PSYCHEDELIC drugs might still invoke images of The Beatles, Woodstock and flower power – but one day they could be prescribed by a doctor. An emerging area of science is focusing on the idea that a “ magic mushroom ” trip can be beneficial for people with severe mental health issues. 3 Magic mushrooms could transform medicine and be used to treat everything from depression to gambling and addiction Credit: Getty 3 Researchers at Imperial College London published findings of a study last month Credit: Thomas Angus/Imperial College London Psilocybin is the active ingredient in “shrooms”, which when taken recreationally, gives people the giggles, hallucinations and a sense of awe at their surroundings.
But evidence suggests it can help us confront our deepest fears and traumas, and get the brain firing in novel ways. Psilocybin is an illegal Class A drug, which makes it difficult and expensive for the small number of research centres in the UK to study it. And one of the biggest barriers to the drug being taken seriously is its reputation.
read more on health GUT FEELING Stitch-like pain to loo changes - signs of common disease you've never heard of HARD LUCK Record number of men going to hospital with painful erections that won't go down Sam Lawes of the Centre for Evidence Based Drug Policy, told Sun Health: “It’s seen as a recreational drug and a party drug for festivals, but in terms of research we should treat it like a medicine. “If it’s not an effective .