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Italian psychedelic therapies of the past century: An historical overview

Adriana D’arienzo, Giorgio Samorini

Drug Science, Policy and Law 2023 DOI: 10.1177/20503245231179687 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Historical analysis Peer reviewed
Interventions Psilocybin Lysergic acid amide (LSA) Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)
Dose 3 mg administered intravenously every second or third day, alternated with placebo injections
Topics LSD Psilocybin Psychedelic-assisted therapy
Keywords Hallucinogen Psychotomimetic Documentation Psychotherapist
Key points Italy conducted the largest number of twentieth-century clinical studies on psilocybin and LSA, and achieved notable results using intravenous psilocybin (3 mg) for depressive states.

Abstract

In recent years, the historical record of psychedelic therapy in Europe and the Americas has undergone considerable revision. In this article, we contribute to this re-interpretation by sharing documentation relating to psychedelic therapy carried out in Italy during the period 1927–1966. Our library research has uncovered one hundred publications, documenting at least 60 clinical studies in which psychedelics were administered. There is evidence of some primacy regarding this psychedelic research: Italy has the world record, for the twentieth century, for having carried out the largest number of clinical studies on patients with psilocybin and with lysergic acid amide (LSA); humans first received the high dose of 500 mcg of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in Italy; and LSD plus LSA, and LSD plus psilocybin, were administered simultaneously for the first time. The most successful Italian clinical studies appear to have been those in which psilocybin was used in the treatment of depressive states, with the observed optimal dose being that of 3 mg administered intravenously every second or third day, alternated with placebo injections. Another therapeutic target that seems to have provided interesting results concerns the use of LSD and psilocybin for what was then called “neurosis.” Italian psychiatrists have also made useful contributions to theoretical aspects concerning psychedelic therapies, for example in the conflicting debate on the “psychotomimetic paradigm” and in the distinction between the “primary” and “secondary” effects of these substances.

Comparable studies

Other theoretical and historical papers on LSD, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
The Experimental Use of Psychedelic (LSD) Psychotherapy 1970 Historical analysis
LSD: My Problem Child 1981 Historical analysis
On the Use and Abuse of LSD 1968 Theoretical or philosophical paper
The Use of Music in Psychedelic (LSD) Psychotherapy 1972 Theoretical or philosophical paper
Flashbacks: Recurrent Intrusive Images After the Use of LSD 1969 Theoretical or philosophical paper

Citations in the library

Cites 13

and 8 more in the library

Related reading

Explore topics

LSD Psilocybin Psychedelic-assisted therapy Depression