Scientists Have Finally Started To Study LSD Again

There hasn’t been a controlled study on LSD conducted in four decades, but now, after 40 years of waiting, a study on LSD was published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. It examined 12 participants who suffer from some form of anxiety, depression, or another major unresolved issue that results from a life threatening illness. It probably won’t surprise you, but the study found a steep reduction in anxiety levels among participants.

The study focused on people who no drug or alcohol dependence who faced serious life-threatening illnesses. Most of the participants had never tried psychedelics before. The clinical trial was a phase 2 double-blind, active placebo-controlled, randomized trial with a limited sample size.

“Researchers reported that neither the experimental dose (200 µg of LSD) nor the active placebo (20 µg of LSD) “produced any drug-related severe adverse events, that is, no panic reaction, no suicidal crisis or psychotic state, and no medical or psychiatric emergencies requiring hospitalization.”

Their findings fly in the face of anti-psychedelic propaganda. But that shouldn’t come as too big a surprise to you. Researchers reported that “Patients with life-threatening illnesses confront an existential threat from shortened life expectancy that often causes periods of suffering, pain, and anxiety. Congruent with earlier studies (Pahnke et al., 1970), the results in the experimental dose group show a significant reduction in state anxiety, as experienced on a daily basis.”

This study clearly warrants further study into LSD-assisted psychotherapy in helping reduce anxiety in patients facing a terminal illness.