LSD treatment for alcoholism gets new look

Don't judge until you have experienced, friend :)

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), known as acid, belongs to a class of drugs known as hallucinogens, which distort perceptions of reality. LSD is the most potent mood-and perception-altering drug known: doses as small as 30 micro grams can produce effects lasting six to 12 hours. LSD is produced synthetically from a fungus that grows on rye grass. This odorless, colorless, and slightly bitter-tasting chemical is generally ingested orally and absorbed from the gastrointestinal system. Manufacturers commonly distribute LSD in small squares of absorbent paper soaked with the drug, which users chew and swallow. Use of LSD and other hallucinogens by secondary school students has decreased since 1998, but has increased among older teens and young adults attending dance clubs and all-night raves, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

-mj-
http://www.v3tucson.com

I have used LSD and I found overall no lasting benefits. No great insights gain. It was fun, it was crazy, it was scary, and I was happy when I was finished. To put the idea out there that there is an effective way to clinically test LSD is ludicrous. It's hard enough to get perfect control groups to study OCD or DEPRESSION how in the hell could you possibly screen for LSD candidates and get a clean sample group. I just don't see it happening.

As someone in recovery. I don't see how use of LSD helped me. I am glad I had the experiences. But as are as if LSD is addiction you bet it is. While I used LSD I never saw my Alcohol use drop any.

i can agree with you on that. low use (once to twice a year) can have great affects on the mind. Last year my grades started slipping big time, and had been for the past several years. I dropped acid twice over the summer and my GPA has been above a 3.5 all year so far

There is an adjectival oxymoron in the second paragraph: "clinical, nurturing environment". Clinical and nurturing are mutually exclusive, which is why many studies into hallucinogens and entheogens (as well as telepathy, telekinesis and other such parapsychological phenomena) failed to produce positive results. Many amazing therapies have been missed for the want of a less reductionist theoretical and experimental paradigm. As an occasional user of LSD, I cringe at what the Toronto test subjects must have experienced. Though he was a pop icon, many people forget that Timothy Leary was also a Doctor of Psychology at Harvard. He insisted that the crucial determinats of the nature and quality of an LSD experience are mindset and envronment, or what he called "set" and "setting". Clinical environments are not conducive to positive experiences on LSD. Safe, nurturing environments are.

We shouldn't impose a moratorium on research just because a substance is illegal. I've known about these alchohol studies for years, personally. I came across mention of them when I was trying to figure out if I should try LSD. Once I learned how much of the information out there was false, misleading, or misrepresented, and saw how this drug was originally intended to be used as an aid to the psychotherapist, I lost my fear and tried the drug.

Of all the drugs I have tried, LSD is one of the most significant. It is literally a life changer -- IF you take it appropriately. Like any substance, it has the potential for abuse. However, when taken in the right place at the right time, it is quite possibly the most powerful form of therapy that exists.

I haven't taken LSD in a number of years, but I still feel the effects. I must say, I did take quite above the normal dosage of say... a wooly mamoth, however, I was severly depressed as a child and starting having difficulty dealing with society going into teenage years. I was introduced to it, mind you recreationally by a friend, when I was 16. I had a great time, but by the time I was 18, I was withdrawing once again. I began to dabble in solo dosing, growing a larger and larger tolerance for the drug, but understanding the power of how it was changing me. Mind you, I realize that I probably have severe brain damage, but those cells where "wired" incorrectly to begin with. I gave myself an opportunity to experiene life in ways, completely new and refreshing. It made me relearn many things about what I thought I knew was correct, but always had trouble accepting. Every time I dosed, I saw everyday things differently, things were clearer, easier to cope with, and people close to me started to notice a change as well. My academics went through the roof as well as my self-esteem. I no longer feared anything and craved learning about everything I could get my hands on. I was like a newborn child soaking up the worlds offerings around me.
I ended up finishing school with a masters in computer science and a minor in theoretical physics. I often run into people I have not seen since before my experiences, and most of them don't understand what happened, how I became less "impressionable".

The dramatic changes in my personality are not uncommon, its actually fairly well documented that the experiments that the us government did on soldiers with LSD and BZ in the 40's, 50's, and 60's showed an overall better wellness of being and an average increase of IQ to be 15%.

like the poster before me, its sounds weird but, I for one, am a better person for it.

I can't see this being terribly surprising for anyone who has ever used psychedelics like psilocybin or LSD in a controlled, enjoyable environment.

Occasional use generates not only an ability to step "outside" and view yourself and your bad habits in a different light, but also provides a sense of "connection" to everything else in the universe.

My own experience has shown me to be a more patient, focused, and overall very happy person with very low use (one to two times a year).

Not only that, but it is not addictive... in fact, the body builds an immediate tolerance to the substance, lasting several days.

It is ridiculous to me that all illegal substances are treated equally.