New Study Finds Psychedelics May Help Alcoholics Stop Drinking
Recently, a team of researchers from John Hopkins University conducted a study that found that 80 percent of its participants were able to overcome their alcoholism after consuming psychedelic drugs, “suggesting that these mind-altering substances could have a key role to play in the treatment of addictions,” IFLScience.com reported.
The study, recently published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, found that, out of a total of 343 people survey, 38 percent managed to reduce their drinking after taking LSD and 36 percent claimed to have decreased their alcohol consumption after taking psilocybin. All of the survey respondents had been struggling with alcoholism for an average of 7 years, with 72 percent qualifying for a severe alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnosis. After their psychedelic trips, however, 83 percent no longer met the criteria for AUD of any kind.
While the study ultimately concluded that the results could not demonstrate causality, they suggest that naturalistic psychedelic use may lead to cessation or reduction in problematic alcohol use, supporting further investigation of psychedelic-assisted treatment for AUD
