All studies
Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance
Key finding
Psilocybin reliably occasioned mystical-type experiences, and two months later the majority of volunteers rated the session among the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives.
- Institution
- Johns Hopkins University
- Design
- Randomized, double-blind, active-controlled crossover
- Sample size
- 36 participants
- Intervention
- 30 mg/70kg psilocybin vs. methylphenidate active control
- Year
- 2006
- Condition
- Healthy volunteers (mystical-type experience)
Limitations
Healthy, screened, hallucinogen-naive volunteers; outcomes are subjective self-reports rather than clinical endpoints.
The study that reopened modern psychedelic research after decades of dormancy. Its rigorous demonstration that psilocybin reliably produces meaningful mystical-type experiences set the methodological template for the field.
Read the primary source Our breakdown: Inside the Johns Hopkins Psilocybin Trials: Method, Findings, Limits
Summary written by MMI Editorial for clarity. Always consult the primary source for full methodology and results. Confidence rating reflects our assessment of evidence strength.