16 Dec HALLUCINOGENS COULD HOLD KEY TO QUITTING SMOKING | ATTN
A pioneering study by Heffter researcher Matthew Johnson continues to draw attention in the media. A story in the online magazine ATTN covers Johnson’s research on the use of psilocybin for treating nicotine addiction. Writer Kyle Jaeger compares the success rate in Johnson’s study, in which 80 percent of the subjects remained abstinent after six months, with the 30 percent success rate for nicotine replacement and behavioral therapies.
“‘Quitting smoking isn’t a simple biological reaction to psilocybin, as with other medications that directly affect nicotine receptors,’ Dr. Matthew Johnson, the study’s lead author and an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, wrote. ‘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.’
“Johnson plans to pursue further research into the use of psilocybin to treat smoking addiction, comparing the results to the success of using nicotine patches, and the researchers will ‘use MRI scans to study brain activity in participants.’”