Is The Next Green Rush In Medical Mushrooms?

While medical cannabis takes the world by storm, another all-natural drug is quietly attracting investors (and consumers) in the know…

Medical mushrooms.

Medicinal mushrooms, just like cannabis, have been used since ancient times as treatment for a range of diseases, both of the mind and the body. There are several different kinds of mushrooms, including both hallucinogenic and non-hallucinogenic that has shown promise as treatment.

If you’re looking for new avenues to invest in, medical mushrooms is it.

Just ask Bruce Linton, former CEO of Canopy Growth, a major player in the cannabis industry. Linton left the firm last year, and has now invested in Mind Medicine Inc., a neuropharmaceutical research company currently working on developing medicine derived from non-hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Linton was recently elected into MindMed’s board of directors, though his fascination with psychedelics is nothing new. “Prohibition or poor regulatory frameworks globally don’t mean that the underlying regulated substances are in fact terrible. The therapeutic potential of psychedelics is greater than cannabinoids, for sure,” he told Benzinga.

He intends to help uncover its therapeutic potential, even if these substances are banned by the FDA. “The whole point of this exercise is to build a large platform company that welcomes many, many research projects… and turns them into finished outcomes that create therapeutic benefit,” Linton said.

Specifically, mushrooms can be used for treating opioid addiction, extreme depression, and ADHD. Ironically, mushrooms, just like cannabis, have a history of prohibition which Linton thinks will soon be irrelevant once people learn about its therapeutic qualities.

“At the end of the day, we’re having the same conversation, with the same cohort.”

So How Legal Are Mushrooms?

It may not be legal nationwide just yet, but some towns and cities around the world are already making strides.

In May last year, Denver, Colorado legalized the adult use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms, making it the lowest priority of law enforcement. Less than a month after Denver, Oakland in California passed a similar law. Oakland City Council Member Noel Gallo acknowledges that mushrooms have traditionally been used “for providing healing, knowledge, creativity, and spiritual connection.”

Other than that, mushrooms are still illegal in all 50 states but that isn’t stopping activists from calling for complete decriminalization. The research on mushrooms continues, and perhaps soon we could see gradual changes in the legality of mushrooms within the United States in the same way that cannabis was legalized.

Mushrooms Has The Potential To Replace Antidepressants

Though medical mushrooms seems to be promising for several conditions, it perhaps holds the most hope for the over 264 million people around the world struggling with this paralyzing mental condition.

The current pharmaceutical drugs intended for treating depression come with a host of side effects, and many of them aren’t even effective enough.

But mushrooms could be the breakthrough medicine that we have been waiting for.

A recent study conducted by researchers at King’s College London together with COMPASS Pathways revealed that 89 subjects with treatment-resistant depression found benefit from psilocybin, the main compound in hallucinogenic mushrooms. They tested the results against a placebo, and it’s the largest study of its kind to date.

“We are focused on getting psilocybin therapy safely to as many patients who would benefit from it as possible,” explains Dr. Ekaterina Malievskaia, COMPASS Pathways co-founder. “We are grateful to the many pioneering research institutions whose work over the years has helped to demonstrate the potential of psilocybin in medicine.”

“This is the largest controlled study of psilocybin to date. The results of the study are clinically reassuring and support further development of psilocybin as treatment for patients with mental health problems that haven’t improved with conventional therapy, such as treatment resistant depression,” adds Dr. James Rucker, a Senior Clinical Lecturer and Consultant Psychiatrist at King’s College London.

Mushrooms AND Weed? Israeli Company Finds Breakthrough In This Combination

We know that cannabis is powerful, and mushrooms may just as very well be, too.

But what happens when you combine two of the most therapeutic all-natural substances known to man? An Israeli company is about to show us.

Cannabotech, an Israeli medical marijuana company, is currently in the works to research how a certain combination of mushrooms and cannabinoids as well as medical herbs can treat certain conditions. They have already come up with 5 blends that are meant to treat infertility, inflammation, colon cancer, fatty liver, and heart disease.

These products are waiting for clinical trials. “Every cannabis plant has 30-4o cannabinoids that are active in the body and a total of several hundred cannabinoids,” explains Elchanan Shaked, Cannabotech’s co-founder and CEO. “We believe that the secret to the plant’s activity lies in the cannabinoids that appear in small quantities in the plant. If you change the ratios between them and increase their concentration in the final product, very high medical effectiveness and unique compounds for treatment of various diseases can be attained.”

He added that Cannabotech will rely on science to prove that their unique combination of cannabinoids are more beneficial than those found in plants. Though the idea of combining cannabinoids for treating illnesses is nothing new, what Cannabotech is doing differently is adding mushrooms to the mixture.

Mushrooms Today: Cannabis History Repeating Itself?

No matter which way you look at it, the medical mushroom industry seems to be mirroring the roots of the cannabis movement.

In fact, there are even celebrities who vouch for the efficacy of mushrooms, and just 5 years ago celebs were also some of the biggest advocates for cannabis.

Bill Gates, perhaps the richest man in the world, has admitted to using mushrooms. Joe Rogan, Susan Sarandon, and David Carradine are among other celebrities who admit to having used or currently use mushrooms.

There is no doubt that medicinal mushrooms, hallucinogenic or not, holds a lot of promise. The science is there, the research is there: now it’s all about getting more people to try it.