Possible Medical Applications of LSD

There has been a resurgence of the idea of using psychedelic drugs to treat alcoholism and maybe even nicotine addiction. The first study published on this subject was performed in the late 1960s and early 1970s by Teri Krebs and Pål-Ørjan Johansen. According to the article, "Psychedelics were promoted by psychiatrists in the 1950s as having a range of medical uses — to treat conditions such as schizophrenia, for example..." Recent interest has been taken in this kind of medication, as researchers are looking into the benefits of the active ingredients of psychedelics, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine in ecstasy, ayahuasca, and psilocybin of hallucinogenic mushrooms, for the treatment of various psychological complications, such as post traumatic stress disorder, drug and alcohol addictions, and nicotine addiction. 

So how does this work? Researchers are not entirely sure as to how this treatment works, as the hallucinogenic drugs not only act in a similar manner as serotonin neurotransmitters (and affect the same regions that serotonin would), but they also affect other, unknown, regions of the brain, creating a "snow globe" effect that weakens reinforced brain connections and dynamics. This is a stumbling block for the researchers that will prove to be vital in order to prove that the benefits of this therapy for alcohol and other addictions outweighs the possible complications. As of now, though, researchers would benefit more from studying human behavioral responses than the chemical properties of the drug.


This area of treatment is promising, according to the research by Krebs and Johansen, in a double blind study, "Of 536 participants in six trials, 59% of people receiving LSD reported lower levels of alcohol misuse, compared to 38% of people who received a placebo." These are very promising numbers, but they need to be expanded upon in a study with many more participants in order to validate the benefits of using psychedelics as a therapy for alcohol abuse and other addictions. It will be interesting to see where psychedelic drug therapy will go.


Article: http://www.nature.com/news/lsd-helps-to-treat-alcoholism-1.10200