The Legend: LSD was legal for awhile in the 1960's due to testing with psychiatric patients.
Status: False
Analysis:
LSD and other hallucinogens have indeed been researched as therapeutic agents with psychiatric patients. It was even explored as a treatment for alcoholism (with remarkable success). But the legal status of this drug was not changed to accommodate research during this time.
In 1965 Congress passed the Drug Abuse Control Amendment that made the manufacture and sale of LSD a misdemeanor. In 1968, the sale of LSD become a felony. Under Nixon's watch, in 1970, the Controlled Substance Act was passed and LSD became a Schedule I controlled substance.
During the 1970's and 1980's there was a strong political climate against hallucinogens. Most LSD research was done outside of the U.S. during this time. Since the 1980's, the FDA has granted IND (Investigational New Drug) status to several hallucinogenic drugs, including LSD and Ecstasy, so that research in this country can resume.
