The Tell: A Memoir

Psychiatrists began to examine the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs in the early 20th century. The discovery of LSD in the mid-1940s encouraged this research, and throughout the 1950s and 1960s, a number of doctors found LSD to be an effective treatment for a variety of mental health conditions, particularly alcoholism. Tens of thousands of patients were prescribed LSD during the 1950s and 1960s, sometimes as a stand-alone treatment and sometimes in conjunction with psychoanalysis. However, these treatments were brought to a halt in 1962 when the US Congress passed new guidelines on drug safety and the Food and Drug Administration classified LSD as an experimental drug, limiting scientists’ abilities to conduct research and perform studies. Soon afterward, LSD gained popularity as a street drug, becoming associated with counter-culture and student protest movements of the 1960s, which damaged its public perception as a legitimate medical treatment.

However, the end of the 20th century saw a renewed interest in the therapeutic properties of psychedelic drugs, and a growing number of studies and clinical trials were performed over the course of the 2000s. The US Food and Drug Administration recently granted breakthrough therapy designations that are designed to expedite the research and development of promising drugs and certain psychedelics, including psilocybin and MDMA.