Summary:
There was a study conducted in Switzerland. On the therapeutic effects of the drug Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD. Although LSD is an illegal drug, it is not been banned for the purpose of research. All of the participants in the study were severely ill, with most of them having terminal cancer. The study showed that LSD had therapeutic effects, in which it decreased end-of-life anxiety for the participants. The study found that LSD help participants’ end-of-life anxiety improve by 20 percent, and they all agreed that it was worth doing. Due to the findings of this study, other hallucinogenic drugs such as Ecstasy are going to be considered for therapy use.
Analysis:
This article is very relevant to chapter five of the book for this course. The textbook talks about LSD being a mind-altering substance that cause "bad trips." The article corresponds to the text because it did mention during the treatment of the drug, the patients did experience negative vivid experiences, often causing them to weep. However, the article seems to focus more on the positive effects of the drug rather than these distress moments that the participants experienced. With that being said, although their anxiety levels did decrease with the use of LSD, I do not know if this drug is safe for therapeutic use. Considering the fact that all of the participants in the study were terminally ill, there is no real way of knowing whether there are major side effects associated with long-term LSD use. Because the drug directly affects our mind and perception, damage to the brain or possibilities of a mental break down later should be considered.
Link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/health/lsd-reconsidered-for-therapy.html?ref=science&_r=0
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