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Swiss Shrink Revives LSD Research
By Rob Quinn
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Posted Jul 25, 09 7:17 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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A Swiss psychiatrist has revived research into the use of LSD to treat emotional disorders after decades of neglect, Der Spiegel reports (unable to resist the headline "Tune In, Turn On, Cheer Up"). Albert Gasser, the first person to study the psychiatric use of the hallucinogen in 35 years, has been treating patients who suffer crippling fear and anxiety. He says the treatments have been successful so far, and he hopes to demonstrate that the drug can be used safely and effectively.
Scientists worldwide, who have fought for years to be allowed to research LSD treatments, are following Gasser's work with great interest. Gasser's countryman Albert Hofmann, who discovered the drug while researching fungus in 1943, often referred to it as his "problem child." He died last year at 102, as Gasser was preparing to begin his experiments. The revival of research into using the drug to help the mentally traumatized fulfills his "greatest wish in life," Hofmann says.