Johns Hopkins says magic mushrooms may help smokers quit

BETHESDA, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Researchers at Johns Hopkins University believe magic mushrooms may be able to help cigarette smokers quit the habit – and now the federal government is putting up millions of dollars to see if they’re right.

Officials at Johns Hopkins Medicine announced they were awarded a nearly $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund the research, which will explore the potential impacts of psilocybin on tobacco addiction. 

As far as they know, it’s the first federal grant for psychedelic treatment research in about 50 years.

"Psilocybin in magic mushrooms can provide an experience that can be one of the most profound of someone’s life, and when administered in the right way, it appears that we can leverage that towards people really making deep reflections about their life and making positive changes like quitting an addictive habit like smoking," explained Matthew Johnson, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who will lead the study.

People have advocated for similar uses of magic mushrooms before. For example in 2020, when they were essentially decriminalized by D.C. voters.

"These plant and mushroom medicine really can make a very impactful change in people’s lives," Melissa Iavasani said at the time.

Still, Johnson said the use of psychedelics does come with some degree of risk.

"Yes, there are risks to psychedelics, but we know a lot about what those risks are, and we can do some very concrete things to squarely address them," Johnson told FOX 5.

The study could start within the next couple of months. Johnson said it builds on promising results from prior research that was mostly funded by philanthropy, not NIH.