No shroom for addicts

THE use of psilocybin or magic mushrooms is linked to a lower risk of opioid addiction, according to a US study.

Researchers used survey data to gauge psychedelic drug use, opioid use and signs of opioid use disorder.

They said opioid use disorder was 30 per cent less likely among those who had used psilocybin compared with those who had never used it, and most symptoms of opioid dependence and abuse were less likely to occur among people who had tried psilocybin.

They could not establish whether psilocybin use led to lower risk of opioid addiction, but there is a possibility the drug affects the transmission of serotonin and dopamine, possibly affecting the way addictions develop.