By Canadian Press
July 27, 2022 | 7:11 AM
TORONTO – The Center for Addiction and Mental Health says it has been awarded Canada’s first federal grant to study the effects of a psychedelic chemical component in “magic mushrooms” on treatment-resistant depression.
The psychiatric institute says the researchers will explore whether it is necessary to experience the effects of psilocybin, which is found in “magic mushrooms”, for it to have antidepressant effects.
The clinical trial will recruit 60 adults with treatment-resistant depression over three years and administer a full dose of psilocybin, plus a blocker to prevent psychedelic effects, to a random third of the participants.
Dr. Ishrat Husain, head of CAMH’s clinical trials unit and principal investigator of the new study, says there is “a growing interest and body of knowledge” in the use of psychedelic drugs to treat mental illness and addiction.