Scientific study often opens new doors of discovery—but sometimes it reopens doors closed long ago. On Tuesday, experimental psychiatrists in Santa Cruz, California published results from the first controlled medical trial of LSD in over 40 years.



The study, published in Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease[pdf], found evidence that LSD, when administered in a medically-based therapeutic environment, lowers the anxiety experienced by individuals facing life-threatening illnesses. Although the sample size—just 12 people—was small, the findings offer compelling rationale for further study of the illegal, often stigmatized drug.

“This study is historic and marks a rebirth of investigation into LSD-assisted psychotherapy,” said Rick Doblin in a news release, executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which sponsored the study. “The positive results and evidence of safety clearly show why additional, larger studies are needed.”





When Research Came to a Halt That





LSD—lysergic acid diethylamide—can be therapeutically beneficial has been known for decades. Studies of the chemical substance began back in 1949 as a way to simulate mental illness. But researchers soon discovered beneficial effects of the drug.





By 1965, over 1,000 studies were published that heralded the therapeutic efficacy of LSD. The substance was used to treat alcoholism, and in several studies from the 60s, the drug was found to reduce anxiety, depression and pain—when used in conjunction with counseling—in cancer patients. Similar benefits were also discovered from other psychedelics such as hallucinogenic mushrooms.



