Study Suggests Psilocybin Can Help Smokers Quit Their Worst Habit

In an innovative study, researchers from the John Hopkins University show how they managed to determine inveterate smokers to quit, with the help of the main psychedelic constituent of magic mushrooms, psilocybin.

If you ever tried to quit smoking, you probably know that it’s hard work. And smoking just one cigarette can nullify all your efforts in a few drags. Puff, puff, puff, you’re at the bottom of the hole again and climbing out is only going to be harder than the last time around. But, as it turns out, a combination of psilocybin and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can work wonders.

A team of researchers from the John Hopkins University managed to achieve what was previously unheard of after subjecting 15 participants to just three psilocybin-administration sessions. The smoking cessation protocol itself lasted for 15 weeks but great health improvements don’t happen overnight.

The participants were psychiatrically healthy men and women with an addiction to nicotine and a mean age of 51 years. All of them had tried and failed to quit smoking more than once; the group had a mean of six previous quit attempts. All of them were chronic smokers, lighting up an average of 19 cigarettes per day, and most of them had been smoking for decades.

Before the experiment began, the subjects were briefed regarding the experience they were going to go through. On the day they were planning to quit, researchers administered the first dose of psilocybin in pill form. The participants were called in for two follow-up sessions, two weeks, respectively eight weeks later. The doses were slightly increased each time.

Each magic mushroom extract session lasted for six hours during which the subjects relaxed in an enjoyable setting and under the careful supervision of two members of the research team. They wore eye shades so that the outside world wouldn’t distract them from the inner experiences the researchers told them to focus on. Also, music was played for the participants who requested it.

The study participants were also enrolled in a comprehensive CBT smoking cessation program that included weekly counselling sessions during which they discussed progress with their appointed therapist. They were encouraged to sustain their attempt at quitting with additional efforts such as keeping a diary where they noted how and why they craved for cigarettes.

Six months after the study ended, twelve out of the fifteen participants were still cigarette-free. An 80 percent success rate was virtually unheard of in the treatment of nicotine addiction, which is notoriously hard to complete and has a high relapse rate.

“Quitting smoking isn’t a simple biological reaction to psilocybin, as with other medications that directly affect nicotine receptors,” associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Matthew W. Johnson says. “When administered after careful preparation and in a therapeutic context, psilocybin can lead to deep reflection about one’s life and spark motivation to change.”

The next best thing in the treatment for nicotine addiction (aside from steadfast willpower) is a substance called varenicicline. But, as Prof. Johnson said, this is stuff that directly affects receptors in the brain. And although it has a 35% six-month success rate, varenicicline does nothing to change the mental framework that causes one to keep smoking.

On the other hand, psilocybin acts on the subconscious mind, rupturing the addictive mental patterns that form in a veteran smoker’s thoughts. The psilocybin experience is so intense that it can create a lasting fissure in decades-old behavior, long after its effects have worn off.

Six months after extinguishing their last cancer stick, participants were asked to name the reason behind their success. Most of them responded something along the lines of: “[You can manage to quit smoking] by changing the way you orient yourself toward the future, such that you now act in your long-term holistic benefit, rather than acting in response to immediate desire.”

The smoke-free study participants agreed psilocybin played a crucial part in breaking their habit. They said it helped them prioritize things in life and made them realize the benefits of quitting smoking far outweighed their reasons to light up.

Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images

This all might sound pretty easy to non-smokers, but those who suckled at the tobacco demon’s teat can assure you it’s not easy to wean yourself away. Quitting smoking usually entails major changes in the smoker’s personality, train of thoughts and way of life. Even with the aid of traditional therapy, these changes are notoriously difficult to achieve. But when a transcendent, mystical experience is thrown in the mix, success rates soar. That is due to the fact that humans respond well to powerful experiences and tend to remember them. This is evidenced by the opinions of thirteen of the study participants, who rated the psilocybin trip as one of the top ten most meaningful experiences they had ever lived through.

However, the researchers insisted on pointing out that this experiment was carried out in a controlled environment and with the support of cognitive behavioral therapy. They say that the self-administration of psychedelics is still a criminal act and might not be as effective.

It makes you wonder if tobacco companies have a hand in keeping magic mushrooms illegal. Nah, that couldn’t be the case…