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No psychiatrist will go as far as Author Huxley (who prescribed mescaline for all mankind as a specific against unhappiness). But LSD 25, while it has no direct curative powers, can be of great benefit to mental patients. It encourages them to interpret their own soul-searing fantasies, and the newly revealed memories help the psychiatrist plan further treatment. Of the 23 cases that had completed treatment, LSD 25 coupled with psychotherapy resulted in 14 cases recovered, while one showed great improvement.
Somewhat closer to Huxley's goal is a new drug called Meratran, hailed by its makers as a "pink pill to cure the blues.'' Developed by the William S. Merrell Co.
of Cincinnati, the pink pill—chemical name: alpha (2-piperidyl) benzhydrol hydrochloride—was tested for 18 months by two local doctors under the supervision of Psychiatrist Howard Fabing. Human guinea pigs: 320 patients who were unhappy in love, discouraged with their jobs, generally worried. Nontoxic, non-habit-forming, Meratran provided a quick pickup and morale boost without the jangling, jittery aftereffects of Benzedrine (TIME, June 14), and without inducing hallucinations or nightmares. Though wary of all such "anti-blues" drugs, independent physicians here tentatively described Meratran as "interesting" and "promising."