Psilocybin saves lives. I have seen it with my own eyes on a clinical trial in London. One of the participants, a woman in her forties who had spent decades depressed, taking medications that left the illness untouched, felt bright and alive for the first time in years after just a single dose. But the government is blocking patient access.
This medicine is different from routinely prescribed antidepressants. Rather than a daily take at home tablet, psilocybin is administered once or twice in a controlled setting like a hospital or clinic. Two therapists sit beside the patient to offer psychological support as they go through their eight-hour ‘trip’. Guided by a specially chosen playlist, wearing eye shades and headphones, the patient is encouraged to accept whatever comes up, often facing their demons for the first time. The treatment is not just the experience of a different state of mind, like a holiday, it can be challenging and works by making therapy more potent.
