TRIPPING OUT ON CLINICAL TRIALS

Erika Dyck Illuminates the History of LSD Research in Canada and Why
It's Making a Come-Back

Once upon a time in the early 1950's, before the youth
counter-culture of the 60's, before the world knew Timothy Leary, and
before the CIA funded experiments here in Montreal, there was a small
Canadian prairie town that remained unaware of the excitement and
scientific intrigue that awaited it.

Somewhere else in the world, psychiatrists were searching for a way
to understand the mentally ill and the nascent field of
psychoparmacology seemed to offer them a new perspective. This is how
the then innocent drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), found its
way into the unsuspecting town of Weyburn, Saskatchewan.

Last Wednesday, professors, students, and community members sat
around Dr. Erika Dyck, expert in psychedelic psychiatry and associate
professor in history of medicine at the University of Alberta, as she
told us the story of LSD's clinical trials, in particular, about
those in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, and the biology, psychology, and
controversy that surrounded them.

Shortly after World War II, English psychiatrist Humphrey Osmond
began studying the potential use of psychedelic drugs in psychiatry.
He found that these drugs antagonized adrenaline receptors, inducing
a temporary psychosis, perhaps even a model psychosis. According to
Dyck, Osmond was amazed at the drugs' ability to "suspend his sense
of logic and comfort" by altering his perception of reality. If we
accept schizophrenia as a distortion of perception, then experiencing
drug-induced psychosis could allow psychiatrists great insight into
mental illness.

"A doctor often wishes he could enter the illness and see with the
madman's eyes, hear with his ears, and feel with his skin," explained
Osmond at the time. "This may seem an unlikely privilege but it is
available to anyone who is prepared to take a minute amount of lysergic acid."

Meanwhile, on another continent, a psychiatrist in Saskatchewan,
Abram Hoffer, was examining LSD's biochemical effects. He discovered
that the LSD molecule contains nicotinic acid.

"[Nicotinic acid] blocks the metabolism of certain enzymes appearing
to cause changes in perception, changes in effect, and changes in
thinking," Hoffer explained at the time.

By controlling the levels of this blocking agent, Hoffer controlled
these psychosis-like symptoms. These studies eventually lead him to
propose treating schizophrenic patients with nicotinic acid, commonly
known as niacin or vitamin B3.

In 1951, Osmond moved to Weyburn where he united with Hoffer. Osmond,
Hoffer, and other researchers performed many home trials,
experimenting with LSD, carefully recording their personal
experiences and those of their close friends and spouses. These
trials allowed the researchers to examine the effects of different
doses of LSD.

Osmond and Hoffer then extended the trials to the surrounding Weyburn
community and found an "overwhelming number of willing participants,"
said Dyck. The research transcripts and first-hand participant
reports showed some consistent effects from LSD: unjustifiable
laughter, visual distortions, loss of social control, fear, and
paranoia. The researchers then compared these reports with
autobiographical accounts from institutionalized schizophrenics and
simultaneously extended the LSD trials to "recovered" schizophrenic patients.

According to Dyck, Osmond and Hoffer concluded that the experiences
of induced schizophrenia and actual schizophrenia were more or less
interchangeable. Several recovered schizophrenic subjects reported
that the LSD experiments allowed them to reflect objectively on their
past psychosis and had a therapeutic effect.

Based on this evidence, Hoffer and Osmond had high hopes for the
future of psychedelic psychiatry. When the researchers sought support
from their colleages, however, the pair eventually realized the
professional isolation of Weyburn. Ultimately, the conservatism in
the medical community prevented their success. Similar trials by
other researchers failed to duplicate their results, casting doubt on
their conclusions.

"Concern for the recreational use of LSD overwhelmed its potential
medical application," said Dyck, adding that the criminalization of
LSD terminated further research.

Nonetheless, the Weyburn experiments sparked the interest of
researchers around the globe and left a lasting mark on the field of
psychopharmacology. These experiments provided invaluable information
that is still cited in research today. Dyck also mentioned a
resurgent interest in psychedelic psychiatry. At least four research
units are currently studying the medical applications of LSD. Few
seats were empty at Dyck's lecture: at least we know that, despite
the years past, the clinical trials of LSD hold a firm grasp on
Dyck's curiosity, and ours.