Prohibited or regulated? LSD psychotherapy and the United States Food and Drug Administration
History of Psychiatry – May 19, 2016
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
LSD, a hallucinogenic drug, was once seen as a revolutionary tool in psychotherapy during the 1950s and early 1960s. Despite a promising start, research sharply declined by the mid-1970s. While many attribute this to increased federal regulations aimed at curbing recreational use, an analysis reveals that the Food and Drug Administration actually supported LSD studies more than previously acknowledged. The decline stemmed from intricate shifts in the broader landscape of pharmaceutical research regulation rather than outright prohibition, highlighting a nuanced historical context.
Abstract
Over the 1950s and early 1960s, the use of the hallucinogenic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) to facilitate psychotherapy was a promising field of psychiatric research in the USA. However, during the 1960s, research began to decline, before coming to a complete halt in the mid-1970s. This has commonly been explained through the increase in prohibitive federal regulations during the 1960s that aimed to curb the growing recreational use of the drug. However, closely examining the Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of LSD research in the 1960s will reveal that not only was LSD research never prohibited, but that the administration supported research to a greater degree than has been recognized. Instead, the decline in research reflected more complex changes in the regulation of pharmaceutical research and development.