Rigorous Study Backs A Psychedelic Treatment For Major Depression

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November 4th, 2020

The hallucinogenic chemical psilocybin produced in some mushrooms helped people with major depression in a study that also included supportive psychotherapy.

Jahi Chikwendiu / The Washington Post via Getty Images

The substance that makes some mushrooms “magic” also appears to help people with major depressive disorder.

A study of 27 people found that a treatment featuring the hallucinogen psilocybin worked better than the usual antidepressant medications, a team reported Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

“The effect was more than four times greater,” says Alan Davis, an author of the study and a faculty member at both Johns Hopkins University and Ohio State University.

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