Legalize It! LSD as Medicine
When people hear “LSD,” the immediate image that pops into many minds is that of the hippies in the 1960s. One advocate and chemist of LSD, Nicholas Sand, believed the world could be changed for the better through the connectedness that LSD use would bring people across the globe (Telegraph, 2017). Though a bit different than Sand’s vision, lysergic acid diethylamide may very well change the world through its medicinal value for a variety of diseases, disorders, and end-of-life care. LSD should be legalized for medicinal use.
LSD became illegal during its most popular time, the 1960s. If one refers to a government-produced paper on LSD, circular reasoning is employed for why LSD is illegal. That is, LSD is illegal because it is a Schedule I drug and it is a Schedule I drug because it is illegal (NDIC, n.d.). Under the Controlled Substance Act, LSD is purported to have no medical use and high potential for abuse (Freeman, 2008). Yet, the NDIC (n.d.) clearly stated that LSD does not have a high potential for abuse in its brief, informative paper on the substance. Furthermore, medicinal and therapeutic possibilities of LSD are not out of the question. Based on this, LSD should be dropped to a Schedule II (or lower). Furthermore, LSD was made illegal as an attempt to dampen the hippie movement which largely challenged the government and capitalism, not because it was a dangerous substance (Swartz, 2012). The current status of LSD as illegal and Schedule I is illogical given these facts. Moreover, it helps no one.
LSD is less dangerous than some drugs that are currently legally used for medicinal purposes. Take for instance cocaine, a Schedule II drug that does have a high potential for addiction and can result in death through overdose (Prus, 2018). Not only does LSD lack a high potential for addiction, but also there have been no reported cases of overdosing on acid (NDIC, n.d.). Legalization of LSD for medical use only seems logical, especially taking into account evidence for its usefulness in a variety of diseases, disorders, and palliative care.
LSD might be able to treat disorders, such as depression, but not at the dosage level that the hippies were ingesting. Microdosing, administering a minuscule amount of a substance so as to have minimal effects, is the primary choice of treatment (Schwartz, 2017). One woman found relief for her depression, Bipolar Disorder, and premenstrual dysphoria from LSD mircodosing (Williams, 2017). Additionally, lifetime users of LSD reported having no psychological distress or need for psychiatric treatment (Krebs & Johansen, 2013). LSD appears to be helpful for depression and similar disorders because of its effect on feelings of transcendence and connectedness with the universe (Prus, 2018). Another proposition is that LSD is able to help alleviate depression and rumination on negative thoughts by shifting ones’ attention and awarding more stimuli as meaningful (Wong, 2017). Not only is LSD able to help with depression, it is less dangerous than the current medication options for depression.
LSD lack high potential for addiction and its side effects appear to be limited and largely harmless. For instance, death is not an associated side effect of LSD (NDIC, n.d.). The few other side effects reported from LSD use include flashbacks even after use has ceased and feelings of despair or anxiety during hallucinations (NDIC, n.d.). Of course, microdosing may very well reduce or completely extinguish these potential unwanted side effects. So long as administers of the drug follow guidelines, minimal side effects are likely to occur (Reiche et al., 2018). Meanwhile, the current medications prescribed for depression can have serious side effects regardless of whether or not the medicine is effective at treating the depressive symptoms. Some side effects include sexual dysfunctions, insomnia, irritability, weight problems, and suicidal thoughts (Allen, 2011). Additionally, SSRIs can produce serotonin syndrome which can result in death if untreated and, if a patient abruptly stops taking them, serotonin withdrawal syndrome (Prus, 2018). Given this, LSD appears to be a better alternative to the current medications that are available for Major Depression.
LSD may also help with other disorders and forms of mental distress in conjunction with therapy. As stated previously, a patient may find it easier to focus on positive, rewarding stimuli than ruminating on the negatives while taking LSD (Wong, 2017). This may in turn result in the patient being more open to talking to a therapist. Additionally, findings indicate that microdoses of LSD enhance suggestibility (Carhart-Harris et al., 2015). LSD could very well aid therapists in helping patients with, say, PTSD discuss and overcome traumatic events. The ways in which LSD relieves depression and perhaps may even help people with other distressing disorders also applies to those who are experiencing distress because they are near death.
Often times when someone has a life-threatening disease, something with little to no way of treating or beating it, the person is faced head-on with their own mortality. Of course this would cause distress for any person, and there is only so much doctors and nurses can do to help. With the aid of LSD microdosing, people suffering from deadly diseases or a failing body due to old age can be helped to find peace rather than suffering emotionally in their final days. Reiche et al. (2018) found that patients suffering from life-threatening disease experienced relief from their distress through serotonergic hallucinogens’ (such as LSD) anxiolytic and antidepressant effects. More than this, patients reported fearing death less than before treatment and exhibited improved quality of life (Reiche et al., 2018). One author pondered the idea that Baby Boomers are now facing death and want to get back in touch with the comforting spirituality they once experienced with LSD (Schwartz, 2017). Whatever the exact reason(s), LSD helps people feel better. Indeed, LSD has the potential to help many people in need of medical assistance and psychological relief.
LSD is not simply the drug of choice for groovy, far-out hippies from a decade long-gone. It is a drug that can do a lot of people a lot of good in the medical field. Chemist of and long-time advocate for LSD Nicholas Sand once said that he and his companions thought LSD could change the world (Telegraph, 2017). They were right.
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