Mind-Mending Medicine

Scientific evidence for using psychedelics to treat mental health problems has been mounting for the last decade – but researchers and patients alike have been waiting for a breakthrough. Now, scientists are poised to publish a gold-standard, double-blind randomised control trial, pitting antidepressants against psilocybin, the key ingredient in magic mushrooms. Could this be the study that brings psychedelics to the NHS?

- Moya Sarner

WARNING

Psilocybin is a Class A drug according to UK law. Anyone caught in possession of such substances will face up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. More information and support for those affected by substance abuse problems can be found at bit.ly/drug_support

Leonie, 44, knew where her depression came from – but that didn’t make it any easier to live with. Growing up in South Africa, where both her parents were violently attacked, left her with what she calls “a constant, low hum of insecurity and threat, almost like tinnitus.” Her father died when she was 17, and in her 20s, she became her mother’s carer. By the autumn of 2019, she had been on antidepressants for more than half her life, with barely a break.