A new clinical trial has found that psilocybin — the active compound in "magic mushrooms" — combined with cognitive behavioral therapy was significantly more effective at helping smokers quit than the standard nicotine patch.
The randomized trial, conducted at Johns Hopkins University and published on March 10, enrolled 82 adult daily smokers who had tried and failed to quit an average of six times before. One group received a single supervised dose of psilocybin alongside 13 weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy, while the other followed a standard 8- to 10-week nicotine patch regimen with the same therapy. After six months, participants in the psilocybin group had six times higher odds of sustained abstinence compared to those using patches.
"There was no question the psilocybin group did much better," said Matthew Johnson, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and the study's first author. Johnson has been a leading researcher in the field since a 2014 pilot study first demonstrated psilocybin's potential as a smoking cessation aid. The latest trial represents a significant step forward, using a randomized comparison group and biological verification to confirm that participants had actually stopped smoking.
The study was relatively small, and participants were predominantly white and male, which limits how broadly the results can be applied. Still, the findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting psychedelic-assisted therapy could eventually become another tool in the fight against tobacco addiction, which remains one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide. Roughly 40% of participants in the psilocybin group achieved prolonged abstinence — a notable result in a field where even modest quit rates are considered meaningful.