Psilocybin mushrooms go way back. How far back, humans were tripping on magic mushrooms, is not an easy question to answer. A 1992 journal, "Integration:Journal of Mind-Moving Plants and Culture" stated that rock art in the Sahara dating back 9,000 years depicts hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Magic mushrooms may explain why kids wait for a flying elf to bring them presents on Dec. 25. Siberian shamans used to bring gifts of hallucinogenic mushrooms to households each winter. Reindeer were the "spirit animals" of these shamans, and ingesting mushrooms might just convince a hallucinating tribe member that those animals could fly. These Shamans were also said to have a tradition of dressing up like the mushroom; they dress up in red suits with white spots. At first thought, one thinks it's ridiculous, but it's not.

Psilocybin was banned in the late 1960s, but an increased understanding of the drug's physiological mechanisms have sparked a revival of research into its potential therapeutic benefits. Can a psychedelic trip change the way people with life-threatening cancer face death? Two clinical trials suggest so.

'Shrooms hyperconnect the brain. Psilocybin actually boosts the brain's connectivity according to a 2014 study. Under the influence of magic mushrooms, the brain synchronizes activity among areas that would not normally be connected. Mushrooms also destroy fear. Results of two volunteer trials showed that psilocybin produced immediate and significant decreases in measures of depression, anxiety and mood disturbance, and increases in measures of quality of life, life meaning, death acceptance, and optimism. Amazingly these benefits were still present in 80 percent of participants six months after ingesting the mushrooms. People experience a sense of unity and a feeling that everything is connected.

The study will now be carried out on a larger sample of participants. And if that trial shows the same results, psilocybin potentially could be rescheduled to become a prescription medication for cancer-related anxiety and depression.

article links:  livescience.com and newscientist.com