The psychiatrist Stanislav Grof famously put it: “the potential significance of LSD and other psychedelics for psychiatry and psychology is comparable to the value the microscope has for biology or the telescope has for astronomy.” A score of research in the 1950s and 1960s was performed on how psychedelics can be used to treat depression, trauma, and addiction, but after a major cultural shift nearly all psychedelics research became outlawed. Now, 40 years later, researchers are again looking at the therapeutic value of these drugs, of which some remain illegal (e.g., LSD, MDMA), but others not (e.g., “magic truffles”). Especially MDMA has gained clinical interest since the US Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to MDMA for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), speeding up particularly promising research.
From a scientific perspective, this course will address the scientific history of psychedelics, their effects and risks, the neurobiological and psychological function of psychedelics, and advances and methodological problems in modern research into therapeutic potential. From a social perspective, it will address psychedelics’ cultural history, their current recreational use, social and political perception, and their legal status. As both recreational and medicinal use of psychedelics are controversial topics, students are encouraged and assisted in critically assessing both research and practice.