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Can magic mushrooms change political views? That’s what a group of researchers in Europe is trying to find out. Research has already shown that certain psychedelics can alter one’s brain chemistry for the better. But are political views purely neurological? Or are there other factors at play?
Psychedelics and Psychology
A new study by the Psychedelic Research Group at Imperial College London has reached astonishing findings of the therapeutic potentialities of psilocybin, the psychoactive chemical in magic mushrooms.
A first report from the group’s study, released in October, indicated that psilocybin can “reset” the brains of depressed patients. A second report, just published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, indicates that the psychedelic agent may even affect political views.
In the study, seven volunteers suffering from treatment-resistant depression took two oral doses of psilocybin in a clinical setting—10 and 25 milligrams, respectively, one week apart.
The results were measured both by brain scans and personal testimony of the subjects. Psychedelic Research Group leader Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris said, “We have shown for the first time clear changes in brain activity in depressed people treated with psilocybin after failing to respond to conventional treatments.”
He noted that such evidence for such findings has been building for years.
“Based on what we know from various brain imaging studies with psychedelics, as well as taking heed of what people say about their experiences, it may be that psychedelics do indeed ‘reset’ the brain networks associated with depression, effectively enabling them to be lifted from the depressed state,” he said.
Psilocybin and Politics
For the first time, this study looked at psilocybin’s possible effects on political views. Can magic mushrooms