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Single dose of LSD effective against alcoholism |
A meta-analysis has suggested that alcoholism can be effectively treated with a single dose of LSD. The researchers searched for all relevant trials and selected the best quality ones in order to combine the results. There was a lot of promising research into LSD as a treatment in the late 1960s, but it was banned in the US in 1968 which stifled much research. Because of this the only high quality studies the authors could find were published between 1966 and 1970. By combining the results of the studies the researcher estimated that people suffering from alcoholism who had been given LSD were almost twice as likely to improve as those given some form of placebo. Patients given LSD were less likely to misuse alcohol and more likely to become completely abstinent. However, 12 months after the treatment the difference between the two groups were reduced. Several of the trials used “active placebos”. The control group were administered another drug or even a lower dose of LSD to make them less likely to guess that had not been administered a full dose of LSD and so reduce the effectiveness of the placebo effect. The authors suggest that single dose of LSD is more effective than many widely used treatments for alcoholism given daily such as naltrexone and acamprosate. The results of the analysis are striking and the authors suggest that it has been a mistake to overlook the potential of this treatment.
Daily Mail - Can LSD cure alcoholism? Trials show 59 per cent of problem drinkers improve after a single dose of powerful hallucinogen
Journal of Psychopharmacology - Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) for alcoholism: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
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