Magic mushrooms could replace antidepressants within five years

The head of the Center for Psychedelic Studies at Imperial College (London), Robin Carhart-Harris, offers to prescribe hallucinogenic mushrooms instead of antidepressants, The Independent reported.

According to the source, such a scenario is possible over the next five years,

Carhart-Harris led a study on how psilocybin mushrooms alleviate the symptoms of depression compared to other drugs. The expert notes that this type of fungi has a positive effect on the condition of the patients, without causing them, unlike antidepressants, a sense of inhibition. In addition, antidepressants can cause addiction, and there is a rather high risk of overdose. Meanwhile, hallucinogenic mushrooms can cause powerful psychedelic experiences and are extremely dangerous for people suffering from psychosis.

Researchers are also planning to find out how psilocybin fungi affect eating disorders. However, it is worth noting that psilocybin, which is part of hallucinogenic fungi, is included in the list of narcotic drugs, and its implementation is illegal.