LSD suggested as cure for alcoholism

ABC13.com ^ | 10-16-2006 | ABCNEWS

[FFIGHTER]

(10/16/06) - Imagine this.

You are hooked on alcohol and you want help getting off the booze.

You go to your doctor, and he or she says, "Drop some acid."

That's right. LSD, the infamous drug of choice for many hippies in the 1960s and '70s.

Lysergic acid diethylamide, the drug that caused hallucinations or "tripping," was, of course, outlawed, giving it immeasurable street cred in its time, before fading away as flower-painted bodies grew into gray-flannel suits.

So, in the 21st century, why would a respected medical doctor even consider prescribing LSD as a wonder drug to help cure alcoholism?

[Ready4Freddy]

I'm not so sure that Bill Wilson participated in the LSD experiments in hopes of ending his chronic depression. My understanding (however imperfect my memory might be from a lot of reading early on in sobriety :) was that his depression 'magically' lifted soon after the 1955 International Convention in St. Louis, where 'AA Came of Age' as the Conference accepted the 12 Concepts as the 3rd Legacy and the 'torch was passed', as it were, from the founders / old-timers to the Conference itself.

I frequent the AAHistoryLovers Yahoo! group, and there's a lot of older posts on this subject. One of the longer and perhaps most complete ones [note the other participants]:

RE: [AAHistoryLovers] LSD

There is a link between Bill’s LSD experience and his niacin (vitamin B3) experience.

In 1956 British radio commentator Gerald Heard introduced Bill W to Aldous Huxley and British psychiatrists Humphrey Osmond and Abram Hoffer (the founders of orthomolecular psychiatry). Humphrey and Osmond were working with schizophrenic and alcoholic patients at a Canadian hospital.

Bill joined with Heard and Huxley and first took LSD in CA on August 29, 1956. Medically supervised by psychiatrist Sidney Cohen of the LA VA hospital, the LSD experiments occurred well prior to the "hippie era" of the late 1960’s.

At the time, LSD was thought to have psychotherapeutic potential (research was also being funded by the National Institutes of Health and National Academy of Sciences). The intent of Osmond and Hoffer was to induce an experience similar to the DTs in hopes that it might shock alcoholics away from alcohol.

Among those invited to experiment with LSD (and who accepted) were Nell Wing, Father Ed Dowling, Sam Shoemaker and Lois Wilson. Marty M and other AA members participated in NY (under medical supervision by a psychiatrist from Roosevelt Hospital).

Bill had several experiments with LSD up to 1959 (perhaps into the early 1960's). The book “Pass It On” (pgs 368-377) reports the full LSD story and notes that there were repercussions within AA over these activities. Lois was a reluctant participant and claimed to have had no response to the chemical.

Hoffer and Osmond did research that later influenced Bill, in December 1966, to enthusiastically embrace a campaign to promote vitamin B3 (niacin) therapy. It also created Traditions issues within the Fellowship and caused a bit of an uproar. The book “Pass It On” has a fairly full discussion (pgs 387-391).

Cheers
Arthur

[TBall]

I remember reading an article on Ibogaine a few years back and thought it was interesting. Just did a search and found this link.

http://www.ibogaine.co.uk/ibogaine6.htm

[aculeus]

I once heard psychiatrist Ruth Fox say she had used it experimentally on some patients but stopped when it was reported to damage chromosomes. (I'm not current on this stuff and haven't even read the lead article on the thread but I do recall hearing her say that at a lecture many moons ago.)

[SE Mom]

Thanks for the informative post :) A rich and varied history has AA...

[martin_fierro]

"LSD worked wonders for me!"

[SunkenCiv]

Dying of liver disease is another cure.

[Rte66]

20 years, 8 months, and 2 days of 24 hourses for me

[Rte66]

My first, last and only dropping of acid was in June, 1973. It didn't do anything that I could tell.

My BF and I and another couple who were friends of ours planned it all out to be safe. The other girl procured it and we took a large tent, with floor pillows, lol, to the beach and set it up.

The two most startling things that happened during our stay were (1) I all of a sudden recalled how I knew my friend's new boyfriend - he had introduced himself to me several years earlier as an FBI narcotics agent when I was moving into my first apt and he offered to help carry things. After a little drama over that and my not wanting to reveal what I "knew" about him, it turns out it was a lie.

and then (2) when I went out to sleep in my hatchback car with my friend's 2 dogs, my 1 dog and my 1 cat and I woke up once during the night to see that they had gone for a midnight romp along the shoreline of the Gulf. The cutest thing I had ever seen, there in the moonlight, the silhouettes of an alpha dog, his pal dog, my little beagle terrier and then my tiger kitty, all prancing single file, Indian style right along the outgoing surf.

The orderliness of it and the cat bringing up the rear just cracked me up.

[Jack of all Trades]

A cure for alcoholism? Never heard of such a thing.

4 years, 10 months, 29 days in a parallel universe and loving it. I don't count days. I just remember THE day.

Thanks for the ping.

[ßuddaßudd]

Yes please!

[Stashiu]

22 years, 3 months, and 7 days, or there abouts.

I recall, well sort of, I was in my cups and in college at the time, a study a roommate of mine participated in. A professor was doing a study on using marijuana to treat nearsightedness. All the roomie ever said was that when he was really stoned, he did not care that the could not see clearly. So, I guess it worked?

Still crazy, after all these years......thanx for the ping!

[Rollee]

1 year 10/27! I can't believe it!

[Rollee]

Congratulations! This is the best year of your life!

[beyond the sea]

yep....

[beyond the sea]

I remember around 5 in the morning needing to get enough booze in me to try to sleep.

25 or 624

I used to think they were talking about 25 or 26 minutes to 4:00 a.m., but ......

Chicago(CTA) ............ a description of an ACID trip. The "25 or 6 to 4" line is actually "25 or 624", referring to two types of LSD available at the time, based on their chemical composition. They were LSD-25 and LSD-624.

Oh..... the good old days.

If I took LSD now I think I'd just look around my entire property and be overwhelmed by everything that I started yet never finished in the past decades. It would be a major drag. But I loved it back in the early 70's.

[beyond the sea]

http://www.thememoryhole.org/hubbard/

[beyond the sea]

My first "experience" was during a beautiful eight inch snow fall in 1970. I was 23. I had always enjoyed snowfalls as a child, but this one was fabulous. It was one of those warm wet snows with the huge flakes, some bigger than quarters. There was absolutely no wind at all. The flakes just very slowly wandered aimlessly down to the ground.

The snow started around 9:00 p.m. and a group of us began walking around Oakland in Pittsburgh. The snowflakes under the street lights were incredibly beautiful, I really never saw so many colors in the flakes...... oranges, purples, etc.

The one thing I like to tell those who have never used LSD (and who wish to listen) is that, after a while it becomes apparent that there really is no need to do LSD anymore. LSD taught me that all these things can be seen and studied while we are "normal". You just have to look and take the time to see. It's all there all the time in nature.

;-)

****

Al Hubbard was specifically assigned to the Alternative Futures Project, which performed future-oriented strategic planning for corporations and government agencies. Hubbard shared a goal "to provide the [LSD] experience to political and intellectual leaders around the world. Al's job was to run the special [LSD] sessions for us."

According to Dr. Abram Hoffer, "Al had a grandiose idea that if he could give the psychedelic experience to the major executives of the Fortune 500 companies, he would change the whole of society."

Might work...............

[beyond the sea]

"However, I have gone on record as stating that under strictly controlled circumstances and for some people, use of psychotropics such as LSD can be a positive thing. But this isn't recreation, and in the absence of experienced guidance is more likely to do harm than good, and can be very, very dangerous indeed." ---

YES

[mamelukesabre]

I never tried it. Too scared of it from all the horror stories. But I did try mesq once. I thought it was dumb...waste of time. All I got out of it was a 5 minute case of the giggles.

[sit-rep]

lol...