Leading psychopharmacologist Roland Griffiths discloses the ways that psychedelic drugs can be used to create spiritually meaningful, personally transformative experiences for all patients, especially the terminally ill.

Could psychedelics cure an anxious mind? Author and journalist Michael Pollan thinks so. He spoke to ITV News Science Editor Tom Clarke about his bestseller ‘How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics’. For his research Pollan, 63, who recently appeared in Netflix series Cooked, personally took psychedelic drugs such as LSD and even the smoked venom of the Sonoran Desert Toad which is hallucinogenic. • Subscribe to ITV News on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2lOHmNj • Get breaking news and more stories at http://www.itv.com/news Follow ITV News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itvnews/ Follow ITV News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/itvnews Follow ITV News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itvnews/

Michael Pollan has written 5 New York Times best sellers including Food Rules; In Defense of Food; and The Omnivore’s Dilemma. In this talk, he shares insights and answer questions about psychedelics based on research done for his book "How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence". Get the book here: https://goo.gl/x37Cpr

Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., is Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His principal research focus in both clinical and preclinical laboratories has been on the behavioral and subjective effects of mood-altering drugs. He is also currently a member of the Expert Advisory Panel on Drug Dependence for the World Health Organization. About TEDx, x=independently organize event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self- organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)