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For science students in the LSD trip ordered
While most drugs are considered harmful to human health, some substances are also used for therapeutic purposes. For example, the benefits of marijuana for pain patients have long been known. The possible use of LSD is also being researched. In Switzerland, students are given the synthetic drug for a study.
Drugs for medical purposes
Most illegal drugs are considered dangerous to human health. In some cases, they are also used for medical purposes and decriminalized. For example, last year a court ruling in Cologne was made that allowed legal cannabis cultivation for pain patients. Some health experts are also putting their hopes in some of the party drugs for depression and anxiety. Researchers in Berlin had achieved promising results with hallucinogens such as ketamine. When it comes to scientific drug experiments, the University Hospital Basel (Switzerland) is among the best in the world. Nowhere in the world do people get LSD for research as often as there. The synthetic drug could possibly be used in medicine.
Students in Switzerland for research purposes on LSD. (Image: Zerbor / fotolia.com) Leading location for LSD research
For around two years, the effect of LSD on healthy people has been investigated at the Basel clinic. Now the drug has been administered to 24 students, studying their brain activity. As reported by "Schweiz am Sonntag", Uni-Klinik Basel has become one of the world's leading locations for LSD research in recent years. Thus, nowhere else in the world would more LSD trials be realized than at the Swiss hospital. "Psychoactive substances are consumed by many people and occasionally used in therapeutic studies," said Matthias Liechti, clinical pharmacologist and head of the research group at the University Hospital Basel. "But basic data is missing. As a drug specialist, I'm interested in how psychoactive substances pharmacologically affect humans and how they work in the brain. "
"An alternative to classic medicines"
Subjects who wanted to participate in the LSD study had to be in perfect physical and mental health and at least 25 years of age. "The age limit is important because the personality should already be established. Such a test can sometimes shake a subject confused, "said Liechti to the Internet portal" 20min.ch ". It is said that the experiment does not cause any physical risks or even loss of control. After taking a capsule containing 100 micrograms of LSD, it goes into the MRI scanner, where brain activity is measured during drug intoxication.
Even therapists hoping for approval of psychoactive substances would be interested in this research. "The use of psychoactive substances in combination with psychotherapy could be an alternative to traditional drugs," said Liechti. In other areas, the drug could be used for therapy: Years ago, studies have shown that, for example, one could treat alcohol addiction with LSD, since even a dose can affect the self-image of alcoholics so that they remain permanently dry.
LSD has been used by psychiatrists worldwide
During the test phases in Switzerland, no real hallucinations would be triggered, only illusions. "For example, the subjects described the patterns they saw when they closed their eyes," explained the study leader. One in four overcame a feeling of anxiety after taking the drug, but it disappeared after the end of the effect. Other risks are low: "After taking LSD in a controlled trial flashbacks are basically rare," said Liechti. Interestingly enough, LSD was discovered in Basel - by Albert Hoffmann in 1943. Although the drug had been used by psychiatrists around the world for a long time, in the 1960s LSD was declared illegal in most countries. Despite the positive study results Liechti does not believe that LSD will come back in the next few years on the market: "Who should want to finance that?" However, the next baseline study is already in the planning. (Ad)