{"id":9827,"date":"2023-08-31T22:51:22","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T22:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=5764167"},"modified":"2023-08-31T22:51:22","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T22:51:22","slug":"these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why\/","title":{"rendered":"These Coloradans sought out psilocybin-assisted therapy before it was legal. Here\u2019s why."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>In the fall of 2021, John Bigley was sitting on the floor of an apartment in downtown Denver. He held a cup of psilocybin mushroom tea, trying to calm his nerves.<\/p>\n<p>For more than 30 years, he\u2019d kept the sexual abuse he experienced as a child a secret, buried in the back of his mind where the abusers couldn\u2019t hurt him. That\u2019s also where he relegated the grief about his father, who died when Bigley was just 13.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019d kicked an alcohol addiction and tried counseling, but nothing restored his sense of self. In an effort to save himself and his marriage, Bigley hired a life coach to help him prepare for a different kind of treatment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to find the freedom to feel again,\u201d Bigley, 42, recalled saying in that apartment as he sat in a circle with about 10 other people, plus four sober facilitators assigned to offer support. They discussed their hopes for the impending journey.<\/p>\n<p>Then, Bigley and the others drank the tea dosed with three grams of dried mushrooms containing the psychoactive compound psilocybin. He put on an eye mask and a pair of headphones, laid down on his yoga mat, and waited for the trip to begin.<\/p>\n<p>Bigley is among a growing number of Americans turning to psychedelic-assisted therapy as an unconventional or last-ditch treatment for their mental health. For decades, they had to travel underground or abroad to find these substances and services. But psychedelic-assisted therapy soon will be accessible to anyone who is age 21 or older in Colorado after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2022\/11\/08\/colorado-results-prop-122-legalizing-psilocybin-psilocin-mushrooms\/\">voters approved a measure in 2022\u00a0legalizing the practice<\/a> and certain drugs, including psilocybin.<\/p>\n<p>Small-scale clinical trials conducted by Johns Hopkins University, the University of California San Francisco and others have shown promising results for psilocybin\u2019s ability to treat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hopkinsmedicine.org\/news\/newsroom\/news-releases\/psychedelic-treatment-with-psilocybin-relieves-major-depression-study-shows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">severe depression<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/psych.ucsf.edu\/news\/trip-therapy-could-psychedelics-become-mainstream-medicines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">existential distress<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hopkinsmedicine.org\/news\/media\/releases\/magic_mushrooms_help_longtime_smokers_quit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nicotine<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/08\/25\/health\/psilocybin-mushrooms-alcohol-addiction.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alcohol addiction<\/a>, among other ailments.<\/p>\n<p>Now, regulators in Colorado and Oregon are preparing to take the lead in the burgeoning industry as they formalize best practices for the medicinal use of psychedelics \u2014 and pave the way for other states to follow suit. Local leaders are developing laws to govern legal, licensed healing centers, expected to open in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also recently weighed in for the first time this summer, offering guidance for clinical trials involving psychedelic substances.<\/p>\n<p>While Colorado\u2019s new law also decriminalized several psychedelics statewide, experts are quick to note that the medical model of treatment is not a recreational affair or a legal avenue for individuals to get high.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe think the mind-altering effects of all these different types of psychedelics may actually facilitate the therapeutic process,\u201d said Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu, a researcher and assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, which is a leader in this field.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople who have real, intractable, difficult-to-treat conditions \u2014 like treatment-resistant major depression \u2014 these are people who have tried multiple types of treatments, talk therapies and medications (without) finding any relief, and then are getting some sort of improvement, in many cases, after the dosing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Research into psychedelics is still young; however, as far back as the 1950s and 1960s, researchers explored their potential to treat ailments such as substance use disorder. Much of that enthusiasm was quashed by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, but studies and trials have since rebounded \u2014 leading many researchers to proclaim the arrival of a \u201cpsychedelic renaissance.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5754934\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why.jpg\" alt=\"Home-grows psilocybin mushrooms are pictured in August. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)\" width=\"8256\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"5754934\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-mushrooms081123-cha-012.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-mushrooms081123-cha-012.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-mushrooms081123-cha-012.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-mushrooms081123-cha-012.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Home-grows psilocybin mushrooms are pictured in August. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus now is preparing a clinical trial to evaluate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/colorado-psilocybin-clinical-trial-for-depression-set-to-launch-this-fall\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">psilocybin\u2019s efficacy for treating depression<\/a> that\u2019s otherwise been treatment-resistant. It\u2019s set to begin in Aurora this fall.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the tight controls on psilocybin mushrooms and other psychoactive substances, psychedelic therapies have gone on in the shadows for years and are now adding to the medical knowledge being collected in the field.<\/p>\n<p>The research conducted today also builds upon centuries of expertise within indigenous communities that have used psychedelics for religious and spiritual purposes, as well as the experiences of recreational users, Garcia-Ramoeu said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI agree there\u2019s medical use for these substances,\u201d he said, \u201cbut they\u2019ve also been used for religion and recreation for so long, they\u2019re equally as valid and have knowledge we can learn from because Western medicine is so far behind in studying (them).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Experts and those who have participated in psychedelic-assisted therapy warn that the drugs themselves are not a panacea, but rather a tool to help address mental illness.<\/p>\n<p>Psychedelic experiences also can be deeply influenced by set and setting, meaning the mindset or intention users have going into administration sessions and the environment in which they do so.<\/p>\n<p>Psilocybin is not a fit for everyone, experts told The Denver Post. There are still risks associated with its use, such as elevated blood pressure and heart rate as well as challenging emotional experiences. Clinical trials typically exclude individuals with a family history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder out of concern for the risk of inducing psychosis.<\/p>\n<p>The voter-approved Natural Medicine Health Act legalized psilocybin and psilocin in therapeutic settings while also decriminalizing personal possession, use, growing and sharing of the substance. However, psilocybin still is considered a Schedule I substance, meaning federal regulators maintain it has no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.<\/p>\n<p>But in the medical community, Garcia-Romeu said, the compound is considered physiologically non-toxic \u2014 meaning it\u2019s difficult if not impossible to fatally overdose \u2014 and non-addictive.<\/p>\n<p>As Colorado navigates the largely uncharted waters of legalized access, residents who sought out psychedelic-assisted treatment for their mental health say the experiences impacted their lives positively.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5765432\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why-1.jpg\" alt=\"Joe Stone uses psilocybin mushrooms as a treatment for his cluster headaches at his home in Westminster on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. Stone typically ingests it through tea or capsule form. In the past, his treatment has been to take sub-psychedelic dose and do low-intensity activities. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)\" width=\"7799\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why-1.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"5765432\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why-1.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-joestone082223-cha-869.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-joestone082223-cha-869.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-joestone082223-cha-869.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-joestone082223-cha-869.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joe Stone uses psilocybin mushrooms as a treatment for his cluster headaches at his home in Westminster on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. Stone typically ingests it through tea or capsule form. In the past, his treatment has been to take sub-psychedelic dose and do low-intensity activities. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4>Physical relief from agony of headaches<\/h4>\n<p>For 40 years, Joe Stone has suffered the stabbing agony of \u201csuicide headaches.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The cluster headaches strike in cycles that act as monthslong bombardments. With minimal warning, it feels like the jab of a hot poker into his eye, over and over again. The attack subsides, sometimes after hours \u2014 only to erupt again, up to eight or nine times a day.<\/p>\n<p>An hour of agony here. Several hours of torture there. For months.<\/p>\n<p>Night can be particularly brutal, Stone said. The pain shatters his sleep, leaving him lying in agony. Only the sheer physical exhaustion of hours of wracking pain allows him to catch a few winks.<\/p>\n<p>At 50 years old, Stone was ready to try anything. Lithium, high-strength painkillers, steroids and even anti-anxiety medicine already had failed him. Doctors had begun \u201cjust throwing darts\u201d to try to ease the problem, he said, to marginal-at-best results.<\/p>\n<p>Stone had heard about <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/16801660\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">psilocybin therapy for cluster headaches<\/a> but was wary. It sounded like snake oil.<\/p>\n<p>But after a particularly brutal bout in 2019, \u201cI was just destroyed,\u201d Stone said. With his wife\u2019s blessing, he took what he described as a sub-psychedelic dose.<\/p>\n<p>He didn\u2019t hallucinate, he said, and he stopped short of calling the sensation euphoric. Instead, he felt a blessed reprieve from the physical pain, along with a peace of mind around his condition.<\/p>\n<p>Far from snake oil, Stone found relief \u2014 even if he\u2019s not quite ready to call it a miracle.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5765426\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why-2.jpg\" alt=\"Joe Stone grinds a psilocybin mushrooms dose at his home in Westminster on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)\" width=\"5348\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why-2.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"5765426\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why-2.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-joestone082223-cha-053.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-joestone082223-cha-053.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-joestone082223-cha-053.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-joestone082223-cha-053.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joe Stone grinds a psilocybin mushrooms dose at his home in Westminster on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not a super drug,\u201d Stone said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a cure. But it\u2019s the most effective drug I\u2019ve tried in 40 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cluster headaches were specifically referenced by <a href=\"https:\/\/dpo.colorado.gov\/NaturalMedicine\/FAQ#:~:text=This%20Act%20legalizes%20access%20to,over%20the%20age%20of%2021.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Colorado\u2019s Natural Medicine Health Act<\/a> as an ailment that may benefit from psychedelic therapy. Some <a href=\"https:\/\/headachejournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/head.14420\">early research<\/a>, led by Yale psychiatrists and neurologists, has shown promise and pointed to the need for more research.<\/p>\n<p>Stone describes himself as \u201ca normal suburban dad,\u201d raising four kids in Westminster. He works an IT job from home. He didn\u2019t expect a substance known for psychedelia to become part of his routine.<\/p>\n<p>Since that fateful 2019 experiment, Stone has continued to use sub-psychedelic doses of psilocybin, which he defines as a gram to 1.5 grams of mushrooms, usually ground into capsules or steeped in tea. It has broken several cycles of headaches completely and has served as a peerless balm even when the headaches don\u2019t break.<\/p>\n<p>He takes a preventative dose every couple of months and finds the frequency and severity of the headaches lessened. For him, the psilocybin brings both physical and mental relief.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre we getting relief from this pain because of physiology? \u2026 Or is it the experience?\u201d Stone wondered. \u201cOr is it a combination of the two things?\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5765478\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why-3.jpg\" alt=\"Therapist Erin Carpenter sits in her counseling room at her Boulder office on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. Carpenter offers ketamine-assisted therapy. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)\" width=\"7660\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why-3.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"5765478\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why-3.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-ErinCarpenter082223-cha-019.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-ErinCarpenter082223-cha-019.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-ErinCarpenter082223-cha-019.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-ErinCarpenter082223-cha-019.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Therapist Erin Carpenter sits in her counseling room at her Boulder office on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. Carpenter offers ketamine-assisted therapy. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4>Coming to terms with cancer<\/h4>\n<p>In November 2019, Erin Carpenter woke from surgery to a shattered world.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019d gone in for emergency surgery to treat ovarian torsion, a serious condition affecting the reproductive system. Instead of receiving bright news of a cured ailment, the 34-year-old mother with two young daughters at home learned that doctors discovered she actually had a rare form of cancer: Stage 3 soft-tissue sarcoma.<\/p>\n<p>Amid her shock, her sadness and her anger, Carpenter was told to get her affairs in order. She scrambled to treat her physical health while the diagnosis gnawed at her emotions.<\/p>\n<p>Carpenter knew about psychedelic therapy through her work as a therapist and licensed clinical social worker, though it was never in her area of expertise. With anxieties about her mortality and her family hanging heavily \u2014 and with her own therapist\u2019s blessing \u2014 Carpenter sought out a guide to try the recently decriminalized treatment.<\/p>\n<p>She took a high dose of psilocybin\u00a0mushrooms, donned eyeshades and headphones, and laid down, with her guide there as a layer of safety and comfort. Carpenter described the session as \u201cdiving inward, instead of focusing on the outside.\u201d She hesitated to use a clich\u00e9 but said it was \u201clike years of therapy in one day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The experience didn\u2019t cure her or take away her fear of death. But it helped her come to terms with her new future, she said. She continued to work with her therapist, and the psychedelics helped her to unpack her feelings in that setting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe experience helped me process a lot of grief and a lot of emotion that I had been hanging onto \u2014 but hadn\u2019t been able to dive into because I had been in survival mode,\u201d Carpenter said. She\u2019d been \u201cfocusing on my physical body and recovery from surgeries and beginning my treatments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Because of her background and profession, Carpenter found herself in a position to advocate for a kind of treatment that she saw as having profound potential \u2014 and she now had the personal experience to bolster it.<\/p>\n<p>So the therapist, who specializes in sexual trauma, started researching and training for psychedelic therapy. About a year ago, she began working with psychiatric nurses, who are able to prescribe medications, to provide ketamine-assisted therapy.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike psilocybin, ketamine already was a legal and approved option for psychedelic therapy. One Yale psychiatrist has called it \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yalemedicine.org\/news\/ketamine-depression\">a game changer<\/a>,\u201d particularly for depression that is resistant to traditional treatments.<\/p>\n<p>Ketamine\u2019s effects are different than psilocybin, Carpenter said, but it still helps patients to break down emotional walls. She described it as helping people to step outside themselves, while psilocybin induces more of an internal experience. Ketamine, like psilocybin, is not for every patient, she said, but she\u2019s seen promising results in those who undergo the treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Psychedelic treatment in general is \u201creally exciting professionally,\u201d Carpenter said, especially as the state and country grapple with ongoing mental health crises.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe field of mental health treatment has honestly not gotten much better in the past 30, 40, 50 years,\u201d Carpenter said. \u201cThere haven\u2019t been many breakthrough medications or types of talk therapies that have really moved the needle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She hopes to add psilocybin-assisted therapy to her practice as it becomes regulated.<\/p>\n<p>Carpenter is looking ahead these days. Her cancer has receded, and recent scans are clean. As she goes in for regular checkups at the UCHealth Anschutz Cancer Pavilion, she hopes to one day see a psychedelic therapy office abutting it.<\/p>\n<p>A 2016 study on psilocybin\u2019s effects on cancer patients found that about 80% of participants in a double-blind trial showed \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5367557\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">clinically significant decreases in depressed mood and anxiety<\/a>.\u201d The finding reflects Carpenter\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was just in really, really dire, desperate straits,\u201d Carpenter said. \u201cAnd now I\u2019m convinced that (psychedelic therapy) can be a powerful tool for mental health and wellbeing and a powerful alternative. I want the message to get out there.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5754932\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why-4.jpg\" alt=\"John Bigley, pictured at his home in Lakewood on Aug. 11, 2023, is among a growing number of Coloradans seeking psychedelic-assisted therapy as a treatment for their mental health. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)\" width=\"8256\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why-4.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"5754932\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/these-coloradans-sought-out-psilocybin-assisted-therapy-before-it-was-legal-heres-why-4.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-mushrooms081123-cha-287.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-mushrooms081123-cha-287.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-mushrooms081123-cha-287.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TDP-L-mushrooms081123-cha-287.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">For John Bigley, pictured at his home in Lakewood on Aug. 11, 2023, the use of psychedelic-assisted therapy was effective.(Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4>Addressing past trauma<\/h4>\n<p>In that downtown Denver apartment nearly two years ago, John Bigley began to feel \u201cfuzzy\u201d about 30 minutes after he drank the mushroom tea.<\/p>\n<p>The beat of the drums coming through his headphones intensified, as shades of green and red swirled behind his eyelids. Bigley didn\u2019t hallucinate so much as travel through different feelings \u2014 from joy to fear, with bouts of laughter and tears in between.<\/p>\n<p>At one point, when Bigley said he felt scared, one of the sober facilitators encouraged him to face those fears head-on to learn from them. Ultimately, Bigley said he found empathy for his abusers, who had been abused themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Echoing Carpenter, he said it felt like undergoing \u201c10 years of therapy\u201d all at once. During the six-hour trip, he was able to speak his abuser\u2019s name and forgive them. He reflected on times when he contemplated suicide and realized he had more to give the world, his wife and his daughters.<\/p>\n<p>As the group session ended, Bigley remembered everyone circling up again to share their takeaways.<\/p>\n<p>He couldn\u2019t stop crying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt wasn\u2019t sadness,\u201d Bigley said. \u201cThis was honestly the first time I had tears as an adult male that felt real and felt safe and felt legit.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\"> <\/aside>\n<p>Though Bigley found psilocybin helpful in processing his traumatic memories, its efficacy in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has not been formally studied in clinical trials, said Garcia-Romeu, the Johns Hopkins psychiatry professor. That\u2019s largely because of multi-decade work done by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies to study the use of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, to treat PTSD. He said trials using psilocybin to treat PTSD are in the works.<\/p>\n<p>The substance has shown anti-depressant effects both immediately and long-term in a number of other trials, and Garcia-Romeu said that suggests it could be effective for people experiencing PTSD symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a huge amount of literature on studying psilocybin and other psychedelics in healthy people \u2014 so people who don\u2019t have any diagnosis. And those people show enhancements in their well-being and spirituality,\u201d he said. \u201cIf those people feel they\u2019re having well-being enhancements, then it\u2019s likely other people could have that, even without a clinical diagnosis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Bigley, the experience with psilocybin proved so transformative that he began growing his own mushrooms. He continued his self-exploration through the use of other substances, including ayahuasca.<\/p>\n<p>He plans to establish a licensed growing facility and open a retreat center when Colorado\u2019s industry gets off the ground so that other people can access the healing he found through psychedelics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI realize they\u2019re not for everybody. I realize the stigma from the \u201960s that people have on psychedelics,\u201d Bigley said. \u201cBut I also realize that if people are willing to let down their guard and dive in and explore themselves on the deepest levels, there\u2019s so much healing that can come from it. That\u2019s why I want to explore Colorado\u2019s legal avenues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/newsletter-signup\/checkup-denver\/\">Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get health news sent straight to your inbox.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Colorado voters&#8217; approval of a psilocybin measure in 2022 means a growing number of Americans who turn to psychedelic-assisted therapy no longer have to seek help underground. The Post talked to several who&#8217;ve found relief from mental health challenges. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7909,7038,460,52,6811,1843,1344,7143,1345,7153,6892,7938,4995,77,9,7300,8146,5019,170,8147,8148,1777,1,3,1566,7072,6923,9452,6929,61,1736],"tags":[7910,7039,3034,2632,6816,4411,3914,7144,3915,7155,6893,7939,4996,2655,7305,8151,5022,2748,8152,8153,4345,4134,7073,6924,9456,6931],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9827"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9827\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}