Scientists are debating the idea of using psychedelic drugs in a therapeutic fashion to treat a number of serious medical conditions including alcoholism. Studies have found success using psychedelics to treat conditions including post traumatic stress disorder, drug addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder, and cluster headaches. Scientists in the past few decades have had difficulty finding funding to conduct psychedelic research, but stronger financial support has paved the way for a resurgence of psychedelic studies. Funding is largely provided by two organizations, The Heffter Research institute, and The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). This article will focus on how psychedelic drugs are used to treat alcoholism.
Canadian psychiatrists Abram Hoffer and Humphry Osmond experimented with giving psychedelic drugs to alcoholics in the 1950s. At the time the prevailing philosophy was that addicts did better after hitting ‘rock bottom’; the researchers thought that LSD and mescaline would scare addicts away from drinking after having a bad trip. Instead of having a bad trip most of the addicts had a pleasurable experience, leading them to see things in their life in a new way, and enabling them to control their drinking. Their studies showed a high success rate in helping alcoholics quit drinking using LSD and mescaline.
Neuroscience research has found that LSD disrupts the circuitry maintaining alcohol addiction, and allows the addict to escape from the addiction cycle… Won’t people just become addicted to psychedelics? No, at least not physically addicted. Psychedelics do not cause dopamine to be released on the nucleus accumbens, and therefore by definition are not physically addictive. Can’t recreational use cause permanent schizophrenia or psychosis? Nope, that is just another drug rumor. Psychedelics can unmask symptoms of schizophrenia for people who already have or are developing schizophrenia, but it doesn’t cause any person with normal brain functioning to develop schizophrenia or psychosis.
Psychedelics have proven successful in treating alcoholics who had failed other methods of controlling their drinking. When LSD and talk therapy were combined it proved successful in helping over half the people remain sober for over two years. Another study had a ninety percent success rate treating alcoholism using the same method. These are very high success rates for something so difficult to treat like alcoholism. Many of the people in the study claimed that the LSD treatment had saved their lives.
Harvard and Stanford currently have researchers and teams of graduate students exploring the idea of using psychedelic drugs to treat medical conditions… They are proving very successful in treating a number of conditions.
Have you heard about how ecstasy was used for marriage counseling before it was made illegal? Couples that hadn’t gotten along for years suddenly let all their issues go, and became close again. The effects of couples taking ecstasy together in a controlled environment resulted in dramatic improvement in relationships that had long lasting effects. Many therapists were vehemently against making ecstasy completely illegal, and therefore unavailable for therapeutic use. Currently it is illegal for therapists in the United States to use ecstasy in therapy or counseling. I might write a blog entry about the use of ecstasy in therapy soon…
I read an article like this stated also that psychedelic drugs can cure alcoholism, a drug like (LSD) lysergic acid diethylamide can effectively cure alcoholism. How about the amphetamine? we all know that the said drugs are controlled by the authority, is this applicable to be used as medicine to cure alcoholism?
Amphetamines would not work good to cure alcoholism because amphetamines have a high physical addiction potential. People could just become addicted to amphetamines, or both alcohol and amphetamines. LSD is different because it has no physical addiction potential and disrupts some of the addiction circuitry, allowing people to possibly break free from their addictions.
the ONLY cure for alcoholism is not to drink. an alcoholic is just that… an alcoholic.. and inhibits a particular reaction to the chemical itself. it can be seen as an allergic reaction.
but, yes, to sustain sobriety a spiritual experience/awakening is necessary and mushrooms or LSD or any other psychedelic has the potential to provide a sufficient experience that will connect the alcoholic with a higher being or power.
interesting article, but definitely not something doctors should have the right to give to any patient who may seem to be an alcoholic. it is the alcoholics choice after all and the experience will only be important if the alcoholic was desperate enough (after bottoming out) to seek guidance from outside of himself…
Well!! It was outstanding information that I have ever read about alcoholism. According to me, people must avoid and kind of addiction. Keep up good work.
Actually it seems that shrooms can have a positive effect in treatment of alcoholism. As a practising M.D with a bit to healthy appetite for beer, I have recently discovered the interesting effects of shrooms. Unaware of the effect on alcohol I discovered that my appetite for alcohol totally vanished for a week after a shroom session. That was totally expected. Since then I have read up on that subject and it seems that there is certainly a potential for effective treatment of alcohol addiction. Ethical and clinical trial aspects will hinder development of treatment regimes, but I do believe that when the word is out there, some will do what they have to do. Just do it with safe set and setting, as usual. Dr X