A for-profit company that Peter Thiel invests in has plans to start clinical trials of magic mushrooms for depression within the first three months of 2018. Psychedelics appear to disrupt the brain's activity patterns in a positive and life-changing way. Several research institutions are studying psychedelics for their potential to treat depression, anxiety, addiction, and PTSD. When Clark Martin tripped on magic mushrooms for the first time, he felt as though he'd been knocked off a boat and left for dead. "It was like falling off the boat in the open ocean, looking back, and the boat is gone.