The potential of psychedelic medicine - A personal account.
David E Smith
Journal of the Neurological Sciences March 15, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2021.120128 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Addiction LSD |
| Keywords | Entactogens Entheogens Psychedelics Recovery Therapeutic drugs Early use Therapeutic applications Historical account Haight ashbury Halted research Negative publicity Schedule 1 classification Suppressing exploration Sidelined Untapped potential Studied compounds |
| Key points | Argues that the criminalization and Schedule 1 classification of psychedelics, beginning in 1966, shut down research almost entirely. |
Abstract
In 1965, I was training in clinical toxicology in the pharmacology department of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and living in the Haight Ashbury. I studied various psychedelics, including LSD, mescaline, and ibogaine, in human and animal models. The psychedelics were then being used as a therapeutic drug in clinical settings and researched as a potential antipersonnel agent by the U.S. government. Then, using psychedelics became a rite of passage for the emerging countercultural movement. After adverse reactions and negative publicity, states began to criminalize these drugs, beginning in 1966. The federal government eventually moved these drugs to Schedule 1 classification, shutting down research almost entirely.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on LSD for addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA, Bill Wilson, Carl Jung and LSD. | 2024 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Varieties of Psychedelic Expertise in 1960s Canada: The Psychiatrists behind the Addiction Research Foundation's Study of LSD Therapy. | 2023 | Historical analysis | |
| Synthetic Drugs and Behavioural Addictions: LSD, MDMA and Digital Toxicity | 2026 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy for Substance Use Disorders and Potential Mechanisms of Action. | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |