The solution to alcohol addiction might just lie in magic mushrooms

Through Laura Goldstein

A recent clinical study led by NYU Langone found that psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, reduced heavy drinking by 83%, compared to a 51% reduction in those receiving an antihistamine placebo.

Psychedelic treatment for alcoholism became popular in the 1960s and 1970s when LSD studies showed that the substance reduced alcohol abuse. However, this possibility has not yet been considered.

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The Results: Psilocybin helps reduce alcohol cravings

The randomized study of 93 alcohol-dependent participants showed that those who received two doses of psilocybin along with psychotherapy saw an 83 percent reduction in heavy drinking habits over eight months, while the subgroup offered an antihistamine placebo with psychotherapy showed a 51 percent reduction.

More specifically, the participants drank alcohol for an average of 60 days in the 12 weeks leading up to the study. Of those, about half were heavy drinking days — meaning five or more drinks a day for a man and four or more for a woman.

All study participants began drinking less after the first four weeks of therapy; the proportion of heavy drinking days fell from half to a quarter. But that number dropped even further for those taking psilocybin.

At the end of the study, the psilocybin group drank heavily on about 10% of the days they drank, while the antihistamine group still drank heavily on nearly a quarter of the days they drank. In addition, daily alcohol consumption was also lower in the psilocybin group.

All 93 participants received 12 psychotherapy sessions before, between and after psilocybin administration.

It’s important to note that the study found no serious adverse events in participants receiving psilocybin.

More evidence for the effectiveness of psilocybin? 48% of the participants treated with the psychedelic stopped drinking alcohol completely after the eight months, compared to 24% in the placebo group.

Comments and further steps

Commenting on the study results, senior author and NYU psychedelics researcher Michael Bogenschutz said, “Our findings strongly suggest that psilocybin therapy is a promising tool for treating alcohol use disorder, a complex illness that has proven to be notoriously difficult to manage.” proved.”

Bogenschutz is also the author of a 2015 study on the same topic. The study found that after receiving a single dose of psilocybin, the 10 alcohol-dependent participants showed a 40 to 60% decrease in alcohol use and addiction, and that those who had more intense trips benefited more from the treatment.

RELATED: Psilocybin has no adverse effects on cognition or emotional functioning, study finds

Study participant Jon Kostas, who received psilocybin, had previously tried all sorts of treatments, including Alcoholics Anonymous, rehab, and visits to various specialists. “I would say it saved my life. This eliminated all my cravings to the point that it cured my alcoholism. And I no longer categorize myself as an alcoholic.”

The NYU study fills a gap in understanding of psilocybin’s effectiveness in treating alcohol use disorder, a condition that affects millions of people worldwide and for which other psychedelics are also being tested as plausible treatment options.

It’s still unclear why psychedelics help people drink less: combining psilocybin with therapy is key to the treatment approach, so it’s not possible to determine what effects the psychedelic would have alone, nor why or how the combination ultimately help might work.

“We just need to do some mechanistic studies to figure out what’s actually going on. And the truth is, we don’t know,” Bogenschutz said. Nonetheless, he postulates that these substances could help the brain change and grow in areas that affect thinking and behavior, which in turn could make people more open and receptive to therapies.

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Magic mushrooms are believed to have the ability not only to treat alcohol addiction, but also other substance abuse problems.

“As research into psychedelic treatment increases, we are finding more possible uses for mental illness. Beyond alcohol use disorder, this approach may prove useful in treating other addictions, such as cigarette smoking and cocaine and opioid abuse,” said Bogenschutz.

The team is currently preparing to conduct a similar but larger study to further demonstrate that magic mushrooms can and should be used in diagnostic and clinical settings to cure various types of addiction. “If these effects persist in future studies, psilocybin will represent a real breakthrough in the treatment of alcohol use disorders,” concluded Bogenschutz.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.