Study: The Best Shroom Music Playlist
Researchers say they’ve found the best musical genre to listen to while participating in psilocybin mushroom therapy.
A new study from scientists at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine took a look at what is referred to as “set and setting” in the psychedelic community: the environment a patient finds themselves in while participating in a psilocybin therapy session.
In ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, researchers analyzed the effects of the musical genre played during tobacco cessation sessions. Participants were exposed to two different genres of music over two separate psilocybin sessions: Western classical and “overtone-based”—featuring instruments with a “particularly strong overtone signature” like Tibetan singing bowls, gongs, didgeridoo, chimes, bells, sitar, and human voice overtone singing.
According to the results, participants tended to rate mystical experiences higher while listening to the overtone playlist compared to the Western classical playlist. Participants were given the option of choosing which playlist they listened to during a third session, and 60 percent chose the overtone list.
Smoking abstinence based on musical choice was similar during the third session, but those who chose the overtone list gained a “slight benefit” (66.7 percent versus 50 percent).
The study’s authors say this should bring into question the traditional choice of playing Western classical music during psilocybin sessions.
Weed Use Spikes Among Parents, Alcohol-Users
A recent poll found that parents have increased their cannabis use since the beginning of the pandemic. It also found that nearly half of cannabis consumers report reducing their alcohol consumption while increasing their cannabis consumption during the same time.
According to a press release, the poll was conducted on behalf of Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. by The Harris Poll in October. The online survey asked 1,895 adults what made them start using cannabis during the pandemic. Around 54 percent said they began using cannabis to reduce stress and anxiety, around 50 percent said they used it to relax and around 48 percent said they used it to help them sleep.
The poll also found that 52 percent of parents of children under 18 who participated said they began or increased their cannabis consumption since the start of the pandemic, compared to 33 percent of non-parents who reported the same behavior.
Overall, 45 percent of respondents said they’ve reduced or replaced their alcohol consumption with cannabis, and 33 percent said they prefer cannabis to alcohol.
