History of the administration of psychedelics in France.
Details
Serval ID
serval:BIB_906442AC0057
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
History of the administration of psychedelics in France.
Journal
Frontiers in psychology
ISSN
1664-1078 (Print)
ISSN-L
1664-1078
Publication state
Published
Issued date
09/2023
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
14
Pages
1131565
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: epublish
Publication Status: epublish
Abstract
This article reviews the historical protocols for the administration of "classic" psychedelics in France, from the 1920s to the 1960s. Taking a chronological approach, it investigates the way mescaline, LSD, and psilocybin were administered, the subjects involved, the route of administration, the dosage, and the epistemological context of the research. From the 1930s, the Sainte-Anne school dominated French experimentation with psychedelics, inserting these studies on "hallucinogens" into a biological conception of therapeutics, where the notion of "shock" dominated. The sessions show particularly anxious experiences, sometimes described as "torture" by the patients who underwent them. With just a few rare cases of recovery reported, these substances were not considered as medicines, but rather as tools for exploration in the context of experimental research; thought of not as psychedelics ("mind manifesters") but as psychodysleptics ("mind disruptors"). While these tools could be useful for the diagnosis of sick patients, French physicians did not manage to demonstrate clear therapeutic benefits in the use of psychedelics, perhaps because of their reluctance, in most cases, to determine an optimum dose, and also very often to appreciate the context of administration and the relationship with the patient. This article allows us to understand the reasons for the therapeutic failures reported by these early French psychedelic researchers, but also to help explain the current reluctance of French health professionals who in the face of the "psychedelic renaissance" remain strongly influenced by the very negative early representations of these substances.
Keywords
Lsd, hallucinogen, history of psychiatry, mescaline, psilocybin, psychedelic, psychedelic therapy, shock therapy, LSD
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
29/09/2023 14:09
Last modification date
25/01/2024 7:40