Psychedelic Drugs News

June 25, 2025

Top Headlines

Single Psilocybin Trip Delivers Two Years of Depression Relief for Cancer Patients

June 16, 2025 — Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, might just revolutionize how depression and anxiety are treated in cancer patients. In a groundbreaking trial, a single dose combined with ...

Cannabis Use Among Seniors Surges 46% in Two Years--Study Reveals

June 7, 2025 — Cannabis use among older Americans has climbed dramatically, with 7% of adults 65 and older now reporting recent use. This rise isn't just in numbers but also in diversity older users today are more likely to be women, college-educated, and ...

Clinical Research on Psychedelics Gets a Boost from New Study

June 3, 2025 — As psychedelics gain traction as potential treatments for mental health disorders, an international study stands to improve the rigor and reliability of clinical ...

Record High: Study Finds Growing Cannabis Use Among Older Adults

June 3, 2025 — Marijuana use among older adults in the US has reached a new high, with 7 percent of adults aged 65 and over who report using it in the past month, according to a recent ...

Student Discovers Long-Awaited Mystery Fungus Sought by LSD's Inventor

June 2, 2025 — Making a discovery with the potential for innovative applications in pharmaceutical development, a microbiology student has found a long sought-after fungus that produces effects similar to the semisynthetic drug LSD, which is used to treat ...

Ancient Andes Society Used Hallucinogens to Strengthen Social Order

May 5, 2025 — Snuff tubes uncovered at Chavin de Huantar in Peru reveal how leaders used mystical experiences to cement their ...

Psychedelics Can Reverse Neuroimmune Interactions That Boost Fear

Apr. 23, 2025 — A new study suggests that fear and the immune system are connected in previously unknown ways. Researchers found that the immune system can influence stress and fear behaviors by changing how brain cells ...

More Americans Are Using Psilocybin -- Especially Those With Mental Health Conditions, Study Shows

Apr. 22, 2025 — Use of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic chemical found in what is known as 'magic mushrooms,' has increased significantly nationwide since 2019, according to a new ...

LSD Analogue With Potential for Treating Schizophrenia Developed

Apr. 14, 2025 — Researchers have developed a new, neuroplasticity-promoting drug closely related to LSD that harnesses the psychedelic's therapeutic power with reduced hallucinogenic ...

Compound Harnesses Cannabis' Pain-Relieving Properties Without Side Effects

Mar. 5, 2025 — Researchers have developed a compound that relieves pain in mice but doesn't affect the brain, thereby avoiding mind-altering side effects and abuse potential. The custom-designed molecule, derived from cannabis, may provide an alternative to ...

Researchers Achieve Total Synthesis of Ibogaine

Feb. 6, 2025 — Researchers have achieved total chemical synthesis of the psychoactive compound ibogaine and its analogs from pyridine. The discovery will make it easier to explore the therapeutic possibilities of ...

Psychedelic Drug Therapy May Address Mental Health Concerns in People With Cancer and Addiction

Jan. 2, 2025 — One or two doses of psilocybin, a compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, may improve the mental health of cancer patients when accompanied by psychotherapy, a new study suggests. A second new study ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:13pm EDT

Discouraged Zebrafish Help Reveal How Ketamine Works in the Brain

Dec. 17, 2024 — By taking advantage of a 'giving up' behavior exhibited by zebrafish, the ability to image the fish's entire brain, and a unique virtual reality system, a team of researchers found where ketamine ...

Egyptians Drank Hallucinogenic Cocktails in Ancient Rituals, Study Confirms

Nov. 15, 2024 — Scholars for the first time identified chemical signatures of the components of a liquid concoction contained in a Bes mug. A new technique helped identify a sample flavored with honey, sesame seeds, ...

Exposure to Marijuana in the Womb May Increase Risk of Addiction to Opioids Later in Life, Study Finds

Nov. 15, 2024 — Evidence has been growing to suggest that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, poses risks to the developing ...

Anti-Anxiety and Hallucination-Like Effects of Psychedelics Mediated by Distinct Neural Circuits

Nov. 14, 2024 — New research suggests that it could be possible to separate treatment from hallucinations when developing new drugs based on psychedelics. The ...

Clinical Trial Shows Synthetic Cannabis Reduces Agitation in Alzheimer's Disease

Oct. 7, 2024 — Researchers show that a pill form of the drug dronabinol, an FDA-approved synthetic version of marijuana's main ingredient, THC, reduces agitation in ...

Are Auditory Magic Tricks Possible for a Blind Audience?

Oct. 4, 2024 — Magic tricks make the impossible seem possible. Magicians have long captivated audiences with visual tricks, such as pulling a bunny from a hat or sawing someone in half, but tricks that rely on ...

Psychedelics Excite Cells in Hippocampus to Reduce Anxiety

Sep. 24, 2024 — A classic psychedelic, similar to LSD, psilocybin and mescalin, was found to activate a cell type in the brain that silences other neighboring neurons, a result that provides insight into how such ...

When Serotonin Dims the Light

Sep. 20, 2024 — Signals in our brain are not always processed in the same way: certain receptors modulate these mechanisms, influencing our mood, perception, and behavior in various ways. One of these is the 5-HT2A ...

Study Explores Access to Psychedelics for Therapeutic Use

Sep. 16, 2024 — Feeling safe and comfortable are key when discussing your health and wellbeing with your primary care provider. However, that feeling of comfort and safety can't be taken for granted among many ...

'Out-of-Body' Research Could Lead to New Ways to Promote Social Harmony

Sep. 9, 2024 — Out-of-body experiences, such as near-death experiences, can have a 'transformative' effect on people's ability to experience empathy and connect with others, new research ...

Study Explains Why Laws Are Written in an Incomprehensible Style

Aug. 19, 2024 — A new study on 'legalese' suggests this convoluted language acts to convey a sense of authority in legal documents. The researchers also found that even non-lawyers use legalese when asked ...

New Method Tracks How Psychedelics Affect Neurons in Minutes

Aug. 5, 2024 — A new tool to track the neurons and molecules activated in the brain by psychedlic drugs could help scientists unlock the benefits of psychedelic treatments for patients with brain ...

Psilocybin Generates Psychedelic Experience by Disrupting Brain Network

July 17, 2024 — Researchers report that psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, destabilizes a critical network of brain areas involved in introspective thinking. The findings provide a neurobiological ...

Two New Species of Psilocybe Mushrooms Discovered in Southern Africa

July 4, 2024 — In a new paper, researchers and citizen mycologists describe the two new species as Psilocybe ingeli and Psilocybe maluti. The paper also contains information on the traditional use of P. maluti by ...

Ketamine Slow-Release Tablet Reduces Symptoms of Severe Depression: Clinical Trial

June 24, 2024 — A slow-release, tablet form of ketamine with minimal side-effects has the potential to make treatment more affordable and ...

Can LSD Confer Psychological Strength and Resilience?

June 20, 2024 — Lifetime LSD use is associated with a higher likelihood of severe psychological distress after losing one's job, according to a new ...

Unregulated Sales of a Toxic and Hallucinogenic Mushroom Endanger Public Health

June 10, 2024 — Americans' interest in a potentially harmful 'magic mushroom' is soaring, according to a new study. The scientists suggest that the growing market for Amanita muscaria may be sparked ...

New Understanding of How Antidepressants Work

June 5, 2024 — Researchers have established a new framework for understanding how classic antidepressants work in treating major depressive disorder (MDD), reemphasizing their importance and aiming to reframe ...

Psychedelic Drug-Induced Hyperconnectivity in the Brain Helps Clarify Altered Subjective Experiences

May 23, 2024 — A new study shows that the use of psilocybin, a compound found in the widely known 'magic mushrooms,' initiates a pattern of hyperconnectivity in the brain linked to the ego-modifying ...

How Psychedelic Drugs Interact With Serotonin Receptors to Potentially Produce Therapeutic Benefits

May 8, 2024 — Researchers have shed valuable light on the complex mechanisms by which a class of psychedelic drugs binds to and activates serotonin receptors to produce potential therapeutic effects in patients ...

'Mathematical Microscope' Reveals Novel, Energy-Efficient Mechanism of Working Memory That Works Even During Sleep

May 8, 2024 — Researchers have discovered a mechanism that creates memories while reducing metabolic cost, even during sleep. This efficient memory occurs in a part of the brain that is crucial for learning and ...

In Psychedelic Therapy, Clinician-Patient Bond May Matter Most

Apr. 22, 2024 — Drug effects have dominated the national conversation about psychedelics for medical treatment, but a new study suggests that when it comes to reducing depression with psychedelic-assisted therapy, ...

Protecting Brain Cells With Cannabinol

Apr. 17, 2024 — Scientists created four cannabis-derived CBN analogs (chemical look-a-likes) with enhanced neuroprotective properties and potential for therapeutic application in neurological disorders like ...

Chemical Found Naturally in Cannabis May Reduce Anxiety-Inducing Effects of THC, Researchers Show

Apr. 10, 2024 — New research adds to evidence that a chemical found naturally in cannabis can -- in the right amounts -- lessen the anxiety-inducing effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ...

Researchers Map How the Brain Regulates Emotions

Apr. 3, 2024 — A new study is among the first of its kind to separate activity relating to emotion generation from emotion regulation in the human brain. The findings provide new insights that could help inform ...

Crackdown on Illicit Drugs Detects Rise in 'Designer' Drug Substitutes

Mar. 25, 2024 — As authorities crack down on illicit drugs, experts have issued an alert on the use of the synthetic stimulant pentylone, as new research finds a 75% increase in detections across ...

Delta-8-THC Use Reported by 11% of 12th Graders in 2023

Mar. 12, 2024 — Approximately 11% of 12th-grade students across the United States reported past-year use of delta-8- tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8-THC, or delta-8 for short), according to an analysis of data from ...

'Study Drugs' Set the Stage for Other Drug Use and Mental Health Decline

Mar. 11, 2024 — Taking 'study drugs' like Adderall without a diagnosis is not only dangerous in itself, but can lead to other drug use and a decline in mental health, according to new ...

Poison Center Calls for 'Magic Mushrooms' Spiked After Decriminalization, Study Finds

Feb. 26, 2024 — Calls to U.S. poison centers involving psilocybin, or 'magic mushrooms,' among adolescents and young adults rose sharply after several U.S. cities and states began decriminalizing the ...

Neuropsychological Effects of Rapid-Acting Antidepressants May Explain Their Clinical Benefits

Jan. 10, 2024 — Rapid-acting antidepressants, including ketamine, scopolamine and psilocybin, have been found to have immediate and lasting positive effects on mood in patients with major depressive disorder but how ...