A Review of LSD Treatment in Alcoholism

A review of 31 investigations involving 1,105 patients found that the use of LSD to treat alcoholics produced disappointing overall effectiveness. The studies varied widely: 13 were single large-dose studies without controls, 5 had controls, 4 used multiple low doses without controls, 3 had controls, and 6 were miscellaneous. Single doses ranged from 50 to 800 μg, multiple doses from 25 to 800 μg per dose, with total maximum doses of 100–6,400 μg across up to 6 doses. Follow-up ranged from none to 65 months. Different designs and criteria for improvement made meaningful generalizations difficult.

Study at a glance

Abstract

A total of 31 investigations involving 1,105 patients, on the effect of LSD in the treatment of alcoholics are reviewed. There were 13 single large-dose studies without controls, 5 such studies with controls, 4 studies of multiple low-dose LSD without controls, 3 multiple low-dose studies with controls, and 6 miscellaneous investigations that did not fit any of these categories. Single doses ranged between 50 and 800 μg, while multiple doses ranged (per single dose) from 25 to 800 μg, with a total maximum dose of 100-6,400 μg (maximum of 6 doses). Follow-up ranged from none to 65 months. The overall effectiveness of this controversial treatment of alcoholics remains disappointing. It was difficult to reach meaningful generalizations from the variety of published investigations with different designs and variant criteria for improvement.