Review: 'LSD, Spirituality, and the Creative Process'

Originally published in 2003 'LSD, Spirituality and the Creative Process’ is essentially an examination of the subjective effects of Lysergic acid diethylamide, primarily in light of the LSD research conducted by Dr. Oscar Janiger. Written by Marlene Dobkin de Rios, the text is partially derived from a series of interviews with Janiger, conducted between March 2001 and his death in August of the same year, and is also a broad synthesis of Rios’ own research with shamanic cultures. The result is a clear sighted text delineating the various readings of the LSD experience that arose out of Janiger’s research.

The primary aim of Dr. Oscar Janiger’s research with LSD was to study the effects of the drug on a large, highly differentiated group within a non-clinical setting; a privately rented home in Wilton Place, Los Angeles. This marks an interesting point in which LSD began to outgrow its clinical settings and spread socially. Over the course of eight years he conducted LSD research with over 930 individuals from a wide cross-section of U.S. society including construction workers, professionals and artists. However, in 1962, before he could reach his aim of 1000 research subjects, the Food and Drug Administration confiscated his LSD, along with the stock of many other researchers. However, thanks to follow up studies by organizations like MAPS, Rios’ interviews with Janiger, the detailed research notes and hindsight, many interesting ideas have come to the fore, which seem pertinent and relevant in today’s psychedelic climate.