Eating Magic Mushrooms Have Health Benefits
Remember back in the day when you and your buddies popped pills, smoked the grass, and polluted your bodies with tons of drugs during your college years? Well, according to some Norwegian scientists — the ones who don’t spend all their time studying reindeer — the LSD, mushrooms, and peyote you took to get mangled won’t have negative long-term effects on your mental well-being. (Sadly, the coke and meth still have no health benefits. Sorry.)
Also: Survey: Guys Are More Vain Than Women
Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science examined survey answers from 130,000 randomly chosen people, including 22,000 who had used psychedelic drugs in the past. Based on their data dive, they were able to determine that the risk of developing mental health problems did not increase with psychedelic drug use. In fact, the research showed that people who tripped actually had fewer mental health issues than people who’d never played invisible checkers with pink and yellow cockroaches.
To quote Pål-Ørjan Johansen, one of the study’s authors who also heads EmmaSofia, a nonprofit that is hoping to reshape and reform how MDMA and psychedelics are classified by the government:
“Psychedelics often induce profound experiences while at the same time having a safety profile comparable to many activities of daily life, such as riding a bicycle or playing soccer. It is important to take a statistical perspective on risk, rather than focusing on anecdotes.”
Also: Why Smelling Farts Might Be Good For You (Seriously)
So why or how, exactly, did their study render such results? That’s a great question! We can’t answer it — and neither can the eggheads who crunched the numbers. Instead, they were all “clinical trials back us up” and people report “deeply meaningful experience and lasting beneficial effects” from their trips. Whatever you say, hippies!
