The Promise and Demise of LSD Psychotherapy in Norway
Per Haave, Willy Pedersen
Social History of Medicine May 28, 2021 DOI: 10.1093/shm/hkz128 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Double-blind Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | LSD |
| Citations | 7 |
| Key points | Argues that both a moral panic and a lack of evidence for therapeutic efficacy contributed to the decline of LSD use in psychotherapy in Norway. |
Abstract
Abstract In the early-to-mid 1960s, there was considerable use of LSD in psychotherapy in several countries. However, its use gradually levelled off. Two explanations have been suggested: The first revolves around a ‘moral panic’ in the wake of the introduction of cannabis and LSD by subcultural youth groups. The second focuses on the lack of proof for the therapeutic efficacy of LSD at a time when double-blind designs became the gold standard. Using available sources, we explore the Norwegian case. Both explanations are supported: Even before illegal drug use had taken root in youth subcultures, scepticism was gradually building among key figures in the Norwegian healthcare system due to lack of evidence for therapeutic efficacy. This scepticism only increased when the new youth subcultures became visible in the mid-1960s and when the ‘war on drugs’ transformed the drug policy.
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
Cited by 5
- Narratives of the mystical among users of psychedelics Acta Sociologica January 11, 2021
- Have Norwegians tried psilocybin, and do they accept it as a medicine? Journal of Psychedelic Studies April 16, 2021
- Contextual and experiential aspects of the psychedelic experience predicting improvement in subjective wellbeing: results from a Norwegian internet convenience sample. Frontiers in Pharmacology 2025
- Fear and Loathing in the United Nations: The Establishment of International Control of Psychedelics Through the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances Contemporary Drug Problems March 7, 2026
- Assessment of psychedelic--induced states: Norwegian translation and adaptation of the revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ-30) Journal of Psychedelic Studies July 12, 2024
Cites 8
- The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelic Drugs: Past, Present, and Future. Neuropsychopharmacology April 26, 2017
- Psychedelics and the essential importance of context. Journal of Psychopharmacology February 15, 2018
- Efficacy and Enlightenment: LSD Psychotherapy and the Drug Amendments of 1962 Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences August 16, 2012
- The 21st century psychedelic renaissance: heroic steps forward on the back of an elephant Psychopharmacology August 23, 2017
- LSD: a new treatment emerging from the past Canadian Medical Association Journal August 4, 2015
and 3 more in the library