Psilocybin

"Maybe a drug doesn't have to be a substance you consume, it could be to do with how an activity affects your brain," lead author Monica Barratt said.

Five years after participating in the first trial that used psilocybin as a therapy for treatment-resistant depression, Kirk Rutter tells Newsweek: "It really penetrated me emotionally."

Jada Pinkett Smith welcomed her son, Jaden, onto the latest episode of her "Red Table Talk" show, where they candidly discussed taking magic mushrooms.

The latest move comes as scientists around the world investigate the potential therapeutic applications of such substances.

Some studies have shown the potential medical benefits of the mind-altering drug psilocybin. Is the use of magic mushrooms for depression legal in the U.S.?

Psilocybin, the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms," is now undergoing clinical trials. If all goes well, treatments could be available by 2024.

"Our planet is unlikely to be unique in the inevitable creation of life from matter," renowned mycologist Paul Stamets told Newsweek.

The psychoactive fungus, known as Massospora cicadina, contains an active ingredient that is also found in magic mushrooms.

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps has committed a million dollars to a campaign to legalize psilocybin therapy in Oregon.

The war on drugs which stopped research on psychedelics was "one of the worst examples of censorship of human research in the history of science," according to the authors of a commentary in the journal Cell.

Newsweek spoke to the co-author of Love Drugs: The Chemical Future of Relationships about the ethics of intervening in this fundamental part of being human with psychoactive substances.

Scientists followed the progress of over a dozen cancer patients who took psilocybin.

Scientists spoke to over 1,000 people at arts and music festivals about their experiences taking psychedelics.

Researchers gave participants a dose of psilocybin and watched their reactions to see whether the drug is safe.

A new research center funded by private donors will study possible psilocybin therapies at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The findings come amid what is known as the "psychedelic renaissance."

Psilocybin mushrooms, often called magic mushrooms or shrooms, might soon be partially legal, or at least decriminalized, in several states. Here's how to trip safely.

"This is what happens when a small team of dedicated and passionate people unite under a single idea to create change," said Kevin Matthews, the director of the Decriminalize Denver.

The researchers hope their study could help people with mental disorders such as schizophrenia.

Psilocybin is increasingly being recognized by scientists as potentially effective treatments for a number of psychological disorders, such as addiction and depression.

Findings suggest that psychedelics could be used to treat a host of mood and anxiety disorders, such as depression, anxiety, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Results could one day lead to novel treatments or therapies for reducing domestic violence, the lead author said.

Magic mushrooms' hallucinogenic effects might keep insects away, but it doesn't stop humans.

"Psilocybin may produce sustained changes in outlook and political perspective."

Mayoral candidate says the fungi saved him from heroin.

Brain scans revealed that psilocybin could be more effective than antidepressants.

The study could pave the way for easier production of the psychedelic psilocybin.

Only 0.2 percent of people who tried shrooms within the last year wound up in the emergency room, according to the Global Drug Survey.

The criteria​ for banning a drug exist to make congressional and DEA determinations look scientific, even when they are not.

The drug could be used to help treat anxiety and depression in the future.