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A study published today in the Journal of Psychopharmacology by researchers from Johns Hopkins University says that hallucinogenic mushrooms may be good for the soul.

Participants in the Hopkins study were administered psilocybin, a hallucinogenic substance found in some mushrooms, in a laboratory setting in 2002. More than a year later, these participants reported a lasting effect. More than 60 percent of the participants reported a moderate or significant increase in life satisfaction (including things like being more creative, self-confident, flexible, and optimistic), even 14 months after the experience. Sixty-seven percent of them rated it as one of the five most spiritually significant experiences of their lives.

A 66-year-old woman who participated in the study said: “I feel more centered in who I am and what I’m doing. I don’t seem to have those self-doubts like I used to have. I feel much more grounded [and feel that] we are all connected.”

With further research, the study’s authors hope that psilocybin can be used to treat alcoholism and drug dependence, as well as to help seriously ill patients in coping with psychological distress. The Hopkins team is currently enrolling cancer patients in an FDA-approved trial using psilocybin as part of the patients’ psychiatric counseling.

However, lead author Roland Griffiths said: “Is this God in a pill? Absolutely not.”

And my disclaimer: Psilocybin is illegal. Researchers also caution against interpreting the results as a recommendation to use hallucinogenic drugs outside of a controlled laboratory setting.

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