This might get the big red X, maybe in part because it's technically illegal... we'll see.

I have to preface my finding w/ a bit of background.

I'm by no means of advocate of drugs, I would never push, encourage or even subtly suggest that anybody experiment with them. Many psychoactives (particularly the interesting ones) are not only illegal in many many countries, but considered all-together dangerous by the scientific community.

With that being said, there are no known substances (other than psychoactives) that can so selectively and specifically alter human consciousness with such reproducible precision. Some of the biggest advances in our knowledge of neurocognitive function have come from lesions studies (our most notable example is HM, the patient who lost his short term memory, and therefore his ability to form new memories, by having his hippocampus surgically removed in both hemispheres due to intense seizures only to find out that the hippocampus is where short term memories are formed and passed on for deeper processing). Unfortunately, these lesion studies are few and far between - due to the ethics involved in purposefully causing brain damage in human subjects and the unlikelihood of more than one person not only naturally receiving the same lesion, but also naturally receiving it bilaterally (if both spheres of the brain carry the same structure, both would need to be lesioned in the same place to completely remove its function).

Psychoactive drugs can chemically induce these 'virtual lesions', often times with completely reversible effects. Not so much the case with stimulants (as many of these substances are known to cause brain damage), but moreso with hallucinogens (triptamines and phenethylamines).

Unfortunately (I seem to be using this word alot), many psychoactives/hallucinogens carry a very strong social/political stigma. In the US, drugs are controlled by being placed on five (I,II,III,IV and V) possible lists called Schedules. Schedule I containing the most controlled/monitored substances (the usual suspects; cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, mushrooms) through to Schedule V (fairly benign derivatives of stronger substances). Drugs are said to be 'scheduled' if they "have a high tendency for abuse and have no accepted medical use". Some of the drugs on Schedule I (ie. mushrooms, LSD, other hallucinogens) have absolutely NO potential for abuse and have proven useful in a variety therapeutic settings. Why then were they scheduled? I have never received a straight answer, but I have gone under the assumption that due to the American zeitgeist during certain recent decades, these drugs not only came to be frowned upon, but were seen as damaging to the national youth, and therefore the American future.

Whatever the reasonings were, these drugs have been receiving a lot of attention lately. In part (I hope) because people are asking these very same questions, "Why is this illegal?" "Is it really dangerous?" "Is there a place in medicine for these drugs?"

Even more recently, a research group at John Hopkins published a study where they dosed healthy non-experienced human volunteers with Psilocybin (active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms) and had them rate their experience. A third said the experience was the single most spiritually significant of their lifetimes. Many likened it to the birth of their first child or the death of a parent. And the effects lingered. Two months after getting the drug, 79 percent of the volunteers said they felt a moderately or greatly increased well-being or life satisfaction.

This publication has received national attention by the following media (article linked):

Forbes
The Washington Post
The Los Angeles Times
The Wallstreet Journal
USA Today
Chicago Tribune
CNN
Reuters

Among many others...

Again, I'm not advocating drug use (though it might appear that way). These results came from rigorously planned scientific studies whose results aren't easily reproduced in a recreational setting. But, I must admit, some of my deepest moments of self-realization have come through the aid of praticular psychoactive substances, one of them psilocybin.

My finding, which I so very gladly share with you all, is the actual publication from John Hopkins referenced above. This is article is not available to the general public, but I hope that it will aid in spreading knowledge about these incredible substances so that the general public (and eventually the federal government) can no longer hide under a culture of ignorance. This is giant breakthrough for psychedelic research and will most certainly be a catalyst in funding more research with schedule I substances, particularly hallucinogens. I am honored to be able to share this with you all.

Addendum (7/18/06) - If you do not necessarily care about the experiment design, you should just skip to the discussion section - the author's take on the role of this substance both in this study and in science should be the take home message.