Could LSD Help Lower Anxiety in Terminally Ill Patients? Study

A recent study conducted by researches in Switzerland shows that the popular psychedelic drug LSD could help alleviate issues for terminally ill patients by helping with chronic pain, depression and emotional suffering.

"These results indicate that when administered safely in a methodologically rigorous medically supervised psychotherapeutic setting, LSD can reduce anxiety," the study authors wrote, via a press release. "Suggesting that larger controlled studies are warranted."

For the study, researchers recruited 12 patients who suffered from a serious illness that also dealt with severe anxiety. First, the participants went through drug-free psychotherapy sessions, including two full-day psychotherapy sessions with two therapists. These sessions took place two to three weeks apart from one another, in which each patient either received a 200-microgram dose of LSD or a 20-microgram dose of drug, which the team called an active placebo. 

Researchers discovered that patients in the active placebo group had significantly less anxiety than those who had received the smaller doses of LSD. Those who received smaller doses, however, had higher anxiety levels.

"The study was a success in the sense that we did not have any noteworthy adverse effects," said Swiss psychiatrist Peter Gasser, who led the research reported by the Independent. "All participants reported a personal benefit from the treatment, and the effects were stable over time."

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found via the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.