TL;DR 5 Sentence Summary - Religious Leaders Get High on Mushrooms, For Science

It may sound like the first line of a bad joke, but this scenario is playing out in one of the first scientific investigations into the effects of psychedelic drugs on religious experience - albeit in a laboratory rather than a bar.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore have enlisted two dozen religious leaders from a wide range of denominations, to participate in a study in which they will be given two powerful doses of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms.

The experiment, which is currently under way, aims to assess whether a transcendental experience makes the leaders more effective and confident in their work and how it alters their religious thinking.

The participants will be given the drug and then spend time lying on a couch, wearing eyeshades and listening to religious music on headphones to augment their inward spiritual journey.

The latest work is thought to be the first involving religious leaders from different faiths.

Source: The Guardian

Looks like we're slowly progressing towards openness for the hallucinogenic plant medicines. I'm very curious to see what real research will be able to prove. For anyone that's ever had a mystical experience on mushrooms, it can have a very positive lasting change. The more we understand, the better we can equip ourselves to supplement these ego-resetting supplements. Lets go John Hopkins!