Common wisdom in the psychedelic literature suggests that early controlled trials of psychedelic therapy were methodologically flawed. In this review we challenge this view and discuss 11 controlled studies that were conducted in the United States and Canada between 1965 and 1977 to evaluate psychedelic (peak) therapy for individuals suffering from alcohol and opioid use disorder and...
The authors offer a model for curriculum for education and training in substance-assisted psychotherapy (SAP), that is, psychedelic, psycholytic, and entactogen/MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine)-assisted psychotherapy, addressing both the detailed contents of training and the question of experiential training. All authors of this model have an abiding interest and extensive experience in...
Dream-like and psychedelic experiences often display internally illogical structures. Recent theories propose that these experiences function as "spontaneous offline simulations" related to specific brain processes. This study investigates whether such perceived illogicality reflects a distinct, premodern mode of cognition-commonly referred to as "mythic" cognition-rather than a cognitive...
The acute psychoactive, autonomic, and endocrine effects of the new psychoactive substance (NPS) 5,6-methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane (MDAI; 3.0 mg/kg, range 180-228 mg) were investigated in six healthy volunteers (four males, two females) in a non-blinded fashion without placebo. Subjective, cardiovascular, and endocrine responses were compared with two different doses of...
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Hanscarl Leuner (1919–1996) gilt aufgrund seines wissenschaftlichen und organisatorischen Engagements als die zentrale Figur der Psycholytischen Therapie in Europa. Die Psycholytische Therapie versucht mithilfe geringer Dosen von Halluzinogenen wie LSD oder Psilocybin Abwehrstrukturen zu lockern und dadurch einen erweiterten Zugang zu unbewussten Konflikten und Seeleninhalten zu...
The emergence of a so-called psychedelic renaissance has been proposed to characterize the revival of research into (psycho-)therapies using psychedelic drugs. In Europe, the most widespread approach employed in the 1960s and 1970s that involved the use of drugs like LSD and psilocybin as an adjunct to psychotherapy was named according to its main theoretical framework, that is, psychoanalysis...
Abstract This book is intended to provide an overview of the complex and dispersed history of MDMA, in the hope of making it more intelligible. In respect of the period up until the late 1980s, the book focuses on what was happening in Europe and the United States as other countries were not significant in this timeframe. This book does not describe the history of an illegal drug only as it is...
Abstract From 1977, MDMA was used in psychotherapy by a handful of psychiatrists and psychotherapists. They found it to be an ideal aid to psychotherapy as it does not affect ego-functions to the same extent as other psychedelic drugs. Its main effect seemed to be suppression of the fear response, allowing patients the opportunity to observe and reprocess painful memories. Another application...
Abstract After becoming aware of its broader distribution, the DEA announced the possible scheduling of MDMA in 1984. Physicians using MDMA for therapy demanded hearings with respect to the proposed scheduling of MDMA. The DEA was astonished to hear about the therapeutic use of MDMA but nonetheless insisted that it represented a danger to public health and had to be scheduled. Hearings were...
Abstract The association between drugs and dancing extends back to ancient times. Parallels can be seen between spontaneous medieval ‘dance epidemics’ and contemporary use of MDMA at dance parties. As a forerunner, MDA was used at dance parties in the late 1960s. However, it was only when the MDMA enthusiast Michael Clegg began to sell MDMA in parts of the Texas night-life scene that the...
Abstract This chapter covers the history of research and events related to the possible toxicity of MDMA, from the first cases of death involving MDMA and early toxicological research through to studies on its neurotoxicity in humans. It also provides some of the background stories behind the research and the debate about MDMA’s possible toxicity. Some ‘anti-Ecstasy campaigns’ related to the...
Abstract This chapter provides an overview of the early, rather unknown, phase of MDMA as a recreational drug. MDMA was first detected by scientists in a forensic laboratory in 1970, and then a few more times up until 1976. A previously unknown document of the United States DEA has been used to describe these early detections. The evidence shows that up until 1976, the distribution of MDMA was...
Abstract The American chemist Alexander T. Shulgin played a significant role in the ‘rediscovery’ of MDMA in the 1970s. In 1960, an experience with mescaline inspired Shulgin to undertake research with psychoactive drugs. He subsequently synthesized psychoactive chemicals and tested them on himself and a group of others. In the early 1960s, Shulgin studied the chemistry of nutmeg: chemical...
Abstract Since the early 1980s, the popularity of MDMA has clearly risen. Independently of the activities of Shulgin, knowledge of MDMA spread across the country. The first recreational use documented by drug educators was in Oregon in the late 1970s, and they hypothesized that this drug could well enjoy future popularity. The year 1981 saw the publication of the first detailed article about...
Abstract In the 1920s, physicians discovered the potential for ‘speech induction’ offered by psychoactive substances. The German Nazis were the first to conduct experiments on the use of ‘truth drugs’ for interrogation purposes. Later, after some American prisoners of war ‘confessed’ to the use of biological weapons in the Korean war, the United States (US) Army suspected that they had been...
Abstract This chapter provides an overview of the range of activities that took place with regard to MDMA over a period of around 15 years (around 1986–2000). It starts with the first scientific conference on MDMA in 1986 and the founding of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), then considers the first books on MDMA, a NIDA study on different groups using MDMA, the...
Abstract This chapter provides an overview of the early history of the molecule MDMA, which was first synthesized by the pharmaceutical company Merck, in search of a synthesis of the blood-clotting agent hydrastinine. As the original synthesis of hydrastinine had already been patented by another company, Merck needed to find an alternative synthesis. After a few failed attempts, the company’s...
Abstract MDMA and dancing became popular in the British nightlife scene from 1987 onwards, after the first DJs, inspired by their experiences in Ibiza, began to promote MDMA. In 1988, the ‘rave scene’ in the UK grew larger and generated some public controversy. After initially positive press coverage, the scene changed dramatically to a much more hostile social and political response,...
Abstract This chapter gives an overview on the international distribution of MDMA over the last 10 years. It appears that since the early 1990s, MDMA has become a major drug of abuse on a global scale. The period of 2008–12 saw some shortages in supply of the drug due to unavailability of precursor chemicals. However, it is clear that the distribution of MDMA, which peaked around the turn of...
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and similar psychoactive drugs have been used in psychotherapy since 1949, when the first clinical study with lower-dose LSD showed therapeutically relevant effects. This caused an intense interest among psychotherapists and researchers, alike, on an international scale. In 1960, the use of serial lower-dose LSD/psilocybin sessions in a psychoanalytical...
Ketamine and its (S)-enantiomer show distinct psychological effects that are investigated in psychiatric research. Its antidepressant activity may depend on the extent and quality of these psychological effects which may greatly differ between the enantiomers. Previous data indicate that the (S)-ketamine isomer is a more potent anesthetic than (R)-ketamine. In contrast, in subanesthetic doses...
Abstract 1‐Propanoyl‐lysergic acid diethylamide (1P‐LSD) appeared as a non‐controlled alternative to LSD a few years ago. Although evidence is beginning to emerge from in vitro and animal studies that 1P‐LSD might serve as a prodrug for LSD, an equivalent evaluation in humans is unavailable. Controlled oral and intravenous self‐administrations of 100 μg 1P‐LSD hemitartrate are reported in two...
Abstract Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a prototypical serotonergic psychedelic drug and the subject of many clinical investigations. In recent years, a range of lysergamides has emerged with the production of some being inspired by the existing scientific literature. Others, for example various 1‐acyl substituted lysergamides, did not exist before their appearance as research chemicals....
Abstract There are few medications with demonstrated efficacy for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Treatment guidelines have unequivocally designated psychotherapy as a first line treatment for PTSD. Yet, even after psychotherapy, PTSD often remains a chronic illness, with high rates of psychiatric and medical comorbidity. Meanwhile, the search for and development of drugs...
Aims This heuristic study reports observations on the phenomenology of ayahuasca experiences of nine foreign tourist participants of an ayahuasca retreat in Peru. Methods Narrative interviews, reflecting individual experiences after ayahuasca “night ceremony,” have been analyzed by qualitative content analysis using a data-driven strategy in order to extract themes and categories inherent in...