The debate about whether the NHS should use magic mushroo...

What’s Happening

So basically Many clinical trials to test the use of psychedelic medicines for conditions such as depression have been underway since 2022 - with surprising results The debate about whether the NHS should use magic mushrooms to treat depression 21 hours ago Save Pallab Ghosh Science Correspondent Save BBC Listen to Pallab read this article Larissa Hope believes psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, helped her through a difficult mental health condition.

Back when she was 17 and starting out as an actress, she was cast in the TV drama Skins, but the new-found fame brought out a before buried trauma. She didnt find antidepressants effective - but that small dose of psilocybin, which she took under clinical supervision, marked a turning point. (shocking, we know)

“When I experienced it, I burst out crying,” she says today.

The Details

“It was the first time in my life I had ever felt a sense of belonging and safety in my body I kept saying, Im home, Im home. ” Now, almost 20 years on, Larissa maintains that it was this, along with therapy, helped her confront suicidal feelings.

Jules Evans, a university researcher, had a different experience when he first took LSD, albeit for recreational purposes, back when he was 18. The trip sent him into what he describes as a “deluded” state.

Why This Matters

“I believed that everyone was talking about me, criticising me, judging me. I thought, Ive permanently damaged myself; Ive permanently took an L my mind. “It was the most terrifying experience of my life.

The scientific community tends to find developments like this significant.

The Bottom Line

He says he felt socially anxious and suffered from panic attacks years after his own experience and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But these two starkly different experiences are at the heart of a dilemma rn facing doctors, regulators and politicians.

Thoughts? Drop them below.