earvin "magic" johnson, josé andrés and jordan davis. apologies to matt damon. we did run out of time for him. "nightline" is next. thanks for watching. good night! [ cheering and applause ] this is "nightline." >> tonight, 'shroom boom. the growing number of moms microdosing on magic mushrooms. >> microdosing is mommy is present and aware and showing up, maybe for the first time ever. >> now poised to become big business. >> what do you think this looks like in five years? >> i think it's a revolution.

>> even actors like kristen bell getting candid on shows like jimmy kimmel about using them. >> i wanted to try on my birthday. >> but are they safe? >> you're kind of experimenting on yourself. plus, recess therapy. we revisit the social media smash that's made us all corn-tastic. behind the scenes of the viral show asking little kids big questions. and 2024. runyon around the world. >> "nightline" will be right back. — ( clears throat ) for fast sore throat relief, try vicks vapocool drops. with two times more menthol per drop, and powerful vicks vapors to vaporize sore throat pain. vicks vapocool drops. vaporize sore throat pain. mucinex nightshift fights your worst night-time symptoms, so you can get to sleep and wake up ready to go. how could you? ( ♪ ) wake up to a new you. with mucinex nightshift,

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>> byron: good evening. thank you for joining us. happy new year. tonight we revisit the use of psychedelic mushrooms. once seen as counterculture, a practice called microdosing is approaching the mainstream and gaining popularity among some suburban mothers. but what does the science say? here is abc's eva pilgrim. >> good morning! >> i think i am on many levels a normal mom. grocery shopping and cooking dinners and soccer practice and ballet practice and all the things. >> reporter: for tracy

motherhood comes first, but that doesn't mean it isn't without stress. >> and i think your body just goes into like survival mode or go mode. but at some point, i think it catches up with us. and it caught up with me big time. >> reporter: in her 40s, tracy again a journey that led her to an unexpected place. so what are these? >> these are dried magic mushrooms. >> reporter: that's the magic mushroom? up to four days a week tracy ingests a dose of magic mushrooms that it in them. how do you microdose? >> i take my capsule. it's 100 milligrams. and i just open it up and put it in the mixture. i often describe microdosing as something that calms the frayed edges around us. and as mothers we have very, very frayed edges. >> reporter: in colorado using

mushrooms has been decriminalized. the state along with oregon are the only two to legalize the use of the drug. multiple cities in four other states have decriminalized it at the local level. >> that harvest right there could be 12 people. so that could be two weeks supply. >> reporter: tonight we go into the 'shroom boom, psychedelics once condemned as part of counterculture thinking drug, which has such a potent effect on man's mind, it's very dangerous drug. >> turn on, tune in, drop out. >> reporter: are popping up in suburbia, from the growing numbers of moms taking small doses of magic mushrooms. >> this can refresh. it's like a reset. >> reporter: to celebs like kristen bell getting candid on jimmy kimmel. >> i wanted to try mushrooms for my 40th birthday. >> reporter: to the increasing study of them as potential treatments. >> we're not sure that they work yet. but studies are showing really promising effects. >> reporter: businesses are taking note too.

>> they're calling this the 'shroom boom, right? >> reporter: but for all the attention on microdosing, the research is sparse. >> we know very little about microdosing. you should know that you're kind of experimenting on yourself. there isn't a lot of high quality data about the safety and efficacy of that practice. >> reporter: dr. josh woolley of ucsf san francisco has been studying large doses of granted it to be studied for its potential in helping treat depression. technically, it is still illegal in 48 states, and at the federal level is a banned substance classified as a schedule 1 drug. what are you optimistic that psychedelic drugs can be useful in? >> psychedelics could be helpful to people who are depressed, eating disorder or addictions. we're just at the very beginning of trying to examine who and how

these drugs might be helpful to people. >> reporter: for some, using psychedelics might trigger a severe psychiatric episode. they may also raise heart and blood pressure and have not been studied in pregnant or breast-feeding women. experts say you should talk to your doctor before using them. for tracy, she says the effects of microdosing are subtle. >> is there a high that comes with microdosing? >> no. microdosing is subperceptual. it is the idea that you take a small enough dose that when taken consistently over time, brings on the same effects that one achieves when taking a large dose journey, but without the large dose journey. >> reporter: for generation, we've seen moms find ways to destress, from valium being glorified in the rolling stones song "mother's little helper" ♪ ♪ mother needs something today toe calm her down ♪ ♪ and though she's not really

ill, there's a little yellow pill ♪ >> reporter: to mommy wine downtime becoming part of pop culture. tracy believes microdosing is more than just mommy's little helper. they will is not what microdosing is. microdosing is mommy is present and aware and showing up, maybe for the first time ever. >> reporter: how does one manage sort of their emotional state when they are under stress? is microdosing helpful there? it's unclear. >> reporter: dr. neil epperson studies microdosing at the university of colorado. she says women are likely to experience depression and anxiety disorders more frequently than men. but cautions that the stress of parenthood isn't the same as clinical depression. >> stress is normal. it's when we beat ourselves up, we don't give ourselves grace, and we start to look at stress as being dangerous and bad and hurting us. >> reporter: epperson says moms

who microdose are increasingly finding support in one another. >> it's kind of also inadvertently creating a village for a lot of women that are finding their group online and really benefitting from that sense of doing something together. >> everybody comes with a unique history and a unique personality. and the mushrooms work differently with everybody. >> reporter: in medford, oregon, kate ingraham is becoming part of the community she never expected. have you ever done recreational drugs before? >> no. i drink some wine. that's as wild as i get ever. >> were people surprised to hear you were curious about this? >> very, very surprised. so this is what my microdose looks like. >> reporter: kate is a grief counselor, author, and mother of two, who turned to psilocybin out of curiosity and the potential it might have for her

clients down the road. >> it feels like a really nice exhale. >> i think so many americans are looking for some sort of magic pill to make them feel better. do you think psilocybin is that magic pill? >> no, i don't think anything is a magic pill. i think it could be incredibly helpful. it's a tool. but the work still has to be done by the person. >> this is a very secure place. >> reporter: ten minutes down the road from kate, and address and jennifer met have opened satya therapeutics in oregon. the two are also licensed manufacturers of magic mushrooms. >> and this is our second harvest of this tote. >> reporter: in january of this year, oregon became the first state in the u.s. to legalize the growth, sale, and use of

psilocybin in monitored settings. >> every product is tracked from the moment of its inception to the actual end client. see, i'll spread it open more. see how it's starting to bruise more. >> that's the oxidation? that's the oxidation of the psilocybin. >> reporter: a single session costs about a thousand dollars, not including travel expenses. >> 85% of the people we've seen have come from out of state. >> we have people that have depression, anxiety, some medicine resistant ptsd. >> what do you think this looks like in five years? >> i think it's a revolution. >> and i see the future as what could be the benefits of the mushroom in helping what i see as a broken system. and i see this as hopeful. >> reporter: back in colorado -- >> so this is our chocolate machine. this is where all of the chocolate magic happens.

>> reporter: business is booming for one company that is tapping into the newfound popularity of mushrooms. >> so this right here that we're mixing in is our proprietary blend. >> it's a time where people are starting to be more open and curious. when people hear the word "mushrooms," they tend to think they're psychedelic. and that's not always the case. >> reporter: lindsey goodstein and charles cruz founded a brand of functional mushrooms with chocolate. >> they do not have the compound psilocybin that makes magic mushrooms able to create a psychedelic experience. >> reporter: functional mushrooms do not have psychedelic properties, and health experts warn they are not a proven treatment for any illness or disease. people who microdose magic mushrooms sometimes take functional mushrooms in conjunction with them. charlotte and lindsey are hoping to one day expand into psychedelics. >> as more people get really fascinated by mushrooms, it is going to drive more research

around mushrooms, and that's going to drive more innovation in the space. the 'shroom boom, it's very cultural right now, but its implications are going to be far-reaching. >> reporter: for tracy, she started an online business. >> i would love to just drop in and see how everyone is feeling. >> reporter: aptly named "moms on mushrooms," a digital platform aimed at connecting and advising microdosing moms. do you think you're a better mom on mushrooms? >> i think i'm a more empathetic mom, and i actually started listening and looking at my kid from the heart. >> byron: our thanks to eva. coming up, recess therapy. wisdom from the mouths of babes. to help protect from hiv. i prep without pills. with apretude, a prescription medicine used to reduce the risk of hiv without daily prep pills.

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tonight, we check back in with the hit social media series recess therapy, which has become a salve for weary souls. it features children providing smart answers in smart, silly and sometimes brutally honest ways. here is abc's ashan singh. >> where do you think money comes from? >> look at this thing. i can't imagine a more beautiful thing. >>. >> reporter: children are honest. are you kidding? >> no. >> reporter: and they don't always hold back. >> do you think i have a lot of friends? >> no. >> reporter: welcome to recess therapy, the show hosted by

julian shapiro barn ham, where he asks little kids big questions. >> the idea was even someone as old as me can still learn a great deal and listen to someone that young. initially, i would bring kids subjects like happiness, anger, climate change, things that i was like how do i navigate this as an adult in the world, how do i grapple with these things. let me see if i can get any advice from kids. >> the series has been a smash hit, racking up almost 450 million views on youtube since it debuted in april 2021. with some of julian's segments going mega viral. >> i love pickles! >> reporter: kids like dylan. >> i really like komodo dragons. >> if you could talk to them, what would you say to them? >> i would say i love you. >> and? >> i love you. you're so nice. >> reporter: the show, since getting so big, it's has celebrity guests, like maya

rudolph. >> i need some coffee. where is the mug and everything. >> billy bobbi brown. >> what makes me a good 19-year-old? >> you seem very kind. >> reporter: and even olivia rodrigo stopping by. >> this is my friend olivia rodrigo? >> what? ♪ god i wish that i could do that ♪ >> reporter: and of course there is the most viral interview subject of all, 8-year-old tariq. who really loves corn. >> i really like corn. >> reporter: this clip took on a life of its own, heralding the summer of corn kid, spotting musical parodies. ♪ it's corn, ♪ >> reporter: a chipotle ad. >> any corn? >> yes corn. >> reporter: and the parents on the drew barrymore show. >> he has been taking the internet by storm with his love of corn, and do we love him. >> reporter: we met up with

julian as he headed to prospect park in brooklyn to film an episode. he was actually raised not too far from here. tell me about 6-year-old julian. it sounds like you were a pretty introspective kid. >> i was a very outgoing kid, i think. they would call me the mayor of brooklyn because i would talk to everyone, apparently. >> reporter: that ability to connect with everyone, anywhere, helping propel recess therapy beyond brooklyn. former first lady michelle obama took notice, talking to julian about the lessons kids can teach us. >> but kids, you know, look at these beautiful faces. they're open. they are ready to learn. >> reporter: these kids have a lot to teach us. on topics like our planet. >> you're bigger, so you're worse for the environment. i'm small. >> reporter: love. >> is there anything that you love that's not a human? >> bacon. >> do you love bacon more than your mom? >> i can't choose.

>> reporter: and even our time left on earth. you've got a long, long amazing life ahead of you. >> i know. longer than yours. >> really? how much longer do you think have i? >> 20 weeks. >> repor . >> when you go out there today, tell me about the game plan. >> we're going to be finishing an episode i started last week about icky feelings. i'm talking to kids can about getting embarrassed and grossed out. >> how do you feel when there is a yucky thing near you? >> i just walk away. that's it. >> all right. so you're going to walk away? >> yeah. >> let me see. so here is some worms. >> thank you. i thought you were going to walkway? is it embarrassing that you're doing this interview right now? >> kind of. >> what do you want to say to people who feel confused about why they get embarrassed? >> it's normal to get embarrassed.

that's it. >> did you ever get surprised by the kids' answers? and do you still get surprised? >> i have never expected what they said. it is always insane every time. >> reporter: the idea is simple enough. asking kids about life and the world around them. but recess therapy is different. julian's secret sauce, prescribing childhood curiosity to cure the anxiety of adulthood. and it seems to be working. >> i think it is really important and really powerful and really necessary to give children a voice and to hear what they have to say. especially because so often the responses are laced with such positivity. >> cool! >> our thanks to ashan. when we come back, new year's celebrations from around the world.

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and finally tonight, 2024, rung in around the world. from london to greece, from kenya to qatar, from dupe bai to right here in new york city's times square. people around the world looking to the sky, ushering in the new year. friends and families and cities abroad at home celebrate together. >> i hope we all be healthy and wonderful new year. >> remain healthy and happy. >> yes. >> that's about it. >> happy new year! >> happy new year! >> may it will filled with blessings for all of us. happy new year. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.