{"id":4529,"date":"2026-05-20T13:02:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T13:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/magic-mushrooms-may-stop-cocaine-addiction\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T13:02:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T13:02:20","slug":"magic-mushrooms-may-stop-cocaine-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/magic-mushrooms-may-stop-cocaine-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Magic Mushrooms may stop cocaine addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>2026-05-20 13:02:18<\/b><br \/>\n<BR>A single dose of magic mushrooms could help cocaine users quit the drug and avoid relapse.<BR><br \/>\nScientists say psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms, may help cocaine addicts stay drug-free after just one guided therapy session.<BR><br \/>\nThe study, published in JAMA Network Open, tracked 40 cocaine users in the US over six months and found those given psilocybin alongside psychotherapy were more likely to avoid cocaine than those handed a placebo.<BR><br \/>\nCocaine use has surged worldwide in recent years, with global consumption reaching record levels in 2023. <BR><br \/>\nIn the UK, it remains the second most commonly used illegal drug after cannabis.<BR><br \/>\nDespite the scale of the problem, there are currently no approved medications to treat cocaine addiction, leaving users largely reliant on cognitive behavioural therapy.<BR><br \/>\nResearchers from the University of Alabama recruited participants aged over 25 who had used cocaine on at least four occasions in the previous month and wanted to quit.<BR><br \/>\nVolunteers completed therapy sessions and a week free from cocaine before taking part in an all-day treatment session, where they received either psilocybin or a placebo antihistamine capsule. <BR><br \/>\nFive further therapy sessions followed, with progress checked after 90 and 180 days.<BR><br \/>\nThe results showed that those treated with psilocybin recorded more cocaine-free days and were significantly less likely to relapse.<BR><br \/>\nDr Peter Hendricks, study lead, said: &#8220;These findings are a potentially important advancement in the treatment of cocaine use disorder, a condition for which there are no approved pharmacotherapies and limited psychosocial interventions.&#8221;<BR><br \/>\nUnlike cocaine, which stimulates reward pathways linked to impulsive behaviour, psilocybin works by temporarily altering consciousness.<BR><br \/>\nScientists believe the psychedelic experience may encourage shifts in perspective that help users rethink addictive behaviours.<BR><br \/>\nExperts welcomed the findings but warned against overstating the results.<BR><br \/>\nProfessor Erin Bonar said treatments must address both addiction and depression, a common feature of cocaine withdrawal, which this study could not confirm.<BR><br \/>\nShe added that a &#8220;careful balance&#8221; is needed to avoid increasing risky psychedelic use among vulnerable people seeking help.<BR><br \/>\nResearchers say larger trials are now needed before psilocybin could become a mainstream addiction treatment.<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"> Visit Bang Bizarre (main website) <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><script src=\"https:\/\/geo.dailymotion.com\/player\/xtbac.js\" data-video=\"\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2026-05-20 13:02:18 A single dose of magic mushrooms could help cocaine users quit the drug and avoid relapse. Scientists say psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms, may help&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bizarre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4529"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4531,"href":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4529\/revisions\/4531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bangbizarre.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}