Exploratory and Controlled Studies of Lysergide in the Treatment of Alcoholism

Abstract

There were 2 major criticisms of lysergide treatment of alcoholism: that it is dangerous and that it is ineffective. Properly used lysergide appears to be reasonably safe, and complications arising from its use are extremely rare. The risks involved in its use compare favorably with those in many standard psychiatric treatments. The effectiveness of lysergide treatment has not been adequately established by controlled, scientific experiments, but the purpose and limitations of the controlled study must be clearly understood. The double-blind study has a very important part to play in the testing of hypotheses, but before they can be tested they must be explored and formulated. Studies of lysergide treatment already published were exploratory in nature. This is inevitable considering the short time the drug has been used, the limited scale of its use and the great complexity of its action. The stage is now set for the formulation and testing of more precise hypotheses arising out of these initial experiments and this should be an important development of the next few years.