Presentation Description:
Psilocybin-containing mushrooms have been consumed by humans for centuries, or possibly millennia, and have been credited by some researchers as being the agents which helped our ancestors to evolve their consciousness and generate language. There is archeological evidence that psilocybin-containing mushrooms were revered in various cultures around the globe, from Africa to India to Meso-America. The Mazatecs, an indigenous group living in the high sierras of northern Oaxaca, Mexico, continue to steward a wisdom tradition of working with the psilocybin-containing mushrooms, or “niños santos,” for their therapeutic effects in treating ailments of body, mind, spirit, and beyond.

Psilocybin was first elucidated as the active compound in “magic mushrooms” in 1957 by the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann at Sandoz, Ltd. Hofmann went on to synthesize psilocybin in 1958, and it was marketed worldwide in the 1960’s as “Indocybin” for experimental and psychotherapeutic purposes. It is estimated that over 1000 papers exploring the therapeutic potential of psychedelic agents were published in the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s before most psychedelics, including psilocybin, were put into Schedule I by the DEA, effectively ending the clinical and scientific research for many decades.

Current clinical trials sponsored by the Heffter Institute, Usona, Johns Hopkins University, New York University, Yale University, Imperial College London, and several other prestigious institutions are exploring the therapeutic value of psilocybin-assisted therapies with very promising results. Psilocybin is specifically being investigated as an adjunct to therapy for patients experiencing terminal illness-related anxiety, major depressive disorder, problematic substance use, OCD, and more. Not only are these studies demonstrating safety and efficacy, the long term follow up data has shown that these therapies have conferred lasting benefits including greater access to emotions, perspective around life meaning, and life-changing insights for many study participants. Clinical benefit is observed after only one or a few treatments, demonstrating a novel approach in the field of psychopharmacology.

Psilocybin is also being investigated to explore the relationship between the psychedelic experience and spirituality, as well as for research into the physiology of brain activity, cognition, and behavior. The mechanisms of action by which psilocybin imparts its unique therapeutic effects are being investigated by studies on pharmacokinetics, subjective phenomenology, neuroimaging and more. A review of this research, alongside the basic pharmacology of psilocybin, will highlight the therapeutic potentials of this unique molecule, pointing toward the need for more research and clinical applications.


After the presentation, participants will be able to confidently:

• Understand basic neuroscience, pharmacology, and proposed therapeutic mechanisms of action of psilocybin.
• Describe the basic history of psilocybin-containing mushroom use in indigenous contexts.
• Demonstrate familiarity with past and current clinical trials exploring the therapeutic potentials of psilocybin-assisted therapies.
• Review the outcomes of select clinical trials and long term follow up data with case studies, demonstrating the overall safety and efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapies.