Acid Test
How a Daring Group of Psychonauts Rediscovered the Power of LSD, MDMA, and OtherPsychedelic Drugs to Heal Addiction, Depression, Anxiety, and Trauma
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4.3 • 15 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
“A book that should start a long-overdue national conversation.” —Dave Barry
With the F.D.A. agreeing to new trials to test MDMA (better known as Ecstasy) as a treatment for PTSD—which, if approved, could be available as a drug by 2021—Acid Test is leading the charge in an evolving conversation about psychedelic drugs. Despite their current illegality, many Americans are already familiar with their effects. Yet while LSD and MDMA have proven extraordinarily effective in treating anxiety disorders such as PTSD, they still remain off-limits to the millions who might benefit from them. Through the stories of three very different men, award-winning journalist Tom Shroder covers the drugs’ roller-coaster history from their initial reception in the 1950s to the negative stereotypes that persist today. At a moment when popular opinion is rethinking the potential benefits of some illegal drugs, and with new research coming out every day, Acid Test is a fascinating and informative must-read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this psychedelic patchwork of narratives, journalist Shroder (Old Souls) explores the therapeutic possibilities of LSD and Ecstasy (MDMA), and,more broadly,the potential of the human mind. Known as recreational drugs, LSD and MDMA have been proven to treat PTSD and similar anxiety disorders effectively. While Shroder provides scientific support for his arguments, stories trump studies in his descriptions of the prevalence, advantages, and perhaps most significantly vivid experiences of drug use. Guided by Shroder's easy narrative tone, readers follow an activist, a marine, and a physician-turned-psychiatrist who developed a philosophy of psychedelic therapy through self-experimentation. Their lives intertwine across an evolving political and cultural climate, as the initial popularity of psychedelics was replaced with widespread backlash and controversy. Although Schroder's story is largely Western, he takes readers all over the world, from the Swiss birthplace of LSD to Iraq, where he relates a soldier's experience with the drug . Readers also learn how popular opinion against psychedelics emerged from misinformation and how this public bias threatens the reception of Shroder's larger message. The debates surrounding the legalization of other currently illicit substances, however, add significance to this brief in favor of psychedelics. Shroder both informs readers about the drugs' shadowy pasts and provides insight into the future of mental health.
