54 PT:
PWL # 4
I took some Talwin once while camping in Canada. I almost fell in the fire while tryin to cook a sausage on a stick...was a small fire and would not of injured meself much. I enjoyed that drug once!  Cannabis rules but that was fun too!
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Comment #6 posted by John Tyler on September 06, 2010 at 22:18:30 PT
hippiephobia
I really think the people who think they are the “authorties” are afraid that if patients and others can get their hands on mushrooms or psilocybin they will turn into hippies. They will grow their hair out, wear bell bottom jeans, and tie dyed shirts, and talk about developing their spiritual side.
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Comment #5 posted by John Tyler on September 06, 2010 at 22:07:21 PT
psilocybin treatment
“During the treatment phase of the study, patients were given a moderate dose of psilocybin and watched closely for six hours. They were told to lie still with their eyes closed as they wore headphones and listened to soothing music.” I guess that is better than nothing if you are not feeling very well, but it seems a little boring. I might suggest taking them out into a garden on a nice afternoon and groove on the beauty of nature and how in the true reality of things we are all one with nature alive or not. Our bodies may grow tired and pass a way, like all things do on the material plane, but our energy merges back into the universe as easily as a drop of water merges back into the ocean. Play them some Byrds, Beatles, early Steve Miller, George Harrison, CSN, Santna, and some Moody Blues to set the vibes. Peace, love and understanding will come to them and they will not be afraid. The article didn’t even mention the beautiful pastel hallucinations, the places their minds' went, or the wonderful way it made them feel, that go along with the total experience. Are you experienced? Have you ever been experienced? It sounds so mellow and wonderful doesn't it? I’m glad these dummies are coming to their senses. What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding now?
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Comment #4 posted by Paint with light on September 06, 2010 at 21:41:15 PT
another article and Schedule 1-5
Another article on the same topic but with a different slant especially at the end.http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-magic-mushrooms-20100907,0,4230087.story?track=rssI looked up the drug schedules.http://www.tsbp.state.tx.us/consumer/broch2.htmI think mushrooms are up there in schedule 1.What gets to me are some of the ones in schedule 3-5....like hydrocodone, Valium, Darvon, talwin, paregoric, xanax.Legal like all those, but more so....Legal like alcohol.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on September 06, 2010 at 19:23:09 PT
Hope
The times are changing. People are learning to understand that what many people believed isn't wrong. I only did mushrooms one time in my life but it was a mind opening experience and valued highly in my memory. If that is what they call a flashback then thank God for them.
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on September 06, 2010 at 19:09:42 PT
Weeping 
at the idiocy and stupidity that has been, and is, what our so called "Mainstream" prohibitive culture and "Civilization" has been all about for so many years now.With their overwrought authoritarian ways and their stupid, ignorant fears and hatreds, they have cost so many, so much.I truly hope times truly are changing to something better. A lot better. 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 06, 2010 at 18:34:53 PT
Just a Comment
I think it's time for change and for people to see what so many knew for such a long time.
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