Could LSD Treat Alcoholism?

Could a drug known for its psychedelic “acid trips” be used to treat alcoholism?

Norwegian researchers say that lysergic acid diethylamide — also known as the hallucinogenic drug LSD — was used in a few clinics in the 1960s and 1970s to help some alcoholics, and should be revisited once again as a possible treatment, according to a study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

Teri Krebs and Pal-Orjan Johansen of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology looked back at studies from the 1960s and 1970s and identified six studies with 536 participants that examined the effect LSD had on alcoholism.

“A single dose of LSD had a significant beneficial effect on alcohol misuse at the first reported follow-up assessment, which ranged from 1 to 12 months after discharge from each treatment program,” they wrote. The effect lasted about six months.

Participants from three studies reported completely abstaining from alcohol, and this effect lasted between one and three months.

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They added that other studies found that the psychedelic effects of other substances, such as mescaline, psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms) and ayahuasca were “highly valued and beneficial,” and indigenous groups have claimed that ayahuasca and peyote helped them stay sober.

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