An ingredient found in hallucinogenic mushrooms may help ease the anxiety of terminally ill cancer patients. In a small study, patients who took a small dose of psilocybin, the active ingredient of so-called magic mushrooms, under the supervision of a trained therapist reported feeling less anxious and had an improved overall mood in the months that followed. At six months, the group’s average score on a scale measuring depression had declined by 30 percent. The study, which examines whether hallucinogenic drugs can be used safely as a way to relieve the anxiety of dying patients, aims to revive a field of study that was abandoned in the early 1970s, when many mind-altering drugs were outlawed. Discuss