A New York Times article, published ironically on April 20th (4:20), talks about how a patient suffering from a stage 4 metastatic tumor and on the verge of death was given psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) to ease her fear of death.

Pam Sakuda was 55 when she found out she was dying, and there was nothing she could do. She was given 6-14 months to live. She defied everyone’s expectations by living for four years, but during the time she was extremely anxious and depressed, darkening her remaining days here on earth. For many patients that pass their “death-sentence”, this is completely understandable.

As Pam went through a heavy depression, she would search for the help of psychiatrist and researcher Charles Grob, who worked at the U.C.L.A. Medical Center. He was doing a study on psilocybin by giving them to end-stage cancer patients to see if it could reduce their fear of death. When the research was completed in 2008, the results showed that administering psilocybin to terminally ill patients could be done safely, while also reducing the patient’s anxiety and depression about their impending deaths.

The research is still in the early stages, but Grob says they are consistently getting positive good results. Grob and his colleagues are part of a resurgence of scientific interest in the healing power of psychedelics. They are interested in finding out just how powerful and beneficial these “drugs” are, and disproving all that we are taught about them from a young age, just because they are deemed “illegal.” The only reason they are “illegal” is because of economics, but I will save that topic for future posts.

Most people will immediately dismiss this subject as goofy, and new-age, but I urge you to do some research on your own to enlighten yourself about the healing power of psychedelics,

You can take a look at CandleMaker’s post to start.

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