Table 1 Summary literature of pre-prohibition era

Whitaker³¹

N = 100 (f = 49)

Wide of treatment-resistant conditions, including schizophrenia, recurrent depression, and personality disorders

LSD (100–250 μg)

LSD integrated with unspecified psychotherapy

Varied number of LSD and psychotherapy sessions.

Yes

Symptoms reported by patient, and clinical assessment by therapist

Kast⁵⁹

N = 128

Terminal metastatic malignant disease

LSD (100 μg)

None

One LSD session

None

Pain intensity, affective changes, approach to illness and death, sleep patterns, visual distortions/hallucinations, fear/panic reactions

Chwelos et al.²¹

N = 24,

N = 16

Alcoholism, with character disorders, psychopaths, borderline, or actual psychoses

LSD (200–400 μg) at times mescaline (200 μg or more)

LSD session followed by AA meetings

One LSD session, and a few integration sessions, all in one week

None

Reduction in alcohol consumption

Chandler & Hartman¹¹

N = 110 (f = 48)

Age: 15–62

Psychoneurosis, addiction, personality, and sociopathic disorders

LSD-25, baseline dosages 25 μg or 50 μg or larger in later sessions

LSD session is a facilitating agent in psychotherapy

7–8 LSD sessions (each 4–4.5 h)

None

Therapist clinical assessment based on patients’ subjective reports

Smith³²

N = 24

Alcoholism, psychopathy, and character disorders

LSD (200–400 μg) or mescaline

Psychotherapy aided by occupational and recreational therapy, LSD sessions as an adjunct

One LSD or mescaline session 2–4 weeks after initial treatment, follow-up 2 months to 3 years.

None

Alcoholics Anonymous assessments of alcohol consumption

Lewis & Sloane⁹

N = 23 (f = 8)

Age: 18–64

Primarily obsessional illness, but few additional disorders

LSD (25–500 μg)

LSD sessions once or twice a week with psychodynamics interpretation

Few weeks to 4 months of LSD sessions. In some cases regular psychotherapy for up to a year

None

Therapist clinical assessment of symptoms

Eisner & Cohen⁴⁶

N = 22

Neurotic depressions, anxiety states, character disorders, borderline schizophrenia

LSD 100–150 μg) increased incrementally.

LSD sessions with psychotherapy interpretation

4–5 weekly LSD sessions with supportive psychotherapy and a follow-up period of 6 to 17 months

None

Therapist clinical assessment of symptoms

Sandison et al. ²⁵

N = 36

Psychoneuroses and related conditions

LSD (25–400 μg)

Psychotherapy aided by LSD sessions

One year with varying durations for individual patient

None

Improvement in psychoneurotic symptoms, recovery of repressed memories, mental state

Sandison²⁴

N = 36

Neuroses, obsessional neurotics, depressive states

LSD (25–400 μg)

LSD-assisted psychotherapy, with Jungian analytical psychology

Use of LSD over 8 months

None

Improvement in recovery of repressed memories, changes in mental states, increase in patient’s faith, and in their artistic inclination

Jensen¹⁰

N = 45

Alcoholism

LSD (200 μg)

Inpatient individual and group therapy along with AA program, and a few LSD sessions

8 weeks treatment with 1 LSD session at the end. Follow up 6–18 months

Yes

Alcohol consumption – abstinence

Smart et al.⁵⁵

N = 30 (f = 2)

Alcoholism

LSD (800 μg), or ephedrine (60 mg)

Inpatient treatment and one LSD/ephedrine session

One LSD /ephedrine session a week before the end of the treatment program

Yes

Duration and frequency of abstinence

Alnæs³⁰

N = 20 patients

N = 20 control

All Females

neurosis, anxiety, compulsive neuroses

LSD (25–500 μg) with either

Psilocybin

(20–30 mg) or CZ-74

Psychoanalytically-oriented therapy with either psycholytic or psychedelic - peak sessions.

Varied number of LSD sessions as needed

None

A questionnaire evaluating changes in consciousness

Busch & Johnson⁴⁵

N = 8 (4 Inpatient)

Mainly schizophrenia, psychoneurosis, and other disorders

LSD (30–40 μg)

Patients who had ongoing psychotherapy were chosen for one LSD session.

One LSD session (each 4–8 h)

None

Clinical assessment of an individual’s capacity to manage emotions, access memories, and cultivate insights concerning childhood trauma

Pahnke⁸⁴

N > 300

Alcoholism, neuroses, narcotic, addiction, psychological distress (cancer patients)

LSD (200–450 µg) Dosages varied based on psychotherapy.

Psycholytic therapy, psychedelic-chemotherapy, and psychedelic-peak therapy

Varied, some studies had multiple sessions over a long term

Yes

Subjective improvement, Psychological and social measures, psychedelics safety measure in cancer patients

MacLean et al.⁶⁰

N = 100 (f = 34; 61 alcoholics)

Alcoholism, anxiety reaction neurosis, personality trait disturbances

LSD (400–1500 μg)

Psychedelic therapy – the inpatient LSD session is the primary vehicle for personality change

One LSD session followed 2- days preparatory time, follow-up 3–18 months

None

Improvement in alcoholism and psychiatric conditions

Sherwood et al.⁸⁵

N = 25 (f = 10)

Variety, including neurosis, alcoholism, marital problems

LSD (100–200 µg) with mescaline (200– 400 mg)

Psychedelic-assisted therapy with a focus on the subject’s intention and willingness to engage

Preparation time: 2–3 weeks, LSD/mescaline sessions over few months

None

Patient report, clinical assessment

Leary et al.²⁹

N = 175

No specific disorder

Psilocybin (12–20 mg)

Group setting with informal discussions and Q&A sessions prior to the psychedelic session.

Not discussed

None

Impact of psychedelics experiences on pleasantness, learning, positive life changes, and interpersonal dimensions reported by patients and assessed by clinician.

Johnson⁴⁸

N = 95

Alcoholism

LSD (300–500 µg)

Inpatient LSD session, and outpatient individual and group therapy sessions

One LSD session, follow-up of 12 months. Therapy included pre- and post-LSD interviews

Yes

Clinician assessment of LSD efficacy in facilitating positive transference and cementing patient-therapist rapport, and overall effect on personality modification

Mogar & Savag¹²

N = 70 (f = 27)

Primarily psychoneurotics and personality trait disturbances

LSD (200–300 µg) plus mescaline (200–400mg)

Preparation of weekly inhalations of 30% CO2 and 70% O2, then LSD/mescaline psychedelic therapy

1 month of preparation, then one LSD/mescaline session, follow-up evaluations 2 & 6 months post-LSD

Not clear

Measures of changes in personality Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), value-belief Q-Sort, the Interpersonal Check List (ICL), and a semi structured Behavior Change Interview (BCI), and report of changes by patients

Stockings¹⁴

Age: 20–30

Effects of Mescaline which resembles psychotic states

Mescaline synthetic (200–500 mg)

No Therapy

Not applicable

None

Assessment of hallucinations, delusions, mood, thought patterns, motor disturbances, intellectual disturbance by patients report and clinician

Ditman et al.¹³

N = 99

Alcoholism

Three groups:

1. LSD (200 µg)

2. Methylphenidate (75 mg)

3. Chlordiazepoxide (75 mg)

Doctors and volunteers support the process. Orientation before the dosing for each group.

Single drug session

None

Prior and after the LSD session, patient reports on a 5-point scale on: 1. Pleasant emotion; 2. self-understanding; 3. Mystical feeling; 4. Parapsychological sensation; 5. Sensory and perceptual alternations; 6. Unpleasant emotion 7. Evaluation of the experience