Take a ‘trip’ to quit smoking

Crazy, but researches say an hallucinogen may be the answer to quitting tobacco.

This stuff is called Psilocybin.  It's a synthetic form of a compound found in "magic mushrooms"  that "flower children" would ingest for a high.

Researchers at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology have completed a study of 15 smokers that included a teacher and a lawyer. These smokers were heavy smokers.  They smoked an average of 19 cigarettes a day for 31 years.

The results were impressive.

Of the 15 volunteers, 12 were smoke-free six months after their treatments of Psilocybin.

For a comparison to smoke quitting aids that are currently on the market. Chantix has a 35 percent success rate.  Nicotine patches and gum are even less effective.

Here's the short version of the "mushroom pill" therapy.

The therapy takes two to three sessions.

The volunteers came to a lab that was set up like a living room.  They took a 20 milligram pill of Psilocybin.

In the controlled environment, the subjects were told to close their eyes and relax while listening to music as the psychedelic effect took hold.

The volunteers were closely monitored to avoid extreme anxiety, or in other words, not to have a bad "trip."

A couple of questions arise from this study:

-Will additional "magic mushroom" experiments continue to be successful?

- Would the therapy be realistic for most people and safe to administer?

The study is good food for thought.

Lets hope there will be a smoke cessation tool, soon, that's really effective for anyone who wants to quit.