‘Magic’ mushroom compound psilocybin relieves cluster headaches. If only it were legal
Neurologists call cluster headaches the most painful condition known. Psychedelics offer sufferers hope, but are illegal in most places
Joe McKay tried everything for the blinding headaches that began in the months after 9/11, when the former New York firefighter spent weeks wading through the dust and smoke at the World Trade Center, whose towers were toppled in the 2001 terrorist attack.
On his worst days, McKay was in agony every few hours, feeling like someone had stabbed him in the eye with an ice pick.
“It’s the worst pain I’ve ever felt,” he said.
Some common medications for cluster headaches have serious side effects. For example, Verapamil can cause heart rhythm problems such as heart block, which occurs when electrical signals in the heart are disrupted, or bradycardia – slower heart beat – and neurologists often give patients an electrocardiogram (ECG) to test their heart health before prescribing it.
McKay heard about an unusual treatment: psilocybin, the psychedelic chemical found in “magic” mushrooms.
