Editor's Picks


rigorous test to date of psilocybin as a treatment for cocaine use disorder. (Hendricks et al., 2026; Psilocybin in the treatment of cocaine use disorder: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open 9(5): e2611029; doi.org/10.1001/ jamanetworkopen.2026.11029.) Cocaine addiction has long resisted


Mushrooms for good mental health


I


have had the good fortune to catch lectures by psychologist Peter Hendricks, of the University


of Alabama at Birmingham, at the annual Telluride Mushroom Festival on more than one occasion and they are always fascinating and insightful. Hendricks is one of the most innovative researchers in addiction science. Much of his earlier work has focused on tobacco dependence, where he helped demonstrate that classic psychedelics— particularly psilocybin—could produce quit rates far exceeding those of conventional cessation therapies. His studies on nicotine addiction, mindfulness-based approaches, and the psychological mechanisms underlying substance use positioned him as a leading voice in exploring how altered states of consciousness might disrupt deeply ingrained habits. Hendricks’s research consistently pushes beyond symptom management toward understanding how meaning, insight, and behavioral flexibility contribute to recovery, laying the groundwork for his later trials targeting more treatment- resistant addictions. A recent clinical trial led by Peter


Hendricks marks a turning point in addiction research, offering the most


pharmacological intervention; despite decades of research, no FDA-approved medication exists, and relapse rates remain stubbornly high. Hendricks and his colleagues approached the problem from a different angle, drawing on the growing body of evidence that classic psychedelics, when paired with structured psychotherapy, can catalyze profound behavioral change. Teir study, published in JAMA Network Open, is the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate this possibility in a population disproportionately affected by cocaine use: low-income, predominantly Black adults in Birmingham, Alabama. Te trial enrolled 40 participants with


moderate to severe cocaine use disorder, all of whom expressed a genuine desire to quit. After a month of preparatory cognitive-behavioral therapy, participants were randomly assigned to receive either a high dose of psilocybin or an active placebo, diphenhydramine, in a carefully controlled therapeutic setting. Te dosing sessions were conducted in a comfortable, livingroom- like environment with two trained therapists present, followed by another month of integration therapy. Participants were then followed for six months, with abstinence verified through both self-report and urinalysis. Te results were striking. Tose


who received psilocybin showed a dramatically higher percentage of cocaine-free days, were far more likely to achieve complete abstinence, and took significantly longer to lapse if they did return to use. Tese effects were not subtle; they represented large, clinically meaningful differences between the two groups. Equally important, the treatment was safe. No serious adverse events occurred, and the most common side effect—temporary increases in


blood pressure—was easily managed. For a single-dose intervention, the durability of the effect was remarkable, suggesting that psilocybin may help disrupt deeply ingrained patterns of compulsive drug use. Hendricks’s study also stands out


for its demographic significance. Psychedelic research has historically focused on white, middleclass participants, leaving major gaps in understanding how these therapies work across diverse populations. By centering a group often excluded from clinical trials, the UAB team broadened the field’s relevance and demonstrated that psychedelic-assisted therapy can be both acceptable and effective in communities most affected by cocaine addiction. While the authors caution that


larger, multi-site trials are needed, the implications are clear. Psilocybin- assisted therapy may offer a new therapeutic pathway for one of the most treatment-resistant substance use disorders. More broadly, the study underscores the potential of psychedelics to shift the landscape of addiction medicine, not through incremental pharmacology but through experiences that help people reorient their lives in lasting ways.


Mushrooms for good enviro-mental health


A


new paper in the journal Nature synthesizes one of the most comprehensive assessments


of how tropical rainforest biodiversity rebounds after disturbance, revealing the remarkable yet uneven resilience of species and ecological functions across an entire forest community (652: 1232– 1239; DOI: 10.1038/s41586026074393). Te study by Metz and colleagues


offers one of the most comprehensive examinations to date of how tropical forest biodiversity recovers after disturbance. Conducted in a lowland rainforest where roughly 60% of forests have been lost or severely degraded, the research responds to a central challenge of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration: understanding not just how trees return, but how entire ecological communities reassemble across trophic levels. Te authors analyzed recovery trajectories for 16 taxonomic groups spanning three kingdoms, allowing


Summer 2026 FUNGI Volume 19:2 5


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