1. Introduction

Psilocybin is a type of psychedelic that is used when microdosing. Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic substance that grows from regions in Europe, South America, Mexico, and the United States and come in the form of mushrooms. The mushrooms containing the psilocybin substance are known as magic mushrooms. In “Psychedelics as Medicines”, by DE Nichols et al., an experiment was done on 12 patients who were suffering from depression and anxiety that resulted from cancer. Out of the 12 patients, 6 were administered with psilocybin while the rest were given a placebo. “Psilocybin for Depression and Anxiety”, by John D McCorvy et al., also uses psilocybin on half of the subjects and used a placebo on the rest. However, “Psilocybin Produces Substantial and Sustained Decreases in Depression”, by Roland R Griffiths et al., discusses and conducts a double-blinded placebo-controlled experiment. Half of the patients are administered with a high dosage of psilocybin while the remaining were administered a low dosage of the substance that was used as the placebo. Psilocybin, being a psychedelic used in microdosing, can be used as a way to treat patients with illnesses in the modern world. In cancer patients, the depressive and anxiety symptoms they face can be decreased with the usage of psilocybin.

2. Patients Administered with Psilocybin 

Patients with life-threatening or terminal illnesses were prone to developing anxiety and depression due to stress both from pending diagnoses and/or mortality (McCorvy, Olsen, & Roth 2016). With illnesses, whether it be long-term or short term, patients are often hit with symptoms of anxiety and depressive thoughts. With cancer patients, the extensive stay at hospitals, constant check-ups and treatments, and diagnoses cause them to spiral in a depressive state of mind. Using cancer patients as the subject, psilocybin was administered in an attempt to see whether or not it had a positive effect on decreasing anxiety and depressive moods. In “Psychedelics as Medicines”, 12 patients were tested in an experiment to see if psilocybin either decreased their anxiety and depressive moods or did nothing at all. “More recently, Grob et al.5 administered 0.2 mg/kg oral psilocybin vs. niacin placebo to 12 patients with advanced‐stage cancer having a diagnosis of anxiety related to their cancer,” (Griffiths, et al. 2016). Grob provided 0.2mg of psilocybin to 6 of his patients that had advanced-stage cancer. A low dosage was administered because the effects of psilocybin on cancer patients were unknown, thus Grob started with a low amount to test it out. Since it was a double-blinded placebo-controlled experiment, the rest of the patients were given a niacin placebo. The placebo was given in order to find out whether or not the psychedelic had an effect––they would use the placebo to compare the results.  “Griffiths et al. (2016) used a low dose (1–3 mg) of psilocybin,” (McCorvy, Olsen, & Roth 2016). In this double-blinded placebo-controlled experiment, a low dosage was used as a way to start off the administering of the psilocybin. The dosage amount was 1-3 mg, a little higher than what Grob used in his study, but still low enough to test on cancer patients. Both studies used a low dosage of psilocybin, however a higher dose of 30 mg and a lower dosage of 3 mg of psilocybin (placebo) were given first in Griffith’s experiment (Johnson, Nichols, & DE Nichols 2016). In Griffith’s first initial set up the experiment, there was no knowledge on how much psilocybin should be administered. The 30 mg of psilocybin given to the first batch of patients resulted in one of the patients vomiting because of how high the dosage was. Because they were unaware of how much psilocybin should be administered at first, they put a patient at risk. Psilocybin is a psychedelic that is highly potent, so Griffith lowered the dosage amount after realizing that the original amount was too strong. 

3. Results of Experiment

After successfully administering psilocybin to the cancer patients, most patients revealed that their depressive moods and anxiety decreased from the experiment. The dosages of psilocybin had a positive effect on the cancer patients and lasted even after the experiment was over. “Participants attributed to the high-dose experience positive changes in attitudes about life, self, mood, relationships and spirituality, with over 80% endorsing moderately or higher increased well-being or life satisfaction,” (Griffiths, et al. 2016). At the start of the experiment, the cancer patients were experiencing symptoms of depression, thoughts of suicide, and high levels of anxiety. After taking dosages of psilocybin on a regular basis, these symptoms began to diminish, and the patients began to feel more happier and less constricted. Their depressive moods and anxiety attacks lessened as they began to take this psychedelic. In addition to having a positive mindset and feeling more happier than usual, 8 out of the 12 patients achieved complete remission within the 1^st week, meaning that after taking psilocybin, there were no signs of cancer present. (Johnson, Nichols, & DE Nichols 2016). However, when given the placebo in the first trial run with the cancer patients, many revealed that there were reductions in their depression and anxiety-related symptoms (McCorvy, Olsen, & Roth 2016). The psilocybin was given to the patients during the second trial run, which shows the patients thought that the placebo in the first administration was the psychedelic and thus felt that their depressive moods were reducing after taking it. There were two separate control compounds––a subclinical amount of psilocybin and another control that was not named. It isn’t accurate enough to see whether the psilocybin placebo decreased their depressive moods, but after the second trial run, it was reported it had a significant change on their mental state.

4. Conclusion

All in all, psilocybin can be used as a way to alleviate the depressive and anxiety symptoms, but on cancer patients. Griffith’s original experiment had a high dosage of psilocybin that resulted in one of the patients vomiting. Due to the dosage being significantly high, he lowered the dosage to 1-3 mg so none of the cancer patients were at risk. After understanding that a high dosage could potentially harm the patients, all the experiments used low amounts of psilocybin instead. With the administering of psilocybin on a regular basis of 6 months, patients revealed that their depressive moods and anxiety attacks decreased. Taking the psychedelic made them have a positive outlook and a healthy state of mind. Even after the experiment was finished, patients still felt at ease with their symptoms. Psilocybin can be used as a way to treat illnesses in the modern world, but more experiments and research need to be done regarding other illnesses. 

Works Cited

Griffiths, Roland R, et al. “Psilocybin Produces Substantial and Sustained Decreases in 

Depression and Anxiety in Patients with Life-Threatening Cancer: A Randomized Double-Blind Trial.” Journal of Psychopharmacology, vol. 30, no. 12, 2016, pp. 1181–1197., doi:10.1177/0269881116675513.

Johnson, MW, et al. “Psychedelics as Medicines: An Emerging New Paradigm.” American 

Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 26 Dec. 2016, ascpt.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cpt.557?casa_token=WvddMaCORi8AAAAA:7Orpm2F7wDjEtwpdOh_Aa4C-QObUy7tPUNZ91YBHsEKIHnU8u6Afvm5mliNmgK4O51edJrlL303hBA.

McCorvy, John D, et al. “Psilocybin for Depression and Anxiety Associated with Life-

Threatening Illnesses.” Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2016, pp. 1–2. Sage, doi:10.1177/0269881116675771.