THE RESEARCH

Over 60 years ago, Albert Hofmann at Sandoz Pharmaceutical Laboratories in Switzerland first synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and personally experienced its effects in 1943. Hofmann’s drug opened up a new era of psychedelic research. Over the next 15 years, more than a thousand articles on the use of LSD appeared in medical and scientific publications. 
During the 1950s and into the early 1960s, LSD was used successfully to treat alcoholism. Others explored LSD as an adjuvant to psychotherapy for addressing trauma.
Research into LSD came to a halt in the 60's, largely because it had become synonymous with countercultural activities during a time of civil unrest in USA.
In the past 2 decades, a new generation of researchers has taken up the torch with a goal of resurrecting psychedelic science. 
With a global mental health crisis in full swing, the FDA have pivoted from banning psychedelic medicines to fast tracking them through research trial phases as Breakthrough Therapies. MDMA is currently in phase 3 trials while psilocybin is in phase 2. They are expected to be medically licensed by 2025.