Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)

LSD was first synthesized on November 16, 1938 by a Swiss chemist

named Dr. Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel,
Switzerland, as part of a large research program. However, no
extraordinary benefits of the compound were identified during animal tests
(though laboratory notes briefly mention that the animals became
"restless" under its effects), and its study was discontinued. LSD,
commonly referred to as "acid," is sold on the street in tablets, capsules, or
occasionally in liquid form. It is odorless, colorless, and tasteless and is
usually taken by mouth. Often it is added to absorbent paper, such as

blotter paper , and divided into small decorated squares, with

each square representing one dose.

What Are the Effects of LSD?

The precise mechanism by which LSD alters perceptions is still unclear.
LSD's effects typically begin within 30 to 90 minutes of ingestion and may
last as long as 12 hours. Users refer to LSD and other hallucinogenic
experiences as "trips" and to the acute adverse experiences as "bad trips."
Although most LSD trips include both pleasant and unpleasant aspects,
the drug's effects are unpredictable and may vary with the amount ingested
and the user's personality, mood, expectations, and surroundings.

Users of LSD may experience some physiological

effects, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, dizziness, loss of
appetite, dry mouth, sweating, nausea, numbness, and tremors; but the
drug's major effects are emotional and sensory. The user's emotions may
shift rapidly through a range from fear to euphoria, with transitions so
rapid that the user may seem to experience several emotions
simultaneously. LSD also has dramatic effects on the senses. Colors,
smells, sounds, and other sensations seem highly intensified. In some
cases, sensory perceptions may blend in a phenomenon known as
synesthesia, in which a person seems to hear or feel colors and see
sounds. Hallucinations distort or transform shapes and movements, and
they may give rise to a perception that time is moving very slowly or that
the user's body is changing shape. On some trips, users experience
sensations that are enjoyable and mentally stimulating and that produce a
sense of heightened understanding. Bad trips, however, include terrifying
thoughts and nightmarish feelings of anxiety and despair that include fears
of insanity, death, or losing control.

LSD users quickly develop a high degree of

tolerance for the drug's effects: After repeated use, they need increasingly
larger doses to produce similar effects. What long-term effects persistent
psychosis and hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD), more
commonly referred to as "flashbacks"-have been associated with use of
LSD. The causes of these effects, which in some users occur after a single
experience with the drug, are not known.

Although death from an overdose of LSD is virtually

impossible, death from LSD abuse has occurred, usually as a result of self-
destructive and aggressive behavior often triggered by the hallucinations,
delusions, and paranoia suffered by the abusers. Such behavior is often
described as "Bad Trip". In addition people can experience Flashbacks;
they reexperience the effects of the hallucinogen over and over again.

Health A to Z

What's the deal...

The LSD experience is usually described as a 'trip' because it is like a

journey to another place. This experience may be broken up into four
'phases':

THE ONSET - Thirty minutes to an hour after being taken, colours appear
sharper, moving objects leave traces behind them. Repeated patterns may
be seen with eyes closed.

THE PLATEAU - Over the second hour, the effects become more intense.
Patterns are visible with eyes open. Fantastic visions can appear from
nowhere - from shapes in smoke to lines on the palms of the hand.

THE PEAK - Time is slowed almost to a standstill. Trippers may feel they
are in a different world. For some this is profound and mystical, but it can
be very frightening for others.

THE COMEDOWN - Five or six hours after taking the drug the sensations
begin to subside. After eight hours, the trip is usually over, although some
residual effects may remain until after sleep.
Dosage
Dosages of LSD are measured in micrograms (µg), or millionths of a gram.
By comparison, dosages of almost all other drugs, both recreational and
medicinal, are measured in milligrams (mg), or thousandths of a gram.
Hofmann determined that an active dose of mescaline, roughly 0.2 to 0.5g,
has effects comparable to 100µg or less of LSD; put another way, LSD is
between five to ten thousand times more active than mescaline.

While a single dose of LSD may be between 100 and 500 micrograms — an
amount roughly equal to one-tenth the mass of a grain of sand — threshold
effects can be felt with as little as 25 micrograms. Generally, the dosage
that will produce a threshold psychotropic effect in humans is considered
to be 20 to 30µg.

TOP 7 RULES TO HAVE A SAFE LSD TRIP

Just remember that...

1) Cars can hurt you.

2) You cannot fly.

3) It's never a good time to die.

4) Taking you clothes off will draw attention.

5) Keep mouth shut at all times in public.

6) Only carry a house-key, some loose change, and your address in your
shoe.

7) Nobody can tell you are tripping till you tell them "I'm tripping".