If you were from the 60s or the 70s and among the 20 million Americans who have experienced the bizarre psychedelic trip of LSD, then you must have also heard about the medicinal properties of this substance.

Dubbed as the most potent drug in the world, LSD or Lysergic acid diethylamide or simply known as ‘acid’ on the streets can cause severe psychological effects on the brain, altering the serotonin receptors and triggering some parts of your brain to an overdrive mode. Colloquially known as the ‘trip’, the sensations which follow the ingestion of this drug range wildly from person to person depending on their previous experiences, their state of mind and environment and their social settings. Some people have referred their ‘trip’ to be an out of the world experience while many experience a psycho emotional ‘trip’ which is similar to a walking nightmare leading to deadly consequences.

After its discovery in 1938 its potency was understood as one that causes significant changes in mind and behavior. It was therefore released as a psychiatric drug in 1947. Beginning in the 1950s the US Central Intelligence Agency began a research program named MKULTRA where LSD was administered to CIA employees, military personnel, doctors and other professionals to study their reactions.

But its potency was so great that one ounce of this colorless, odorless crystallized substance could be used to dose 30000 people clearly ringing bells for its potential for misuse. The dosage is measured in micrograms or a millionth of a gram with typical doses ranging between 200 and 1000 micrograms which can supposedly take you on a ‘trip’ for as long as 24 hour period.

Soon, LSD became central to the counterculture of the 1960s and US Food and Drug Administration banned the drug in 1963 announcing it as a Schedule 1 in the U.S., meaning that it is illegal to produce, possess or purchase it without a DEA license.

But then, what about its purported medicinal properties of the 1950s and the 1960s?

Many studies have proven LSD’s effectiveness in treatment of cluster headaches, alcoholism, cancer pain and psychotherapy. The most famous study being the one conducted by Harvard Medical School psychiatrist and researcher Dr.John Halpern, who showed that nearly 53 people were cured of their cluster headaches when given LSD or Psilocybin, the active substance present in some mushrooms (also a known psychedelic drug).

Now, that’s something cluster headache patients can really use to their advantage, considering the pain and torture they go through during their headache attacks. Of course, they know there is no cure for their headaches, but this relief from their miserable pain can be a big band aid- a big one indeed.

Similarly many distinguished academics and widely respected institutions are giving this drug a closer look. LSD has proven effective in the treatment of anxiety in end of life terminally ill cancer patients. It gives them a sense of feeling right during their last days of life. They become calm, they ask for what they want and communicate well, at the same with some relief of pain. This aspect is looked at seriously by Swiss researchers who are using LSD in combination with psychotherapy for these patients.

Finally, the Medical community does not consider LSD as an addictive substance and would like to dwell deeper into its medical benefits of psychedelic drugs like LSD and use it to prescribe in a controlled manner. But the social, historical and the community experiences of these drugs have always countered every medical efforts to bring new therapeutic benefits for some debilitating problems.

Tagged as: LSD, Psychedelic