Psychedelic effects of plants and fungi have been known for millennia, with mushrooms being a primary natural source of psilocybin, historically used in religious ceremonies and for treating neuropsychiatric conditions. Psychedelics became stigmatized due to their association with the 1960s counterculture movement, leading to a 1970 U.S. Schedule 1 classification that halted scientific research. This prohibition delayed medical knowledge of therapeutic uses. A 2004 pilot study at UCLA on psilocybin for advanced-stage cancer patients revived interest, sparking renewed research into psilocybin's chemical properties and therapeutic potential for neuropsychiatric conditions. This review examines recent advances and current research, but is not systematic.
The word 'psychedelic' was coined in 1956 by psychiatrist Humphry Osmond. Psychedelic drugs like DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, LSD, MDMA, and psilocybin have been used for thousands of years in spiritual and shamanic rituals in Central and South America. After their globalization in the 1960s, strict drug laws in Western countries classified them as Schedule I drugs, creating stigma that limited research. Recently, a second wave of research focuses on psychedelics as treatments for alcohol and tobacco addiction, mood and anxiety disorders, and cancer-related depression. Evidence-based data now supports their medicinal value. They offer low physiological toxicity and abuse potential, making them promising alternatives to conventional psychiatric drugs with adverse side effects. This paper reviews their therapeutic potential in controlled clinical settings.