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LSD the answer to alcohol abuse?
Recently revealed studies from a Norwegian university in the 1960s show that the hallucinogenic drug LSD could be a cure for alcoholics.
Presented in the “Journal of Psychopharmacology” the research looked at data from six trials involving 500 patients and found there was a “significant beneficial effect” on alcohol abuse which lasted several months after the drug was taken.
The studies in Norway were conducted between 1966 and 1970 and appeared to show that a single dose of the drug between 210 and 800 micrograms led to 59% of the test subjects showing reduced levels of alcohol misuse.
The effect on alcohol abuse was strongest for six months before it wore off completely after a year and it was suggested that more regular doses might lead to a more sustained benefit.
The report’s authors, Teri Krebs and Pal-Orjan Johansen, said: “A single dose of LSD has a significant beneficial effect on alcohol misuse.
“Given the evidence for a beneficial effect of LSD on alcoholism, it is puzzling why this treatment approach has been largely overlooked.”
LSD is one of the most powerful mind-altering hallucinogens ever identified. It changes the way serotonin – which affects perception, behaviour, hunger and mood – works in the brain.