A recent study suggests that LSD might actually be good for you — what a trip.
Researchers Pål-Ørjan Johansen and Teri Krebs from Norway’s University of Science and Technology wrote that “there were no significant associations between lifetime use of any psychedelics ... or past year use of LSD and increased rate of any of the mental health outcomes.”
In fact, they wrote, it found psychedelic use was associated with a lower rate of mental health problems, according to the science journal PLOS One.
Johansen’s and Krebs’ conclusions about LSD and alcoholism were based on archived surveys from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Fifty-nine percent of patients who had been given a dose of LSD had either stopped drinking completely or were drinking less, according to http://www.dailymail.co.uk.
This study starkly contrasts the popular opinion that LSD, as well as other hallucinogenic drugs, can cause long-term mental health issues.
“The LSD that was being abused in the ‘60s and the ‘70s was a much different drug in terms of dosage than what is being used now,” said Dr. Bruce Goldberger, professor and director of UF Health Forensic Medicine.
The dosage was probably two to four times higher than what it is today, he said.
The study also suggested that the drug could be used to treat alcohol addiction, and the researchers concluded that it is effective against alcoholism.
“I would be reluctant to use a drug like LSD to treat alcoholism,” Goldberger said. “You’re treating one drug with a high potential for abuse with another drug with a high potential of abuse.”
Even if it did become an accepted form of treatment, it would be impossible to regulate, he said.
Gabriela Asuaje, a 20-year-old UF advertising senior, said she would never consider taking the drug even if it is proved to be beneficial.
“I actually had a friend from high school that was in rehab and got addicted to LSD, so I don’t really consider that it would be a means to treat people,” she said. “I think there are other ways.”
A version of this story ran on page 5 on 9/13/2013 under the headline "LSD might be good for mental health, study says"
