(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Efforts to legalize the use of an ingredient from psychedelic mushrooms to treat people with traumatic brain injuries are being led by a former player for the Chicago Blackhawks.
After Daniel Carcillo retired from hockey in 2015, he said he was suffering from "dementia-like" symptoms, suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety and headaches because of traumatic brain injury caused by numerous concussions.
He said after he was treated with "psilocybin", the main active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, his condition improved.
"It saved my life and I've seen it save the lives of thousands of people around me and I've been immersed in this emerging industry for six years now," he said.
"Psilocybin mainly works on a default mode network of the brain, so it allows an individual to get to the root cause of their trauma."
Carcillo has been lobbying the federal government and states to decriminalize the controlled use of the drug to treat adults with traumatic brain injuries.
Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill to allow adults to receive the drug at licensed centers, while a bill before Indiana legislators would permit the use of state dollars to pay for research into the drug.
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