{"id":19759,"date":"2021-11-02T11:43:15","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T11:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/?p=19759"},"modified":"2023-11-10T13:33:43","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T12:33:43","slug":"john-hopkins-lance-une-etude-pour-soigner-la-dependance-au-tabac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/fr\/blog\/john-hopkins-launches-study-to-cure-tobacco-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Johns Hopkins lance une \u00e9tude de $4M sur la psilocybine pour soigner la d\u00e9pendance au tabac"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

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\u00a0The NIH\u2019s National Institute on Drug Abuse, in particular, has awarded Johns Hopkins Medicine <\/strong>a grant worth nearly $4 million to study the effects of psilocybin \u2014 the active compound in magic mushrooms and magic truffles \u2014 on tobacco addiction.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n\n<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a welcome surprise for scientists who\u2019ve been asking for big budgets (and being ignored)<\/em> for decades. Now, they\u2019ve won a multi-million dollar study for three years at Johns Hopkins and other sites, alongside experts from New York University<\/strong> and University of Alabama at Birmingham<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Biggest Psilocybin Study Yet on Tobacco Addiction<\/em><\/h2>\n

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Dr. Matthew Johnson of Johns Hopkins Medicine leads the study.\u00a0<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n<\/p>\n

The psilocybin study will take place at the same time at the three institutions to \u201cdiversify the pool of participants\u201d (or have a wide range of people who want to quit smoking)<\/em>. This way the results are reliable, and can be used later on to help as many smokers as possible to quit tobacco \u2014 for good. <\/p>\n

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Lead scientist Matthew Johnson, Ph.D.<\/a><\/strong>, who is a Professor in Psychedelics and Consciousness at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, says that this could be the biggest psilocybin study yet on tobacco addiction:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe <\/em>historical importance<\/em><\/strong> of this grant is monumental. We knew it was only a matter of time before the NIH would fund this work because the data are so compelling, and because this work has [proven] to be safe. <\/em><\/p>\n

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\u201cPsilocybin does have very real risks [if taken without care], but these risks are squarely reduced in <\/em>controlled settings<\/em><\/strong> through screening, preparation, monitoring, and follow-up care.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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Psilocybin Helps Break Addictive Patterns<\/em><\/h2>\n

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The magic mushroom extract psilocybin helps boost the self-exploration of the psyche, in order to break patterns of addiction.\u00a0<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s upcoming study on psilocybin for tobacco addiction may be the biggest so far, but it\u2019s certainly not the first. A pilot study<\/strong> <\/a>in 2014 by the same scientist had shown that people were more likely to quit smoking by using psilocybin as a tool \u2014 even more so than taking \u201cmainstream\u201d drugs and therapies for smoking cessation<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n

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2021’s fresh update will be a double-blind trial in which participants will not only take psilocybin sessions, but also join in cognitive behavioral therapy. This kind of talk therapy deals with diving deep into your psyche, to find out exactly what negative patterns of thought are causing you to have problems. <\/p>\n

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Johnson\u2019s team say that psilocybin will \u201cboost\u201d the said self-exploration, making it easier to break addictive patterns formed after years of smoking. <\/p>\n

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This psilocybin-talk therapy combo<\/strong> has helped tons of smokers quit the habit. Now, Johns Hopkins is looking to do a bigger version of the 2014 study by teaming up with New York University and University of Alabama at Birmingham this time around \u2014 plus a larger, more diverse set of participants. <\/p>\n

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Can You Quit Smoking After Six Months?<\/em><\/h2>\n

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Turns out you can! With the help of psilocybin-based therapy, you can even quit smoking for good<\/em> \u2014 with total stopping for as early as six months. Johnson had shown this in his <\/strong>2014 study which had a small number of longtime smokers. <\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s how the original<\/strong> John Hopkins team discovered it back then:<\/p>\n

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First, the researchers looked for longtime smokers who had tried many times to quit tobacco and failed to do so. The scientists chose 10 men and five women, all healthy mentally and physically. With an average age of 51; and smoked around 19 cigarettes a day for 31 years. <\/p>\n

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After the researchers told the subjects about what to expect in a psilocybin session, they gave the first dose by pill on their first day without a cigarette. Two weeks later, they were given a second, much higher dose of psilocybin. Eight weeks after the first dose, the subjects got an even higher dose.<\/p>\n

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It wasn\u2019t just a \u201ctake a pill and leave\u201d<\/em> situation, either. During each psilocybin session, two researchers stood close by as trip-sitters<\/a><\/strong>. They made sure the subjects took psilocybin in a cosy, \u201chomelike\u201d setting<\/strong>. Participants wore shades and listened to calming music on earphones \u2014 allowing them to focus on their inner journey of self-exploration for six to seven hours. <\/p>\n

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Psilocybin vs. Nicotine Patches <\/em><\/h2>\n

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For quitting smoking, psilocybin has a much higher success rate than Big Pharma drugs \u2014 such as varenicline and nicotine patches.\u00a0<\/em>Photo by Andres Siimon on Unsplash<\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n<\/p>\n

So what happened next? <\/p>\n

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After six months of psilocybin sessions paired with cognitive behavioral therapy, the abstinence rate for study participants (or those who didn\u2019t touch a cigarette since)<\/em> was 80 percent.<\/strong> Pretty high indeed!<\/p>\n

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This is much higher than the normal success rates in \u201cnon-psychedelic\u201d smoking cessation trials. Take varenicline<\/a>,<\/strong> for example (aka the most effective Big Pharma drug for quitting smoking)<\/em>, which only has a 35 percent success rate after six months. Or nicotine replacement<\/a> <\/strong>and behavioral therapies, the success rates of which are less than 30 percent, says Johnson. <\/p>\n

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That being said, the researchers said that you should not take psychedelics for quitting smoking in a \u201cdo-it-yourself\u201d<\/em> setting. The study’s results are only due to a controlled administration of the drug in a treatment program \u2014 one that is paired with cognitive behavioral therapy<\/strong>. Keep that in mind, psychonauts! <\/p>\n

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Psilocybin + Cognitive Behavioral Therapy<\/em><\/h2>\n

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There you have it. As much as we\u2019d like to give all<\/em> the credit to psilocybin for helping people quit smoking for good, cognitive behavioral therapy is key for the magic to work properly. Looking back at the 2014 study, the complete process went like this:<\/p>\n

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