Treatment of alcoholism using psychedelic drugs: a review of the program of research.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 1998 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.1998.10399714 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | LSD |
| Topics | Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Keywords | LSD Treatment Hallucinogen therapy Mind-altering drug therapy Psychedelic medicine Alcoholism treatment Alcohol addiction therapy Substance abuse treatment Addiction recovery Alcohol dependency treatment Historical drug research Early psychedelic studies Past drug investigations Pioneering drug research Historical findings Vintage drug research Addiction science Substance abuse research Dependency studies Addiction medicine |
| Citations | 107 |
| Key findings | After twenty-five years of study, flawed methodology, uneven results, and social reprehension led to the abandonment of research on the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs for alcoholism. |
Abstract
Following Albert Hofmann's discovery of LSD's psychoactive properties in 1943, and previous to their scheduling as controlled substances, the psychedelic drugs were widely studied--six international conferences and hundreds of papers discussed their potential therapeutic usefulness. The observation that the frightening experience of delirium tremens sometimes led alcoholics to moderate their alcohol intake suggested to early psychedelic researchers that the "psychotomimetic" experience thought to be produced by LSD could be used to treat alcoholism. A number of hypothesis-generating studies employing a variety of research designs to examine this premise were completed, but relatively few controlled trials attempted hypothesis testing. After twenty-five years of study, a combination of flawed methodology, uneven results and social reprehension led to the abandonment of research on the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs, leaving many avenues of inquiry unexplored and many questions unanswered. Today, after a thirty-year hiatus, this research is gradually being resumed, and there is renewed interest in the findings of previous studies. This article explores the history of one branch of psychedelic research, the therapeutic use of LSD in the treatment of alcoholism, and of the events that led to the relabeling of the "hallucinogens" as drugs of abuse.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on psychedelic-assisted therapy, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 86
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety. Journal of Psychopharmacology July 1, 2008
- Psilocybin-assisted treatment for alcohol dependence: A proof-of-concept study Journal of Psychopharmacology January 13, 2015
- Pilot study of the 5-HT2AR agonist psilocybin in the treatment of tobacco addiction Journal of Psychopharmacology September 11, 2014
- Mystical experiences occasioned by the hallucinogen psilocybin lead to increases in the personality domain of openness Journal of Psychopharmacology September 28, 2011
and 81 more in the library
Cites 50
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- ADVERSE REACTIONS TO PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS. A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease October 1, 1984
- Schizophrenia: A New Approach. II. Result of a Year's Research Journal of Mental Science 1954
- Chromosomal Damage in Human Leukocytes Induced by Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Science March 17, 1967
- The Therapeutic Value of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in Mental Illness Journal of Mental Science April 1, 1954
and 45 more in the library