Magic Mushrooms Can’t Cure Depression

Why we can’t really conclude anything at all about psychedelics and mental health treatment

Pictured: Magic. Also, very pretty. Source: Pexels

If there’s one thing that we all want to be true, it’s that things that we usually think are bad for us are secretly good. We see it every time a terrible study implies that chocolate might have secret health benefits (spoiler: it doesn’t). We catch a glimpse when a new piece of research seems to imply that green tea is magically healthsome, that coffee is curative of ills, or that red wine can stave off death itself.

Pictured: Good, but not that good. Source: Pexels

And nowhere is this more true than in illegal drugs. Wouldn’t it be wonderful, the theory goes, if things like cannabis were brilliant for your health. We could deregulate them immediately!

Well, according to the Daily Mail and a host of other online sources, this is exactly the case for magic mushrooms. Shrooms, you see, are not just a bit of psychedelic fun, they can actually cure depression.

Unfortunately, this is simply not true. At best, we can say that there’s not enough evidence to conclude much at all about magic mushrooms. At worst, they have no health benefits at…