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Psychedelics were the subject of serious medical research from the 1940s through the 1960s, when many scientists believed some of the mind-bending compounds held tremendous therapeutic promise for treating a number of conditions, including severe mental health problems and alcohol addiction. But by the mid-1960s, research into psychedelics was shut down, a policy that would last for decades.

After the blackout ended, the doctor we have on the podcast today was among the first to initiate a new series of studies on psilocybin—the psychoactive compound in “magic” mushrooms.

Today on The Dhru Purohit Podcast, Dhru sits down with Dr. Roland Griffiths, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Griffiths has conducted extensive research with sedative-hypnotics, caffeine, and novel mood-altering drugs. In 1999, he initiated a research program at Johns Hopkins investigating the effects of the classic hallucinogen psilocybin. The program includes studies of psilocybin-facilitated treatment of psychological distress in cancer patients and cigarette-smoking cessation as well as the compound’s effects in beginning and long-term meditators and religious leaders.

In this episode, Dhru and Dr. Griffiths discuss his research on psilocybin in the treatment of psychological distress in cancer patients and cigarette-smoking cessation. They discuss the connection between psilocybin, spirituality, and consciousness and their potential for treating conditions ranging from drug and alcohol dependence to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

In this episode, Dhru and Dr. Griffiths dive into:

-The connection between psychedelics, spirituality, and consciousness (3:30)

-The history of psychedelic research (12:32)

-The reintroduction of psychedelic research by Dr. Roland Griffiths and others (16:31)

-Why research participants rated their psychedelic experience as one of their most meaningful (20:57)

-What is happening in the brain when using psychedelics (27:39)

-How psychedelics can help us understand altered states of consciousness (33:13)

-The therapeutic benefits of psilocybin for the treatment of addiction (44:20)

-How a single dose of psilocybin substantially diminished depression and anxiety in cancer patients (48:56)

-The future of psychedelics (52:11)

-The downside and risks of psychedelics (1:00:18)

-Learn more about Dr. Roland Griffiths and his work (1:04:28)

For more on Dr. Roland Griffiths and his research on psychedelics, check out his website https://www.hopkinspsychedelic.org.

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85: Wide World of Children’s Literature