Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has been conducting psychopharmacology research at Johns Hopkins for more than four decade and has published more than 380 scientific reports. In 1999 he initiated a research program investigating the effects of the classic psychedelic psilocybin that includes studies in healthy volunteers, in beginning and long-term meditators, and in religious leaders. Therapeutic studies with psilocybin include treatment of psychological distress in cancer patients, treatment of cigarette smoking cessation, and psilocybin treatment of major depression. Other studies have examined the effects of salvinorin A, dextromethorphan, and ketamine which produce altered states of consciousness having some similarities to psilocybin. Drug interaction studies and brain imaging studies (fMRI and PET) are examining pharmacological and neural mechanisms of action. The Hopkins laboratory has also conducted a series of internet survey studies characterizing various psychedelic experiences including those associated with acute and enduring adverse effects, mystical-type effects, entity and God-encounter experiences, and alleged positive changes in mental health, including decreases in depression and anxiety, decreases in substance abuse, and reductions in death anxiety.

Dr. Griffiths research can be found in the following journals:​

“Pilot Study of the 5-HT2AR Agonist Psilocybin in the Treatment of Tobacco Addiction.” – Journal of Psychopharmacology (2014)
​
“Survey study of challenging experiences after ingesting psilocybin mushrooms: Acute and enduring positive and negative consequences.” – Journal of Psychopharmacology (2016)

​​”Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial.” – Journal of Psychopharmacology (2016)

“​Potential Therapeutic Effects of Psilocybin.” – Neurotherapeutics (2017)

“​Qualitative and Quantitative Features of Music Reported to Support Peak Mystical Experiences during Psychedelic Therapy Sessions.” – Frontiers in Psychology (2017)

“​Neuroticism is associated with challenging experiences with psilocybin mushrooms.” – Personality and Individual Differences (2017)

“Classic Hallucinogens and Mystical Experiences: Phenomenology and Neural Correlates.​” – Current Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience (2018)

“​Psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience in combination with meditation and other spiritual practices produces enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviors.” – Journal of Psychopharmacology (2018)

“​Intensity of Mystical Experiences Occasioned by 5-MeO-DMT and Comparison With a Prior Psilocybin Study.” – Frontiers in Psychology (2018)

“Psychedelic therapy for smoking cessation: Qualitative analysis of participant accounts.​” – Journal of Psychopharmacology (2018)

“Cessation and reduction in alcohol consumption and misuse after psychedelic use.​” – SAGE Journals (2019)

“​Survey of subjective “God encounter experiences”: Comparisons among naturally occurring experiences and those occasioned by the classic psychedelics psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, or DMT.” – PLOS One (2019)

“​5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) used in a naturalistic group setting is associated with unintended improvements in depression and anxiety.” – The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (2019)