The potential of psychedelic medicine - A personal account.

A clinical toxicology trainee living in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury in 1965 studied psychedelics such as LSD, mescaline, and ibogaine in both human and animal models. At that time, these substances were used therapeutically in clinical settings and also researched as potential antipersonnel agents by the U.S. government. Their use became a rite of passage for the countercultural movement. After adverse reactions and negative publicity, states began criminalizing these drugs in 1966, and the federal government later classified them as Schedule 1, which nearly halted all research.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In 1965, I was training in clinical toxicology in the pharmacology department of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and living in the Haight Ashbury. I studied various psychedelics, including LSD, mescaline, and ibogaine, in human and animal models. The psychedelics were then being used as a therapeutic drug in clinical settings and researched as a potential antipersonnel agent by the U.S. government. Then, using psychedelics became a rite of passage for the emerging countercultural movement. After adverse reactions and negative publicity, states began to criminalize these drugs, beginning in 1966. The federal government eventually moved these drugs to Schedule 1 classification, shutting down research almost entirely.