LONG-FORGOTTEN LSD TREATMENT MIGHT AID ALCOHOLICS
START A TRIP TO RECOVERY

When most people hear the term LSD, ideas of little pieces of blotter
paper soaked in mind-expanding liquid that offer users a new world of
altered perception and oneness come to mind--not to mention jail time
and parole.

The illicit reputation of the drug may, however, hinder its potential
as a powerful treatment to a serious addiction.

Dr Erika Dyck, professor of the history of medicine at the University
of Alberta, has been taking an historical look at the use of LSD as a
treatment for alcoholism.

"What the research was showing was that [alcoholism] was something
psychological in nature," Dyck said.

Dyck explained that during the 1950s, researchers in Saskatchewan were
treating alcoholism with the drug known scientifically as d-lysergic
acid diethylamide. The researchers originally made the connection
between the effects of LSD and alcoholism withdrawal by examining what
are known as delirium tremens. Delirium tremens are acute psychotic
states caused by withdrawal from heavy drinking resulting in
confusion, tremors and hallucinations--something quite similar to the
effects of taking LSD.

Since these tremens seem to mark a turning point in the disease, the
researchers were interested in seeing if LSD could offer a therapeutic
start to a recovering alcoholic.

The researcher's results showed significant rates of recovery and
helped strengthen the idea that alcoholism should be characterized as
a disease.

Although the approach gained support from the provincial government,
local chapters of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Bureau of alcoholism,
negative media attention of LSD as a harmful recreational drug
curtailed further clinical trials.

However, in an article published in the journal Social History of
Medicine, Dyck recently showed that there may be good reasons to
re-examine these experiments. She hopes that closer examination will
lead to a fuller understanding of alcoholism, especially the emotional
aspect of the addiction.

The past experiments would take place in a private room during which a
nurse and/or psychiatrist would continually offer positive
reinforcement while the drug took effect. The following day, subjects
were encouraged to compose a written description of their experience
allowing the researchers to keep records.

Conventional treatment programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA),
include support systems that deal with the social aspects of why a
person may be drinking.

"These support systems are actually closely related to the idea of
using LSD as a treatment," said Dyck.

In fact, according to Dyck, LSD therapy may offer a better option for
certain individuals.

"For some people, going to AA once a week represents a clash of
environments," Dyck said. "Psychedelic therapy offers a more
comfortable surrounding where withdrawn individuals can feel at ease."

Another similarity between LSD treatments and AA is the idea of a
higher power. Step number two in AA reinforces the belief that a power
greater than the patient is needed to restore self-control.
Interestingly, LSD users often say that the experience generates a
sense of spirituality. The treatment, according to Dyck, thus
addresses the spiritual aspect of therapy, something that is left out
of many medical models.

Since the treatment consists of a one-time dose, the risk of chemical
dependence or flashbacks appears to be negligible.

"The studies showed that only a minority of the patients showed
anything remotely close to overly negative effects from the LSD," Dyck
explained.

Acting as a chemical analog to group therapy, LSD may allow otherwise
desperate individuals to re-examine themselves both spiritually and
emotionally; something that many feel is essential to successfully
overcoming alcoholism.

Regardless of whether or not the LSD treatment, or similar methods,
will ever be used again, Dyck believes that a re-examination of the
experiments done in the '50s should be done, and hopes that it would
reveal a great deal more about the disease than we know now.