Use of d-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in the Treatment of Alcoholism

Dynamics of Psychedelic Drug Abuse
By Bowers M, Chipan A, Schartz A, Dann OT
(Journal) 1967

Reviewed by Alex Pearlstein

As LSD experimentation has left the laboratories and entered the eager hands of the public at large, a question has arisen: what will become of the individual who experiences the effects of this powerful tool without the proper direction or supervision?

Three people who had partaken of psychedelics on their own accord who required hospitalization were studied. Since the subjects required hospitalization from their interaction with LSD, I do not feel that this is a good example of the "standard" psychedelic user. In all the other papers I have reviewed about psychedelics, a profile was established to determine the subject's receptivity to the treatment. I feel the subjects of this investigation would not "fit the profile" since their personal experimentation led them to be hospitalized. Yet the ideas and feelings they expressed are in line with some psychedelic users. They did, however, lack some coping skills or had childhood trauma which surfaced during the experience. This does prove, again, how useful LSD can be in unearthing buried issues and identifying them. It also helps to illuminate the point that before a person begins an experiment, he or she should have a goal and set up some parameters for their journey.

Some of the good points of this study is that all of the patients had similar perspectives of an increased desire for a greater fusion between people and nature. Like others, they all felt as if there is something more on "the other side" of life or consciousness. Personally, I hope that if this is still a trend today, that one of the by-products of psychedelic abuse is a greater sense of the connection between people and nature. I would love to think that because of this drug "abuse" we may finally take a step back and see what real abuse we are perpetrating upon the planet and make conscious efforts to treat our mother earth a bit more respectfully.

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