Well, I believe that the Russians invented it as a cure for drug addiction. The article says that addicts stop taking it after about three years - because they are dead!
Timothy Leary used to suggest LSD for alcoholics.
Of course Mr. Leary remained a substance abuser for the rest of his life. He boasted of sampling virtually every drug known to man as it came down the pike (well into the 1990s).
Dan Rather went through such self-experimentation (reportedly under the guidance of the HPD) making particular note of heroin and LSD experimentation.