First trial of LSD as medicine in 40 years shows promise

[bananas]

Source: Los Angeles Times

For the first time in more than four decades, the drug lysergic acid diethylamide -- better known as LSD -- has been the experimental adjunct to psychotherapy in a controlled clinical trial approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. And a newly published study on that trial reports that the medication's anti-anxiety effects on patients facing life-threatening illnesses were sizable, sustained -- and free of worrisome side effects.

<snip>

In a pilot study conducted in Switzerland, 12 patients suffering deep anxiety due to serious illnesses participated in several drug-free psychotherapy sessions, and then joined a pair of therapists for two full-day psychotherapy sessions, separated by two to three weeks, under the influence of LSD. After tapering off any anti-anxiety or antidepressant medications and avoiding alcohol for at least a day, subjects in the trial were given either a 200-microgram dose of LSD or an "active placebo" of 20 micrograms of the drug.

<snip>

The study, led by a private-practice psychiatrist in Switzerland, was published online this week in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. It was sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Assn. for Psychedelic Studies, or MAPS, a nonprofit group based in Santa Cruz that encourages research on legitimate therapeutic uses for hallucinogens.

In recent years, medical and public attention to patients' end-of-life and palliative care has been on the rise. Against that backdrop, the U.S. government has begun to ease its longstanding resistance to the exploration of drugs such as LSD as a means to ease what some have called "existential anxiety."

<snip>

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-lsd-trial-safety-20140304,0,3840273.story

---

The study is open access at http://journals.lww.com/jonmd/Abstract/publishahead/Safety_and_Efficacy_of_Lysergic_Acid.99925.aspx

[Democracyinkind]

1. Yay for Swiss research. Still ridiculous how much shit they had to go through to get it done.

It boggles the mind. Then again, lots of pharma money to uphold Switzerland's narcotics laws, no surprise there.

[bananas]

2. PRESS RELEASE: LSD Study Breaks 40 Years of Research Taboo

http://www.maps.org/media/view/press_release_lsd_study_breaks_40_years_of_research_taboo/

March 4, 2014
PRESS RELEASE: LSD Study Breaks 40 Years of Research Taboo

MAPS

On March 4, 2014, the results of the first study of the therapeutic use of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in humans in over 40 years were published online in the peer-reviewed Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. Sponsored by the non-profit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), the double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study in 12 subjects with advanced-stage illness found statistically significant reductions in anxiety following two LSD-assisted psychotherapy sessions.

Download the press release.

SANTA CRUZ, CALIF. – Today, the results of the first study of the therapeutic use of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in humans in over 40 years were published online in the peer-reviewed Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.
Sponsored by the non-profit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), the double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study in 12 subjects found statistically significant reductions in anxiety associated with advanced stage illness following two LSD-assisted psychotherapy sessions. The results also indicate that LSD-assisted psychotherapy can be safely administered in these subjects, and justify further research.

“The study was a success in the sense that we did not have any noteworthy adverse effects,” reports Principal Investigator Peter Gasser, M.D., a private practice psychiatrist in Solothurn, Switzerland. “All participants reported a personal benefit from the treatment, and the effects were stable over time.”

There is considerable previous human experience using LSD in the context of psychotherapy. From the 1950s through the early 1970s, psychiatrists, therapists, and researchers administered LSD to thousands of people as a treatment for alcoholism, as well as for anxiety and depression in people with advanced stage cancer.

“My LSD experience brought back some lost emotions and ability to trust, lots of psychological insights, and a timeless moment when the universe didn’t seem like a trap, but like a revelation of utter beauty,” says Peter, an Austrian subject who participated in the study.

The study was approved by SwissMedic in December 2007. The first subject was enrolled on April 23, 2008, and the last long-term follow-up interview was conducted on August 8, 2012. Eleven of the 12 subjects had not taken LSD prior to participating in the study.

“This study is historic and marks a rebirth of investigation into LSD-assisted psychotherapy,” says Rick Doblin, Ph.D., MAPS Executive Director. “The positive results and evidence of safety clearly show why additional, larger studies are needed.”

Founded in 1986, MAPS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.


Published paper (electronic ahead-of-print)

Learn more
View the study protocol

CONTACT:
Brad Burge
MAPS Director of Communications
[e-mail]
831-429-6362 x103

Adam Eidinger
Mintwood Strategies
[e-mail]
[phone]

###

[Phlem]

15. But but but ...

http://www.drugabuse.gov/ says it's all bad and scary!

Especially legalizing marijuana. We're gonna have stoned Doctors, Airplane Pilots, and Military!

Cough, cough, weeez..........weeeez.

We're all gonna burn in hell!!!



-p

[truedelphi]

3. I have known two rocket scientists in my life, and one of

The two claimed that without LSD, much of our work on rockets and missiles would not have been accomplished.

It is about time we have accredited scientists researching the chemical to see what ailments it can help us with.

And our government needs to assist them rather than stonewalling such attempts.

[olddad56]

4. In the early 70s, I conducted some private psycho-spiritual research of my own.

I would have to say when the research was conducted with high quality LSD in a beautiful, natural, daytime environment, the results were very life changing, in a positive way. And when conducted in opposite conditions, it was as scared as I have ever been.

All you young independent researchers out there, Be careful, be very careful. If it comes in a capsule, don't even think about taking it. It's not acid, and whatever it is, it is probably cut with crank. Bad trips are no fun.

[PeoViejo]

5. I remember the blue tabs that came out around the time of Woodstock

It must have been some chemical warfare agent because it made a lot of people have psychotic breaks.

Street Drugs are a real risk.

[Phlem]

14. or one could just stick with mushrooms.

Cept for the awful tea that it makes, you know it's not cut with anything.

-p

[olddad56]

18. that is very good advice.

those days of mushrooms bring back some funny memories. Thanks

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

19. I don't know. We had a batch once that we were pretty sure was spiked with something.

Everyone who had some of that batch said they were the most magical mushrooms they'd ever had. Maybe it was just a good batch, but we all swore there was a little something extra.

Oh, and yeah, screw the tea. We cooked them in spaghetti sauce and they were almost good.

[toby jo]

6. I've always thought our righties would benefit from the stuff - calm them down

give them a 'good' peak at the universe. They seem to thrive on fear and terror.

Native americans use peyote to benefit the spirit and mind. But they use it with guides. The natives I know who do the sweat lodge/peyote dance will have someone there with the subject to 'ground' them, because the mind may get too far away and get trapped, so they say. The 'ground' person is there to, well, keep them in touch with their roots.

[GliderGuider]

7. Finally, a glimmer of sanity... nt

[panader0]

8. Testify!!

[eggplant]

9. This is terrble. It'll just lead to the terminally ill smoking weed.

Cause, you know, LSD is a gateway drug. Or something.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

10. The big question in the room is

why have the powers to be been so afraid to study psychedelics with open minds?
There's a lot of knowledge to be discovered.

[Phlem]

17. because it might cure an ailment that shuts down an industry.

Last edited Wed Mar 5, 2014, 11:52 PM - Edit history (1)

They need to make a buck.

I've successfully cut an ongoing drinking habit after doing mushrooms. It was a good experience, there were no alcohol cravings afterwards that lasts. Easy peasy, and for free.

Yes, that was long ago and over a lifetime of stress and dealing w/my PTSD I've started drinking again. When your paid well and move to an area with better schools, having your job off shored can become challenging. Hero to zero, over night. It's been a struggle, and still is, but were able to stay here and have our girl go to the schools in the area. The bad part, I'm drinking again.

What I would pay for just a small handful.



-p

[merrily]

11. I am glad they are researching again.

However, my opinion on all medications is that we should take only what we really, really need.

Apparently, the testing stopped during the Ford administration?

[riderinthestorm]

12. So sad and closed minded for so long. Its a freaking miracle real research is finally happening

K&R

[Phlem]

13. Excellent News!

And it took the Swiss to do it, not surprising.

Next in the news, The US is still jailing pot smokers.



-p

[undiegrinder]

16. Hell, LSD started showing real promise 60 YEARS AGO !

An amazing story published by the L.A. Weekly on 7/1/1998 called "The Trip" describes the work of Los Angeles-based Dr. Oscar Janiger, a psychiatrist who administered LSD to more than 900 people between 1954 and 1962 in the longest ongoing experiment with the drug on human subjects in a nonclinical environment.

Excerpts:

"Janiger’s study is ... a time capsule back to a unique moment in the cultural history of Southern California. Long before the acid underground surfaced in San Francisco as the vanguard of the hippie movement, Los Angeles was an intellectual hub for psychedelic research, and its acid salons drew adventurous celebrities from Anaïs Nin to Jack Nicholson, Aldous Huxley to André Previn. Those were heady days . . . in more than one sense. As Cary Grant rhapsodized about LSD’s revolutionary potential that spring morning in Janiger’s office, everyone could benefit from a good dosing. "Just a few healthy magnums of LSD in the Beverly Hills reservoir . . ."

(snip)

"One morning in April 1962, Cary Grant swallowed four tiny blue pills of lysergic acid diethylamide — LSD. Incredibly, it was the 58-year-old actor’s 72nd acid trip under the supervision of a psychiatrist. Grant relaxed on a plush couch and sipped coffee as the drug began to take effect. During the five-hour session, his running commentary was captured on a small tape recorder for later transcription: 'I was noting the growing intensity of light in the room,' he recalled at one point, 'and at short intervals as I shut my eyes, visions appeared to me. I seemed to be in a world of healthy, chubby little babies’ legs and diapers, and smeared blood, a sort of general menstrual activity taking place. It did not repel me as such thoughts used to.'"

(snip)

"Grant was just one of hundreds of citizens in the Los Angeles region who participated during the 1950s and early 1960s in unprecedented academic studies of the then-novel pharmaceutical. In just a few short years, of course, LSD would become a chemical taboo, the notorious "hippie psychedelic" vilified by the media, criminalized in every state, classified by the FDA as a Schedule I drug of no medical value and banned globally by international treaty. But before most Americans had heard of lysergic acid diethylamide, here in the shadow of the Hollywood Hills, students, professionals, clergymen, writers, artists and celebrities enthusiastically turned on, tuned in and DIDN'T drop out."

Full article:

http://www.laweekly.com/1998-07-09/news/the-trip/?showFullText=true

[truthisfreedom]

20. Survivor.

Never bothered me a bit. Nice time spent in acid.