OF ALL the strange permutations which occur with LSD use, two of signal importance for researchers have been found to be heightened sensitivity and vulnerability. Unlike the hypnotic trance, this “defenselessness” is coupled with consciousness and will power. Therefore, the subject, if he has a problem to solve, can put his altered responses to this task. Solutions can emerge if proper attention has been paid to the “set” (the user’s expectations, his emotional make-up and motivations) and “setting” (the surroundings and circumstances under which the drug is taken).
Among the endless variety of problems which LSD can help solve, the most clear-cut and spectacular—for which there is unequivocal proof—are creative and technical problems. Hopefully, as more and more technical and creative problem solving is done with LSD and word of it comes to light, valid non-medical uses of the drug will be publicly recognized and understood. If and when this happens, unrealistic and fantastic claims about LSD’s powers and dangers will be recognized for what they are.