According to research published in the Journal of Clinical Pychopharmacology a double-blind clinical trial has shown that microdoses of LSD are effective at reducing pain.
With just three non-hallucinogenic "micro"doses, participants displayed what seemed to be an increase in pain tolerance and a decrease in subjective perceptions of pain. This prolonged response, the authors claim, is on par with up to 20 mg of oxycodone or morphine.
The size of the dosage, however, did matter. Any amount of LSD lower than 20 µg (which is considered a relatively large microdose among online users) did not seem to have this reported analgesic effect.
"The present data suggest that low doses of LSD might constitute a novel pharmacological therapy that can be efficacious in patients and is devoid of problematic sequelae [(chronic complications)] that are associated with current mainstay drugs, such as opioids," the authors conclude.
Existing research on LSD mechanisms is limited due to (now-relaxed) restrictions on its use in clinical trials; the underlying mechanism of the pain-reducing effect is not yet understood.
The authors conclude that the results "warrant further research."
Journal Reference:
A low dose of lysergic acid diethylamide decreases pain perception in healthy volunteers: [open], Journal of Psychopharmacology (DOI: 10.1177/0269881120940937)
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 31 2020, @08:02AM (2 children)
These well known enthusiasts [erowid.org] have a table indicating 20u on the cusp of "threshold" and "light". The problem with all of these things of course is that it really ought to be ug/kg of body weight. Other factors like gender, tolerance, blood chemistry and who knows what else may come in to play. I'm given to understand that LSD users develop tolerance rapidly, which would be a downside of using this drug for any long-term therapy assuming that tolerance develops at all dose ranges.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 31 2020, @01:22PM
All of the FUD you just created pales into insignificance versus the randomness associated with buying a street drug. Legalize it and people can figure out a suitable dose in about 3 tries. End of discussion.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 31 2020, @05:42PM
Tolerance for lsd and mushrooms develops relatively rapidly and dissipates relatively rapidly. So, if microdosing, you should probably use the "once every three days" schedule for LSD. Psilocybin can probably be "4 on, 3 off", per The Exalted One, Paul Stamets.