Appetite for illicit drugs

Last year, Parliament passed legislation allowing terminally ill people to use cannabis to ease their pain. Soon a scheme will be set up to grant Kiwis – when armed with a prescription – access to a wider range of cannabis-based drugs.

Next year we may go further when we vote in a binding referendum at the general election on whether to legalise cannabis entirely.

There is substantial evidence that cannabis is effective in treating pain in adults. The evidence for legalisation is a lot less clear. Based on overseas experience, it is unlikely that legalisation will substantially increase cannabis use. But there are plenty of studies pointing to potential health risks, from dependency to the impact of car crashes as a result of impaired driving.

The referendum outcome will more likely come down to our values and appetite for risk, which seems to be growing. Now, scientists are accelerating their work to determine the medical benefits of LSD, considered more dangerous than cannabis.

LSD was first synthesised by Albert Hofmann in 1936 and became notorious in the 1960s for the hallucinogenic episodes it induced. It was hastily banned everywhere.

Psychiatrists had been experimenting with LSD since the 1940s and the clampdown curtailed much of their work. But LSD didn’t go away. Still popular among recreational users, it has also developed a following among ‘‘microdosers’’ who take tiny amounts of it.

They claim the drug increases their creativity and productivity. Microdosing has apparently developed a strong following among Silicon Valley’s young tech professionals.

But a study published last week by Australian scientists in the journal PLOS One suggests the anticipated benefits of microdosing may be overblown. The University of Macquarie researchers followed 98 microdosers over six weeks.

While many reported significant decreases in depression, stress and distractibility, they didn’t experience improvements in creativity, wellbeing and mindfulness. The benefits generally didn’t last more than a day and there was also a serious downside – increased neuroticism.

The floodgates are now opening overseas on LSD microdosing research. Long after weed goes mainstream, we may also find ourselves considering whether to lend legitimacy to the substance behind the ultimate acid trip.

But LSD didn’t go away. It has also developed a following among ‘microdosers’ who take tiny amounts of it.