The Varieties of Psychedelic Expertise in 1960s Canada: The Psychiatrists behind the Addiction Research Foundation's Study of LSD Therapy.

This article examines the 1962 double-blind randomized controlled trial of LSD therapy for alcoholism conducted by Ontario's Addiction Research Foundation (ARF), which concluded that LSD was ineffective but faced strong criticism for its methodology. Contrary to prevailing historical views that dismissed the ARF study as biased or naïve, the article reveals that the psychiatrists who administered LSD—Earle F.W. Baker and Lionel P. Solursh—were enthusiastic and experienced practitioners who developed a distinct psychoanalytic approach differing from the contemporaneous "psychedelic therapy" pioneered in Saskatchewan. The study's negative results largely stemmed from the challenges of fitting individualized LSD psychotherapy into rigid controlled trial protocols, including standardized high dosing, patient restraint, and brief therapeutic interaction, which simplified Baker's more nuanced clinical method. By highlighting this diversity of LSD expertise in 1960s Canada, the article suggests a more complex historical understanding of LSD therapy and offers insights relevant to current debates on psychedelic treatment practices.