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Podcasts Take Two
Medical researchers enlist Psilocybin to help fight addiction
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May 20, 2014
Listen • 4:46
Medical researchers enlist Psilocybin to help fight addiction
Psilocybin — the naturally-occurring drug found in "magic mushrooms" — is showing promise in the treatment of alcoholism and other addictions, say researchers, who have conducted scientific studies with the hallucinogen.
In this April 13, 2010 photo, one gram of psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms, is seen on a scale at New York University in New York.
In this April 13, 2010 photo, one gram of psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms, is seen on a scale at New York University in New York.
(
Seth Wenig/AP
)

Psilocybin — the naturally-occurring drug found in "magic mushrooms" — is showing promise in the treatment of alcoholism and other addictions, say researchers, who have conducted scientific studies with the hallucinogen.

This is Part Two of our Psychedelic Science series. Click here for Part One, here for Part Three, and here for Part Four.

It may seem counterintuitive to treat addiction with a drug that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) classifies as one that carries a high risk of addiction.  

But psilocybin — the naturally-occurring drug found in "magic mushrooms" —   is showing promise in the treatment of alcoholism and other addictions, say researchers, who have conducted scientific studies with the hallucinogen.

KPCC's Stephanie O'Neill reports.