Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson credits psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms, for saving his life and hopes that psychedelics can be used to help change the world.
In the past, Tyson has spoken openly about his battle with drugs and depression, and has spoken about wanting commit suicide. He said things changed once he took psilocybin mushrooms and other consciousness-alerting substances, and began spiritual exploration.
“To think where I was – almost suicidal – to this now. Isn’t life a trip, man? It’s amazing medicine, and people don’t look at it from that perspective that it needs to be looked into,” Tyson told Reuters.
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“I can’t even tell you what mental issues I used to have. I was in the sick. Everyone thought I was crazy, I bit this guy’s ear off,” Tyson said in reference to his infamous 1997 fight against Evander Holyfield. “I did all this stuff, and once I got introduced to the shrooms …my whole life changed.”
“I started boxing! Look at what I’m doing now,” he said happily, referring to his recent exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. last November.
According to Reuters, medical professionals have warned against using psychedelics without medical guidance as psilocybin can cause hallucinations, anxiety, and panic.
The 54-year-old has also invested in the cannabis industry and earns around $1 million every month from it.
Rob Hickman, a businessman who partnered with “Iron Mike” told GQ last year that he has witnessed an overall improvement in the former boxing legend, saying, “It changed his life. He’s the perfect person.”
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Forbes recently reported that Cybin, a psychedelic drug development company, was approved to launch a phase two clinical trial with psilocybin and patients experiencing Major Depressive Disorder.
Cybin CEO Doug Drysdale, who worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 30 years, called the approval to start the trial – that will begin later this year – a big step.
“I really think we have the opportunity to revolutionize how you treat mental illness,” Drysdale said. “There’s nothing else out there today that could enable you to remove a person’s depressive symptoms for potentially months at a time.”
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