A team of experts from Johns Hopkins University conducted preliminary clinical trials to assess the efficacy of psilocybin. It was discovered that even a single administration of a high dose of the substance, when combined with psychotherapy, proves substantially more effective in overcoming the urge to smoke compared to a regimen of nicotine patches alongside similar therapy. The authors disseminated their findings in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Eighty-two mentally healthy adult smokers (average age 47.6 years; 59.8 percent male) were enrolled in the randomized study. They were administered either one high dosage of psilocybin (30 milligrams per 70 kilograms of body weight) or an approved course of nicotine patches lasting 8–10 weeks.
Both cohorts were also offered a 13-week course of therapist-guided cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy geared toward smoking cessation. Eighty-two point nine percent of the participants completed the full six-month follow-up period.
By the conclusion of the study, long-term abstinence from tobacco, biochemically verified, was confirmed in 17 participants (40.5 percent) in the main group, contrasted with four participants (10.0 percent) in the control group. The researchers also tracked another significant health metric. The prevalence of seven-day point prevalence abstinence (likewise verified through testing) registered at 52.4 percent versus 25.0 percent. No significant adverse effects were observed in either group.
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