About one in ten people in Britain suffer from depression and at least ten of them fail to respond to traditional treatment. New research conducted at the Imperial College, London; has shown that a psychedelic ingredient, found in magic mushrooms, can switch off the areas of the brain that are involved in depression.
The magic ingredient found in the mushrooms is called psilocybin, but the present laws in Britain prohibit the picking of the mushrooms and ban the manufacture of the drug.
President of the British Neuroscience Association, Professor David Nutt calls the restrictions "archaic" and is campaigning for a change in the law to allow him to conduct clinical trials of Psilocybin.
“Our approach is being limited by the baggage of drug laws, drug controls and the illegal status of these substances," says Nutt, who is now worried that scientists in Columbia, may beat him to the trial.
A spokesperson from the British Home Office insists that the present laws do not need to be changed, but a frustrated Nutt is adamant that his research should not continue to be hindered and it is high time for a change. If he continues to keep banging his head against beurocratic walls though, Nutt could well need a dose of psilocybin himself.
