Unlike with alcohol or nicotine, there is not a pharmacological option available to individuals addicted to cocaine to help them stop using the drug. However, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham believe the tool to help individuals treat their addiction may very well exist.

Researchers in the School of Public Health are conducting a clinical trial to see whether psilocybin, the active compound found in Psilocybe mushrooms, will help individuals addicted to cocaine stop using the harmful drug.

“We aren’t advocating for everyone to go out and do it,” said Peter Hendricks, PhD, associate professor of health behavior in the School of Public Health at UAB. “What we are saying is that this drug, like every other drug, could have appropriate use in a medical setting. We want to see whether it helps treat cocaine use disorder.”