A Really Long Strange Trip

To thwart criticism about the legitimacy of the work, psychedelic researchers have focused on developing sound protocols. Unlike earlier research, the current studies are double-blind with a control group—two staples of sound science that guard against researcher bias in the interpretation of results.

And along with his latest study, Griffith has published a series of guidelines intended to protect volunteers and ensure the integrity of data. Those guidelines describe how to eliminate subjects with a family history of mental illness and advise that the clinician administering the substance take a full day to establish rapport with a given volunteer so that they can guide them through any difficult moments the experience might cause.

It's a far cry from the Leary era, which was plagued by too much media hype and not enough scientific rigor, but the approach is starting to pay off. As Harvard, Johns Hopkins, UCLA and others open their doors to psilocybin, LSD and MDMA (Ecstasy), scientists there are beginning to examine the therapeutic value of these long-maligned molecules. Already, Psilocybin and MDMA have shown promise in treating a range of conditions, including Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Disorders (OCSD), anxiety in terminally ill cancer patients, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Harvard scientists are at work on a protocol to study the benefits of LSD in treating cluster headaches—a project that began when an online community of patients who were self-medicating with the drug contacted researchers.

To be sure, these early trials are small, consisting of fewer than two dozen patients each. Larger-scale investigations will require more funding and wider acceptance, but proponents are optimistic. "I think a lot of basic scientists will start to migrate back to this type of work," says Nichols. "We'll start to see some real progress if we don't burn any bridges and we keep ourselves squeaky clean."

© 2008