Treat alcohol addiction with LSD?

Successful treatment of alcohol addiction with LSD

13.03.2012

Alcohol addiction can be treated according to statements of Norwegian researchers with the psychedelic drug LSD. Already one dose could influence the self-image of alcoholics so that "they become permanently dry," according to the meta-study by Teri Krebs and Pål-Ørjan Johansen of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim.

The Norwegian psychologists from the Department of Neuroscience at the NTNU evaluated in their study six older study on the treatment of alcohol addiction with lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) from the 1960s and 1970s. They found that with the hallucinogen alcohol addiction can be treated relatively efficiently. More than half of the study participants stated after the one-time treatment with LSD that they have been drinking significantly less alcohol since then, the Norwegian scientists write in the journal „ Journal of Psychopharmacology“.

New treatment option for alcoholics?
Alcohol addiction is a significant health burden for those affected, which often leads in the long run the death of consumers. More than 1.3 million people in Germany, according to the addiction report 2009 of the Federal Drug Commissioner alcohol dependent and over 70,000 alcohol-related deaths are recorded each year. However, although most people know the serious consequences of alcoholism, few are able to jump. For decades, medical professionals around the world have been searching for possible treatment approaches that should make it easier for alcoholics to withdraw. As early as the 1960s and 1970s, the use of LSD was investigated for this purpose. With astonishing results, as the Norwegian researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have now stated in their meta-study.

LSD with positive effects in the treatment of alcohol addiction
According to Teri Krebs and Pål-Ørjan Johansen, the six studies evaluated show that LSD can have a surprisingly positive effect on the treatment of alcoholics. For example, one dose of LSD has helped many addicts significantly reduce their alcohol intake. Of the more than 500 alcoholics interviewed in the trials, 59 percent said they had changed their drinking habits significantly after taking LSD once. „With this result, we can clearly demonstrate a beneficial effect of LSD on alcohol abuse“, Write Cancer and Johansen. However, the convincing effect relativizes a little, even if the numbers of the control group are taken into account. Here, 38 percent of respondents also stated that their alcohol consumption had decreased

Long-term effect of LSD on the drinking behavior of alcoholics
According to the Norwegian researchers, the evaluated studies also show a surprisingly long-term effect of LSD treatment. Some six months after the treatment, the subjects said they consumed less alcohol. In three of the six studies, hallucinogens even succeeded in completely overcoming alcohol addiction, according to the Norwegian researchers. Krebs and Johansen also provide in their article possible justifications for the positive effect of psychedelic drug in alcoholics. The hallucinogen interferes with the serotonin balance and thus promotes new connections between the nerve cells, said the Norwegian scientists. In this way, those affected can more easily develop new patterns of thinking and behaviors, helping them to overcome alcohol addiction, the researchers report. „After their experience with LSD, patients were more self-absorbed, more open, and more familiar with their problem-solving skills“, so the statement quoted by Krebs and Johansen in one of the earlier studies.

Hallucinogen helps to develop new thinking patterns
Even the former drug commissioner of the British government, David Nutt, showed himself to the news channel „BBC“ convinced of the positive effect of LSD on the thinking patterns of alcoholics: „Addicts only manage to free themselves from alcohol addiction by changing their self-image. That's where LSD helps them.“ Although the one-time ingestion of the psychedelic substance already has a clear positive effect, with a monthly or weekly intake of LSD, this could possibly even increase, explained Krebs and Johansen - finally useful „the one-time use of psychotropic drugs also not so much“, like a long-term therapy. However, the findings from the earlier study would have to be verified in the context of further research before treatment of alcoholics with LSD is possible. Because according to the Norwegian researchers, the six evaluated studies do not necessarily meet today's requirements for scientific studies. For example, a detailed description of the selection criteria and the diagnostic methods are missing, report Krebs and Johansen.

Risk of side effects
LSD shows a long-lasting pseudohalluzinogenen effects even in very small doses, in which possibly existing fears or depressions are intensified and a so-called „bad trip“ can be triggered. In rare cases, the intake of LSD leads to the onset of an already existing latent psychosis. In the worst case, those affected are no longer able to help with therapeutic measures, and they need a lifetime of care. Under the supervision of an experienced psychologist, however, according to the experts, the risk of mental disorders in the context of LSD therapy can be minimized. Thus, the psychedelic substance may actually provide a good approach to treat alcohol dependence in the future more successful, the conclusion of the Norwegian researchers. (Fp)

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Image: Paul-Georg Meister