In his stimulating editorial, Dr Sessa gives a history of the enthusiasm for psychedelic psychotherapy that enjoyed a brief flowering following Hoffman's discovery of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in 1943. Dr Sessa argues that the time may now have come for a reappraisal of the role of such substances in psychiatry. Having myself recently had cause to look at this literature (Reference EdwardsEdwards, 2005), I find myself somewhat less keen on a reinstatement of this practice.

Within the historical frame one could argue that the proper subject for the case study is the conduct and attitude of the professionals who were the enthusiasts of that time. The tone of the contemporary publications was in general remarkable for a willingness to get ahead of the research evidence, and rush to positive and at times even messianic conclusions. Here are some examples of writings within that genre: ‘These agents have a part to play in our survival as a species…’ (Reference OsmondOsmond, 1957); ‘The wonder of LSD is that it can bring within the capabilities of ordinary people the experience of universal love’ (Reference Davidson and DunlapDavidson, 1961); ‘I feel that those on the moving edge of new culture will eventually use these tools in a way that will utterly transform the nature of human consciousness’ (Reference EinhornEinhorn, 1971).

What one sees in those kinds of statements is the dubious ambition of therapists to gain possession of chemical magic and exert power over their drugged patients – the therapist as shaman rather than as evidence-based practitioner. But that I'm sure is not Dr Sessa's intention.