Marginalisation, stigmatisation et abandon du LSD en médecine

Abstract

Though it had been one of the most studied pharmacological substances in the years 1950-1970, LSD, a potent psychedelic with numerous therapeutic indications, came to be neglected by the international scientific community in the early 1970s. Whereas factors that are external to medicine have had an impact on the decline of this drug, it is also necessary to ponder on the internal causes of such rejection. To do so, some Anglo-Saxon literature has been emerging in recent years in the field of psychedelic studies to be here enriched through a study highlighting the specificities of French sources on the subject. This paper is meant to show how the method of so-called “psychedelic” psychotherapy designed by some of the researchers using LSD, together with the questioning of their probity, as these therapists were deemed to be “overenthusiastic”, have both then been key factors in bringing this drug into disrepute.

Keywords

• LSD
• psychedelic
• medicine
• psychiatry
• psychodysleptic drug