Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
This is Part Four of our Psychedelic Science series. Click here for Part One, here for Part Two, and here for Part Three.
Psilocybin is the active ingredient that puts the magic in "magic mushrooms." And new research suggests it has tremendous potential as a treatment for severe anxiety caused by a serious illness or terminal diagnosis, according to researchers in the field.
But look up psilocybin on the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) website, and you’ll find this natural hallucinogen classified as a "Schedule One" drug. In government speak that means one that's dangerous and "without any accepted medical value."
But patients who have taken psilocybin as part of anxiety studies tell a different story.
KPCC's Stephanie O'Neill reports.