LSD-Assisted Therapy for Anxiety Related to Life-Threatening Illness (LDA1)

LSD-assisted Psychotherapy in Persons Suffering From Anxiety Associated With Advanced-stage Life Threatening Diseases. A Phase-II, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Dose-response Pilot Study

MAPS proudly sponsored the first study of the therapeutic use of LSD in humans in over 40 years. This study, based in Switzerland, investigated the safety and effectiveness of LSD-assisted therapy in participants with life-threatening illnesses who were also experiencing associated anxiety.

This double-blind, randomized, active placebo-controlled pilot study in 12 participants included drug-free therapy sessions supplemented by two LSD-assisted therapy sessions scheduled 2 to 3 weeks apart. The participants received either 200 micrograms of LSD (n = 8) or 20 micrograms of LSD with an open-label crossover to 200 micrograms of LSD after the initial blinded treatment was unmasked. Two months after treatment, participants showed a reduction in anxiety (p=0.021) with no acute or chronic adverse events persisting beyond 1 day after treatment and no treatment-related serious adverse events. Follow up data at 12 months showed that anxiety reductions continued to last. These results indicate that when administered in a therapeutic setting, LSD-assisted therapy is associated with lasting reductions in anxiety without safety concerns.