Medical researchers turning on, tuning in to psychedelics
DENIS CAMPBELL
October 25, 2009
As its use grows, LSD is being reassessed as a therapeutic drug.
AN INCREASING number of Britons are taking LSD and other psychedelic
drugs to help them cope with conditions including anorexia nervosa,
cluster headaches and chronic anxiety attacks.
The emergence of a community that passes the drugs between users on
the basis of friendship, support and need - with money rarely
involved - comes amid a resurgence of research into the possible
therapeutic benefits of psychedelics.
This is leading to a growing optimism among those using the drugs
that soon they may be able to obtain medicines based on psychedelics
from their GP, rather than risk jail.
Among those in Britain already using the drugs and hoping for a
change in the way they are viewed is Anna Jones (not her real name),
a 35-year-old university lecturer, who takes LSD once or twice a year.
She fears that without an occasional dose she will go back to the
drinking problem she left behind 14 years ago with the help of the banned drug.
LSD, the drug synonymous with the 1960s counterculture, changed her
life in a day, she says. ''For me it was the catalyst to give up
destructive behaviour - heavy drinking and smoking. As a student I
used to drink two or three bottles of wine, two or three days a week,
because I didn't have many friends and didn't feel comfortable in my
own skin. Then I took a hit of LSD one day and didn't feel alone any
more. It helped me to see myself differently, increase my
self-confidence, lose my desire to drink or smoke and just feel at
one with the world.''
Many others are using the drugs to deal with chronic anxiety attacks
brought on by terminal illness such as cancer.
Research was carried out in the 1950s and 1960s into psychedelics. In
some places they were even used as a treatment for anxiety,
depression and addiction. But a backlash against LSD - owing to
concerns that the powerful hallucinogen was becoming widespread as a
recreational drug, and fear that excessive use could trigger mental
health conditions such as schizophrenia - led to prohibition of
research in the 1970s.
Under Britain's Misuse of Drugs Act it is classified as a Class A,
schedule 1 substance, which means not only is LSD considered highly
dangerous but it is deemed to have no medical research value.
Now, though, distinguished academics and highly respected
institutions are looking again at whether LSD and other psychedelics
might help patients.
Psychiatrist Dr John Halpern, of Harvard Medical School in the US,
found that almost all of 53 people with cluster headaches who
illegally took LSD or psilocybin, the active compound in magic
mushrooms, obtained relief from the searing pain. He and an
international team have also begun investigating whether 2-Bromo-LSD,
a non-psychedelic version of LSD known as BOL, can help ease the condition.
Studies into how the drug may be helping such people are also being
carried out in Britain. Amanda Feilding is the director of the
Oxford-based Beckley Foundation, a charitable trust that investigates
consciousness, its altered states and the effects of psychedelics and
meditation. She is a key figure in the revival of scientific interest
in psychedelics and expresses her excitement about the initial
findings of two studies with which her foundation is heavily involved.
''LSD is a potentially very valuable substance for human health and
happiness,'' she said.
In a Swiss trial, the drug is given alongside psychotherapy to people
who have a terminal condition to help them cope with profound
anxiety. A trial in the US is examining whether psilocybin can aid
psychotherapy for those with substance addiction.
Professor Colin Blakemore, a former chief executive of the UK Medical
Research Council, said the class-A status of psychedelics should not
stop them being explored as potential therapies.
A Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency spokeswoman
said: ''These products, if approved, are likely to be classified as a
prescription-only medicine and also likely to remain on the
dangerous-drug list, which means that their supply would be strictly
controlled.''
GUARDIAN
The experience
Douglas
FROM the age of eight I suffered frequent and severe headaches,
usually three or four a week, which caused acute pain and interfered
with work and games.
I first tried 200 micrograms of LSD in 1970. I had no headaches for
three weeks. I then had another headache, though not as severe as
usual, and the next day took another 200 micrograms. This time the
headaches disappeared for six months. After that, whenever I had a
bad headache I took a dose of LSD, usually 100 micrograms. My
headaches have since become very rare, perhaps one or two a year.
Philip
FIVE years ago I had just finished my third chemotherapy session for
leukaemia, which was the worst experience of my life. I didn't eat
for 21 days, my weight dropped to eight stone and I was bald. I took
acid at a party. I wasn't in remission, so I shouldn't have taken it,
but it was an amazing experience.
It made me euphoric. I'm not religious but I had a wonderful
experience, like angels coming over the walls and white clouds out of
a blue sky. I thought, ''I've got to live''; it gave me the will to
carry on. It gave me the strength that I could do it.
GUARDIAN
--------
Scientists study possible health benefits of LSD and ecstasy
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/23/lsd-ecstacy-health-benefits
Growing number of people taking psychedelic drugs to help them cope
with conditions such as chronic anxiety attacks
Denis Campbell
23 October 2009
A growing number of people are taking LSD and other psychedelic drugs
such as cannabis and ecstasy to help them cope with a variety of
conditions including anorexia nervosa, cluster headaches and chronic
anxiety attacks.
The emergence of a community that passes the drugs between users on
the basis of friendship, support and need with money rarely
involved comes amid a resurgence of research into the possible
therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. This is leading to a growing
optimism among those using the drugs that soon they may be able to
obtain medicines based on psychedelics from their doctor, rather than
risk jail for taking illicit drugs.
Among those in Britain already using the drugs and hoping for a
change in the way they are viewed is Anna Jones (not her real name),
a 35-year-old university lecturer, who takes LSD once or twice a
year. She fears that without an occasional dose she will go back to
the drinking problem she left behind 14 years ago with the help of
the banned drug.
LSD, the drug synonymous with the 1960s counter-culture, changed her
life, she says. "For me it was the catalyst to give up destructive
behaviour heavy drinking and smoking. As a student I used to drink
two or three bottles of wine, two or three days a week, because I
didn't have many friends and didn't feel comfortable in my own skin.
"Then I took a hit of LSD one day and didn't feel alone any more. It
helped me to see myself differently, increase my self-confidence,
lose my desire to drink or smoke and just feel at one with the world.
I haven't touched alcohol or cigarettes since that day in 1995 and am
much happier than before."
Many others are using the drugs to deal with chronic anxiety attacks
brought on by terminal illness such as cancer.
Research was carried out in the 1950s and 1960s into psychedelics. In
some places they were even used as a treatment for anxiety,
depression and addiction. But a backlash against LSD owing to
concerns that the powerful hallucinogen was becoming widespread as a
recreational drug, and fear that excessive use could trigger mental
health conditions such as schizophrenia led to prohibition of
research in the 1970s.
Under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act it is classified as a Class A,
schedule 1 substance which means not only is LSD considered highly
dangerous, but it is deemed to have no medical research value.
Now, though, distinguished academics and highly respected
institutions are looking again at whether LSD and other psychedelics
might help patients. Psychiatrist Dr John Halpern, of Harvard medical
school in the US, found that almost all of 53 people with cluster
headaches who illegally took LSD or psilocybin, the active compound
in magic mushrooms, obtained relief from the searing pain. He and an
international team have also begun investigating whether 2-Bromo-LSD,
a non-psychedelic version of LSD known as BOL, can help ease the same
condition.
Studies into how the drug may be helping such people are also being
carried out in the UK. Amanda Feilding is the director of the
Oxford-based Beckley Foundation, a charitable trust that investigates
consciousness, its altered states and the effects of psychedelics and
meditation. She is a key figure in the revival of scientific interest
in psychedelics and expresses her excitement about the initial
findings of two overseas studies with which her foundation is heavily involved.
"One, at the University of California in Berkeley, was the first
research into LSD to get approval from regulators and ethics bodies
since the 1970s," she said. Those in the study are the first to be
allowed to take LSD legally in decades as part of research into
whether it aids creativity. "LSD is a potentially very valuable
substance for human health and happiness."
The other is a Swiss trial in which the drug is give alongside
psychotherapy to people who have a terminal condition to help them
cope with the profound anxiety brought on by impending death. "If you
handle LSD with care, it isn't any more dangerous than other
therapies," said Dr Peter Gasser, the psychiatrist leading the trial.
At Johns Hopkins University in Washington, another trial is examining
whether psilocybin can aid psychotherapy for those with chronic
substance addiction who have not been helped by more conventional treatment.
Professor Colin Blakemore, a former chief executive of the Medical
Research Council, said the class-A status of psychedelics such as LSD
should not stop them being explored as potential therapies. "No drug
is completely safe, and that includes medical drugs as well as
illegal substances," he said. "But we have well-developed and
universally respected methods of assessing the balance of benefit and
harm for new medicines.
"If there are claims of benefits from substances that are not
regulated medicines even including illegal drugs it is important
that they should be tested as thoroughly for efficacy and safety as
any new conventional drug."
Past reputations may make it hard to get approval for psychedelic
medicines, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency.
"The known adverse effect profiles of psychedelic drugs would have to
be considered very carefully in the risk/benefit analysis before the
drugs may be approved for medicinal use," said a spokeswoman. "These
products, if approved, are likely to be classified as a
prescription-only medicine and also likely to remain on the dangerous
drug list, which means that their supply would be strictly controlled."
--------
Acid experiences: LSD's effect on illness
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/oct/23/lsd-positive-effects-on-illness
23 October 2009
Three people with health problems explain how LSD affected them
Douglas, historian
From the age of eight I suffered frequent and severe headaches,
usually three or four a week, which caused acute and persistent pain
and interfered with work and games alike. These persisted into adulthood.
I first tried 200 microgrammes of LSD in 1970. After it, I had no
headaches for three weeks. I then had another headache, though not as
severe as usual, and the next day took another 200 microgrammes. This
time the headaches disappeared for six months.
After that, whenever I had a bad headache I took a dose of LSD,
usually 100 microgrammes. My headaches have since become very rare,
perhaps one or two a year. I believe the doses of LSD are the most
likely cause of this very welcome relief.
Jess, 40, London
Taking LSD on a regular basis has improved my health and life. I had
an eating disorder for 12 years after leaving school, yo-yo-ing
between binge eating and then eating nothing for days, which was
debilitating. Then, at 26, I was introduced to LSD and told that,
while I was on it, I must maintain my sugar level in order to avoid
the symptoms of hypoglycaemia.
On the first trip I ate scrambled eggs and a whole king-size bag of
Minstrels. I remained in complete control . Equally as fascinating
for me was that I couldn't sense the weight of what I'd consumed: in
other words, I was eating but not putting on weight, which is music
to an anorexic's ears.
The LSD enabled me to rise above my negative and destructive thoughts
and see things in a new and positive light. I now take it once a
month and as a consequence have maintained not only a healthy eating
balance but also a more positive frame of mind.
Philip, 54, London
Five years ago I had just finished my third chemotherapy session for
leukaemia, which was the worst experience of my life. I didn't eat
for 21 days, my weight dropped to eight stone and I was bald. I took
acid at a party. I wasn't in remission, so I shouldn't have taken it,
but it was an amazing experience.
It made me euphoric. I'm not religious but I had a wonderful
experience, like angels coming over the walls and white clouds out of
a blue sky. I thought, "I've got to live"; it gave me the will to
carry on. It gave me the strength that I could do it. The LSD helped
me with my leukaemia by mentally helping me to get over it.I felt
that I could beat the cancer, which was the first time I'd felt like
that since being diagnosed with leukaemia.
.
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