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LSD (Acid)
LSD (Iysergic acid diethylamide), commonly called "acid," is the most powerful known hallucinogen - a drug that radically changes a person's mental state by distorting the perception of reality to the point where, at high doses, hallucinations occur. Although it is derived from a fungus that grows on rye and other grains, LSD is semi-synthetic. It is chemically manufactured in illicit laboratories, except for a small amount which is produced legally for research.
Even in very minute doses (for example, 50 to 100 micrograms - a microgram is 1/1000 of a milligram), LSD can significantly alter one's perceptions to the point of hallucination - that is, one sees or hears things that don't, in reality, exist. Hence LSD's classification as a hallucinogen.
Hallucinogens have also been labelled illusionogenic, psychotomimetic, psychedelic, and mind-expanding, depending on whether scientists or users are talking about them. They include mescaline, psilocybin ("magic mushrooms"), and MDA (methylenedioxyamphetamine). Of this group, however, LSD is by far the most potent; it is approximately 100 times stronger than psilocybin and 4,000 times stronger than mescaline.
Pure LSD is a white, odorless crystalline powder that is soluble in water. Because an effective dose of the pure drug is almost invisible, it is mixed with other substances, such as sugar, and packaged in capsules, tablets, or solutions, or spotted on to gelatin sheets or pieces of blotting paper.
LSD is usually taken orally, but is sometimes inhaled or injected. Using unsterile needles may cause infections, and sharing needles with others is risking hepatitis or AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome).
Effects
The effects of any drug depend on several factors:
the amount taken at one time.
the user's past drug experience.
the manner in which the drug is taken.
the circumstances under which the drug is taken (the place, the user's psychological and emotional stability, the presence of other people, the simultaneous use of alcohol or other drugs, etc.).
These factors are especially important with LSD. In fact, the effects of LSD on any user, or even on the same user at different times, are difficult to predict.
Short-term effects appear soon after a single dose and disappear within a few hours or days. Appearing first are physical effects including: numbness; muscle weakness and trembling; rapid reflexes; increased blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature; impaired motor skills and coordination; dilated pupils; nausea; and, occasionally, seizures.
Dramatic changes in perception, thought, and mood occur shortly after the physical effects. These may include:
vivid, usually visual, "pseudo-hallucinations" that the user is aware are not real.
distorted perceptions of: time (minutes seem like hours); distance (hazardous if operating motor vehicles or standing near balcony edges); gravity (sensations of floating or being pressed down); the space between oneself and one's environment (for some, a feeling of oneness with the universe, for others, a feeling of terror).
fusion of the senses (music is "seen", colors are "heard")
diminished control over thought processes, resulting in recent or long-forgotten memories resurfacing and blending with current experience, or in insignificant thoughts or objects taking on deep meaning.
feelings of a mystical, religious, or cosmic nature (generally the most desired effect).
But many users experience unpleasant reactions to LSD. Fear, anxiety, and depression may occur, even with experienced users who have had no prior adverse reactions. Calling these reactions "bad trips," users feel that they are losing their identity, disintegrating into nothingness, and that there is no reality.
Pseudo-hallucinations give way to terrifying true hallucinations, sometimes resulting in violence, homicide, or suicide. In some cases, this psychotic state lasts several days or even longer. Because adverse effects are particularly common among new users, early LSD trips are usually taken in the company of experienced users who can often help curb acute panic reactions.
No deaths resulting exclusively from LSD overdose have been reported. Cases of suicide, however, have occurred during or following LSD intoxication. Other results of violent or hazardous behavior include accidental (sometimes bizarre) fatalities, homicides, and self-mutilations.
Long-term effects appear after repeated use over a lengthy period, or some time after the short-term effects of a single dose have worn off. "Flashbacks" (unpredictable, spontaneous recurrences of the original LSD experience without the user's taking the drug again) can occur weeks, months, or even up to a year after the last encounter with the drug. Typically, flashbacks last only a few minutes or less and are usually visual images ranging from formless colors to frightening hallucinations. The cause of the flashbacks is unknown, but they frequently occur after an LSD user smokes cannabis.
Chronic LSD use may result in prolonged depression and anxiety.
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