LSD helps kick alcoholism: Study

Looking to kick the bottle? Taking an acid trip could be one route to giving up alcohol. The idea that you can treat addictions with hallucinogens is undergoing a revival.

That's according to Teri Krebs and Pål-Ørjan Johansen at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. The pair looked at six studies that had investigated the use of LSD for treating alcoholism - all of which were carried out between 1966 and 1970, unsurprisingly.

In total, the trials included 536 alcoholic participants. Some 325 of them were given a single dose of LSD. The success of the therapy was measured by how long the individuals were able to abstain from alcohol, as well as by their social adjustment to a life without booze.

Putting all the results together, the pair found that people who took LSD saw more improvement than those who did not. Almost 60 per cent of LSD-treated people had improved before their first follow-up session, compared with 38 per cent of those who hadn't taken the drug. What's more, people who had taken LSD were still doing better than those that had not six months later:

'The effectiveness of a single dose of LSD compares well with the effectiveness of daily naltrexone, acamprosate or disulfiram... three commonly prescribed, approved medications for reducing relapse in alcohol dependence.'

The exact mechanisms behind these effects remain something of a mystery. Robin Carhart-Harris, a psychopharmacologist at Imperial College London, told Nature that:

'Psychedelics probably work in addiction by making the brain function more chaotically for a period - a bit like shaking up a snow globe - weakening reinforced brain connections and dynamics.'

But it could be that the psychological effects of tripping are more important. As the researcher behind one of the 1969 trials said at the time:

'It was rather common for patients to claim significant insights into their problems, to feel that they had been given a new lease on life, and to make a strong resolution to discontinue their drinking.

David Nutt, also of Imperial College London, is famous for his idea that drug policies should be changed to reflect the fact that both alcohol and horse-riding are more harmful than some illegal drugs. He told the BBC:

'Curing alcohol dependency requires huge changes in the way you see yourself. That's what LSD does...Overall there is a big effect... this is probably as good as anything we've got [for treating alcoholism].'

Journal reference: Journal of Psychopharmacology

Note: Needless to say, perhaps, but SBS does not condone the consumption of illegal drugs.