Hi! It seems like a major challenge in psychedelic research has been finding effective means of double-blinding RCTs in a way where everyone involved actually does not know which participants have received the psychedelic (psilocybin, for example) vs the placebo. Do any of you see possible solutions to this? Also, other than LSD being more “taboo” compared to psilocybin given its history in this country and the 60s era, is the any reason to believe it would be any more/less effective than psilocybin has been? Thank you!
I think LSD might have even greater potential for therapeutics, but this is untested. I will be doing upcoming research with LSD in treating chronic pain with an eye for reducing or stopping opioid use. Some people say LSD is more likely to bring attention to one’s personal issues. It is also a longer experience which might help as there is a variability to experiences and not all of the experience is going to be meaningful. Sometimes the meaningful part of a psilocybin experience only starts 4 or 5 hours in, leaving little time. That would be less of an issue with LSD.
For the blinding question, I think we need to examine a broader range of active comparators. Oral THC would be a more credible comparator in terms of fooling folks that they got psilocybin. Amphetamine is a good comparator for MDMA. We also need to do a better job reporting on how well the blind works or not.
Hi! It seems like a major challenge in psychedelic research has been finding effective means of double-blinding RCTs in a way where everyone involved actually does not know which participants have received the psychedelic (psilocybin, for example) vs the placebo. Do any of you see possible solutions to this? Also, other than LSD being more “taboo” compared to psilocybin given its history in this country and the 60s era, is the any reason to believe it would be any more/less effective than psilocybin has been? Thank you!
-David S
I think LSD might have even greater potential for therapeutics, but this is untested. I will be doing upcoming research with LSD in treating chronic pain with an eye for reducing or stopping opioid use. Some people say LSD is more likely to bring attention to one’s personal issues. It is also a longer experience which might help as there is a variability to experiences and not all of the experience is going to be meaningful. Sometimes the meaningful part of a psilocybin experience only starts 4 or 5 hours in, leaving little time. That would be less of an issue with LSD.
For the blinding question, I think we need to examine a broader range of active comparators. Oral THC would be a more credible comparator in terms of fooling folks that they got psilocybin. Amphetamine is a good comparator for MDMA. We also need to do a better job reporting on how well the blind works or not.