Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Treatments Lysergic Acid Diethylamide also known as LSD or Acid is a hallucinogenic/psychedelic drug that has mind-altering effects on the human body. This paper focuses on the attempted therapeutic, medicinal, recreational, etc. applications of LSD with the goal of “curing” or helping to mitigate some other undesired effect. Use of LSD is not without its own risks so a portion of this paper will also focus on potential problems with short/long-term LSD treatment applications. This paper is by no means cumulative or holistic in its approach to this subject and seeks only to inform the reader on an aspect of legal applications of otherwise illegal drugs. As previously mentioned LSD is a hallucinogenic or psychedelic …show more content…
For the most part LSD treatment plans ceased in the 1970s this was mainly due to the fact that unregulated experiments involving highly hallucinogenic drugs on sometimes unwilling participants became frowned upon and rightly so. LSD can be dangerous depending on the dosage and back in the 50s and 60s researchers would just keep upping the dosages until they felt they got the desired results. You can see how that could get morally and ethically confusing. The first example this paper covers is a study published in 1957 involving the use of LSD on psychoneurotic patients under day-hospital conditions; the overall goal being to make these psychoneurotic people more manageable on a day to day basis. According to the author of the study, Dr. Joyce Martin, the patients selected for treatment had to meet certain criteria such as: no prior psychotic episodes, a good personality and high intelligence. (Martin, 1957). It is unclear if the patients in this study knew what was going to happen to them and it is also unclear if these patients participated willingly. This was of course a time where strict ethics board did not exist and patient consent/knowledge was not always required to conduct scientific experiments. Regardless, the experiments themselves were simple: patient arrives at the hospital, eats breakfast, is put into their own room, an initial dosage of 25 to 50 gamma of LSD was administered, dosage is increased until desired effect is achieved, patients are monitored and offered lunch which they often refused due to nausea and then the reaction was terminated by administering Largactil. Results varied from the patients becoming more receptive to less receptive. Patients were often reported to experience vivid past memories as well as saying they saw themselves as being younger when looking at a
The researchers conducted their study at the alcoholic unit of the New Jersey Neuro-Psychiatric Institute at Princeton, New Jersey. Participants were recruited by offering patients admitted to the institute the opportunity to take part in the experimental LSD program. A total of 28 alcoholics were admitted to the program, and their results were compared to that of a group of 34 alcoholics who took part in a standard comparison program provided by the Alcoholic Unit. Details about the patients were recorded such as their ethnic background, age, and marital status. Subjects were placed into groups of four. The first week was structured as an orientation week, and at the end of the week, two of the members were randomly chosen to be administered
Jyllian Kemsley Ph.D. is a chemical research scientist, and scientific research contributor to the CENtral Science’s Safety Zone blog that seeks to “cover science and technology, business and industry, government and policy, education, and employment aspects of the chemistry field”. Her article entitled “Psychedelic Compounds like Ecstasy May Be Good for More than Just a High", reports on the revolutionary research theory within the field of medicine that seeks to examine the prospective benefits of using psychoactive compounds in treating a number of mental conditions. The piece is well written, and presents a number of background studies that have evaluated the efficiency of these
Prisoners were test subjects for LSD and only got to do it after a physical examination and general consent form. “ As a reward for participation in the program the addicts were provided with the drug of their addiction”.
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide or LSD is a hallucinogenic drug that can be taken orally, injected or even absorbed through the skin. Once LSD has entered the body, it starts to take effects on the levels of serotonin in the brain which can cause; hallucinations, mood change, and even sensory distortion. After taking LSD, the effects on the brain usually last from 6 to 9 hours depending on multiple factors; the dosage of LSD taken, the subject taking LSD, and even the user 's mood can affect the duration of LSD use. LSD is a non-lethal, non-addictive, and a non-habit forming drug that has little to no effect on the long-term health of an individual. However, LSD has been illegal since the 1960 's. Not only did availability of LSD become scarce with the criminalization of the substance, but the legislation also put a halt on the research of the chemical as well. Much of the way LSD interacts with the brain has been left unknown. This derivative from the rye fungus Ergot has been the source of controversy that has left many people wondering why LSD has been classified as a drug that is just as dangerous to use as heroin. It becomes difficult for an individual to understand how legislation could criminalize a chemical without completely understanding how it functions and affects people. LSD should be legalized for scientific, medical and recreational usage.
The growing debate over drugs and their use is a constant issue in today’s society. Animals and Psychedelics: The Natural World and the Instinct to alter Consciousness offers a unique look into how and why some people and animals have a natural instinct to seek out things to inebriate themselves. With the unique information this book brings to light, it creates new points for policy makers to take into consideration when drug policies are being created.
This lecture covered stimulants and hallucinogens, such as the morning glory which has alkaloids similar to LSD, but has about 10th the potency of LSD. Typically the seeds are coated with an herbicide so users must be cautious when using morning glory. Mescaline is derived from the peyote cactus, and is not legal in America, but is permitted in some states for the use among Native American religious ceremonies. Plants with hallucinogenic properties such as belladonna, mandrake, henbane, and Datura have all been around for centuries, and have serve various purposes other than just the psychoactive effects. Henbane has been used as part of a cure for alcoholism, as well as being used to poison hamlets father. The ancient Chinese used Datura to
Even mentioning how psychedelics can be used as an alternative option for medicine has become a taboo topic to talk about. However, as of most recent, scientists are able to conduct research on different psychedelics medicinal properties with the government’s permission. In Jennifer Byler's “A Doorway To Change,” Blyer does a phenomenal job of discussing how the use of psychedelics can be used as a cure to help beat addiction.
Merry Pranksters were famous for using LSD and they used higher doses of LSD because they felt that they were in touch with the nature spiritually and it also gave them sensations that they never felt before. In reality, LSD is a
Since the 20th century, many medical professionals and researchers have been attempting to utilize psychedelic drugs in psychological illnesses treatments. In many testing cases, these psychedelic drugs were having hallucination effects on the patients. For examples, psychedelic drugs such as LSD and methoxamine are capable of changing a person’s moods, feelings, or even behaviors in either positive or negative ways. However, after decades of restriction on psychedelic drugs in 1960s, hallucinogens have been researched constantly in order to find a proper ways to utilize them in medicine. In other words, medical experts have been testing these drugs occasionally on patients, raising questions about medical ethics as a result. For instance, various patients reported to experience drug addiction, violent or suicidal thoughts, and physical syndromes such as coma, seizures, or loss of muscular coordination. Therefore, not only the testing of psychedelic drugs causes ethical debates, but the use of these drugs in general also questions whether they should be used in medicine at all.
The 1960s was a highly influential and cultural changing revolutionary time and LSD helped break through uptight conservative new and lifestyle. It is apparent that the use of LSD has evolved since its inception from a psychiatric drug to a recreational drug that gained its popularity during the 1960s counterculture. Without Albert Hofmann’s amazing discovery of LSD and its leaking about into the public, the Psychedelic Revolution of LSD would have never been born and bring about all the amazing change it came with to society. LSD is known as the drug that played a significant role in the 1960s counterculture, making it a subculture in its own entirety. This subcenter culture was the epitome of experimentation, rebellion, and the emergence
Throughout history a multitude of human populations have been using and abusing a number of psychoactive drugs. These drugs can include very common substances such as caffeine to the more deadly but arguably just as addictive heroine. Further on the list of psychoactive drugs include those of the psychedelic variety. These would include the chemicals such as d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), peyote and psilocybin among others. All of which have hallucinogenic properties that tend to blur the line between fantasy and reality. How dangerous are these chemicals, and what are the consequences of sustained long term use? Due to the controversial nature of the use of psychedelic drugs in a medical setting, the study of short and long term effects
While psychedelics can create a profound sense of distortion from reality urging the importance of putting yourself in a the right setting with the right people, there is little evidence that links psychedelics to toxic effects on the brain or body. So much so that researchers from the EmmaSofia organization in Oslo Norway claim that psychedelics are no more dangerous than common activities including playing soccer or riding a bike (Krebs, 2015). Psychedelic substances are known for altering your perception of reality, which could be dangerous if you’re somewhere that presents physical risks, but research suggests the psychedelics themselves do no damage physically. Not only are the psychedelics safe but they also provide therapeutic
LSD was also tested on schizophrenics, drug addicts and criminals (Dye, 1992 p. 38). Research determined that LSD was ineffective in treating any behavioral problems. It was also concluded that LSD might transform a normal individual into a person with a very calm to severe personality problem.
It is no secret that drug use has the ability to completely alter a person’s state of consciousness, whether it be through extreme euphoria, increased hyperactivity, pain relief or psychedelic hallucinations. Although many drugs are used for medical purposes, the global issue of recreational drug use is now being fronted as an extremely serious matter that is steadily on the uprise. Recreational drug use is often associated with negativity, addiction and as having serious physical and mental repercussions. One of the few class of drugs that is often associated with both positive and negative connotations are hallucinogens, otherwise known as “psychedelics”, which have powerful altering effects on ones sense of perception, brain function
Of course the doctors did this not knowing the effects of the drug, long term or short term. With time knowledge grew, but sadly, so did the curiosity about the drug. This led to a stronger demand for the drug for people to try to satisfy their own curiosity. To this very day people "try it" just to see what it is like, or to find out what they will see. Visions are just one of the many effects this drug has on subjects that take it. In the past L.S.D. and other hallucinogens have been used in professional studies of the human mind. These studies have had mixed results, that always almost always vary, depending on the patient and his or her surroundings.