AN OXFORD scientist promoting the potential medical qualities of mind-bending hallucinogenics will be hosting a question and answer session at the Westgate Centre tonight.

Dr Robin Carhart-Harris led the world’s first study into the use of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, to treat ‘untreatable depression’.

The Q&A will follow a screening of a new documentary Magic Medicine, focussing on the 2014 clinical trial which saw 20 volunteers exposed to the psychedelic substance.

And despite one volunteer describing one trip as ‘the worst six hours of my life’, the Imperial College London trial led to 50 per cent of the subjects, who hadn’t responded to any previous treatment, living without anti-depressants at three weeks while at six months, six were still depression free.

Dr Carhart-Harris, founder of the Oxford-based Psychedelic Research Group, said magic mushrooms had the potential to ‘revolutionise depression treatment’.

He added: “Because the drugs had been so vilified for so long by the press and society, it took us three years to get the permissions that we needed to use psilocybin in research again.

“The only thing that made us continue to wade through the red tape was the belief that there was great, untapped promise here.”

‘Magic Medicine’ will be shown at The Curzon Oxford tonight from 6.45pm.