Can Hallucinogens Help Ease End-of-Life Anxiety? Some Researchers Just Say "Yes"

After years of "just say no" when it comes to drugs, it turns out that some scientists think it's not a bad idea to say "yes" - for people near their ends of their lives, that is.

According to an article posted on the online version of McKnight's Long-Term Care News, researchers are once again studying hallucinogens' ability to ease depression and anxiety, especially among hospice patients nearing death. Federal regulators put the kibosh on most legitimate clinical research on hallucinogens following the counter-culture movement of the '60s, but are now allowing it under very controlled circumstances.

One drug being researched is psilocybin, the psychotropic ingredient found in mushrooms. According to an article in The New York Times, subjects in a study on psilocybin reported that the drug created a "profound spiritual experience with lasting positive effects for most of them. None had had any previous experience with hallucinogens, and none were even sure what drug was being administered."

Many participants also felt "their egos and bodies vanishing as they felt part of some larger state of consciousness in which their personal worries and insecurities vanished," according to the Times article. Researchers think that this feeling of dissociation could help terminal patients overcome their fear of physical death and non-terminal depression sufferers reassess their attitudes and overcome anxieties.

To read the McKnight's article, click here. To read The New York Times article, click here.