How LSD Works

by Shanna Freeman

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<http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/drugs-alcohol/lsd.htm>  17 April 2011.
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Inside this Article

1. Introduction to How LSD Works

2. LSD History
3. How to Make LSD

4. LSD Trips: Something Happened to Me Yesterday

5. LSD Effects on the Body: Melts Your Mind, Not in Your Hands
6. LSD Dangers and Abuse
7. See more »
7. LSD as Medicine: Opening the Doors of Perception
8. Cultural History of LSD: Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out
9. LSD Drug Laws Today
10. Lots More Information
11. See all Drugs & Alcohol articles
How to Make LSD
Sandoz held the patent on LSD until 1963 and stopped making it shortly afterward. The company
claimed that it was concerned about a lack of regulation and the inaccurate information being
perpetuated about the drug. Naturally, this didn't stop anyone from making it themselves, which
was legal to do until 1965.

Making LSD requires a strong working knowledge of organic chemistry, a complete laboratory
setup (including the ability to sterilize equipment as well as access to a darkroom), and several
chemicals that are currently either sales restricted or have their sales closely monitored by the
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Unlike the chemicals used in the manufacture of
methamphetamine, they can't be found in fairly ordinary household items.

There a couple of different ways to make LSD. Some "recipes" may start with lysergic acid.
Other online recipes call for morning glory seeds, which can be especially dangerous because
they're often sold with a toxic coating to discourage consumption. Morning glory seeds and the
seeds of some related plants contain LSA, or lysergic acid amide. The LSA can be extracted
from the seeds and produce a mild high on its own. It's considered a precursor to LSD, although
the amount of LSA in different seeds varies so much that the quality of the drug made from it
would also vary. Here, we'll look at a recipe that starts with ergot.

A chemist making LSD must be extremely careful and knowledgeable about working with ergot
because of its toxicity. Remember the people poisoned by rye bread in the Middle Ages? Once
the chemist obtains the fungus, he has to carefully and precisely culture it to extract the ergot
alkaloids (an alkaloid is a compound containing basic nitrogen atoms). The darkroom setup
becomes necessary here, because the fungus will decompose under bright lights. In fact, LSD
itself can break down quickly when exposed to light.

If working with toxic ergot weren't enough, the solvents and reagents (compounds used to bring
about chemical reactions) are also incredibly dangerous. The solvent anhydrous hydrazine, for
example, can explode when heated. It's extremely poisonous and a known carcinogen. Another
chemical often used in the process, chloroform, can also cause cancer as well as severely damage
the kidneys and liver. Both of these can be easily absorbed through the skin or inhaled.
 Photo courtesy Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
A sheet of blotter acid decorated with The Mad Hatter from "Alice in Wonderland."

The ergot alkaloid is synthesized into a lysergic acid compound called iso-lysergic acid
hydrazide, through the addition of chemicals and heating processes. Then the iso-lysergic acid
hydrazide is isomerized, which means that the atoms in its molecules are rearranged through a
chemical process. It's cooled, mixed with an acid and a base, and evaporated. What remains is
iso-lysergic diethylamide, which is isomerized again to produce active LSD. The LSD is then
purified and crystallized.

What next? In the past, LSD was then made into tablets (microdots), simply dissolved in water
or other liquids to be dropped, or made into gelatin squares (windowpanes). It's rare to see LSD
in these forms today, however. Instead, it's usually dissolved in ethanol. Sheets of blotting paper
are then dipped into the LSD solution and dried. These sheets of blotter acid are usually printed
with cartoon characters or other colorful graphics. The sheets are perforated into small squares,
about a quarter of an inch (6.35 millimeters) wide. Each square is one dose, and a sheet can
contain 900 doses.

These squares are chewed and swallowed. Although LSD has been injected, especially in
therapeutic uses, it's not necessary because it's very quickly absorbed by the body when taken
orally. So what does it feel like to go on a trip? Find out next.

Next Page Previous Page

52

Inside this Article

LSD History

Keystone/Getty Images
Dr. Albert Hofmann in 1967

A Swiss chemist named Albert Hofmann was employed in a laboratory at Sandoz, a

pharmaceutical company, when he first synthesized LSD. Sandoz was working on a research
project involving a parasitic fungus called ergot that grows on rye, known as Claviceps
purpurea. In the Middle Ages, it poisoned thousands of people who ate rye bread infected with
it. Ergot had also been used by midwives, who sometimes gave it to pregnant women to bring
about and speed up labor. In the 19th century, most physicians deemed the practice too
dangerous because high dosages lead to strong contractions and endanger the baby, although
physicians sometimes still used ergot to stop a woman's bleeding after childbirth.

In the 1930s, researchers at the Rockefeller Institute in New York isolated lysergic acid from an
ergot compound. This research was the basis for Hofmann's work at Sandoz. While deriving
different compounds from lysergic acid, Hofmann developed several medicines, including drugs
that lowered blood pressure and improved brain function in the elderly. In 1938, Hofmann
derived the 25th in a series of these derivatives. It was lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD-25.
He thought that LSD-25 might stimulate breathing and circulation. But tests didn't show
anything special, and Sandoz abandoned further study.

Five years later, Hofmann's thoughts returned to LSD-25's potential. He felt that it hadn't been
fully explored, so he took the unusual step of synthesizing another batch for further testing.
During the process, however, Hofmann began to feel strange. He stopped his work and went
home early, "being affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness."
While at home, he was in a "dreamlike state" and "perceived an uninterrupted steam of fantastic
pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors" [source: Hofmann]. At
the time, Hofmann decided that he must've gotten some of the solution on his finger. (Later it
was determined that he must have touched his finger to his mouth, as LSD can't be absorbed
through the skin.)

The next day, Hofmann purposely dosed himself with LSD. He took 250 micrograms, 10 times
more than today's typical minimum dose. Hofmann became delirious and could barely speak.
Initially he panicked and asked his laboratory assistant to call a doctor. The doctor could find
nothing wrong with Hofmann other than the fact that his pupils were dilated -- he had normal
blood pressure, heart rate and respiration. Soon his panic gave way to euphoria, and Hofmann
once again saw beautiful shapes and colors. The next day, he told others at Sandoz about what
had happened, and they experimented with similar results. No other drug had been known to
have such strong effects in such small doses.

After trials on animals, Sandoz gave LSD to research institutes and doctors to use in psychiatric
experiments on both healthy and mentally ill subjects. The research was compelling enough to
convince Sandoz to patent LSD and market it as Delysid in 1947. It was sold in 25-microgram
tablets for use in analytical psychotherapy. Sandoz also suggested that psychiatrists take the drug
themselves, so that they could better understand their patients. Two years later, doctors at the
Boston Psychotropic Hospital were using it on their own patients. By 1960, there had been
hundreds of papers published in scientific and medical journals on the various uses of LSD -- it
was the talk of the psychiatric community. But by 1966, Sandoz had stopped making it
altogether. Let's see how LSD is made illegally.

How LSD Works

by Shanna Freeman

Print

Inside this Article

1. Introduction to How LSD Works

2. LSD History
3. How to Make LSD

4. LSD Trips: Something Happened to Me Yesterday

5. LSD Effects on the Body: Melts Your Mind, Not in Your Hands
6. LSD Dangers and Abuse
7. See more »
7. LSD as Medicine: Opening the Doors of Perception
8. Cultural History of LSD: Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out
 9. LSD Drug Laws Today
10. Lots More Information
11. See all Drugs & Alcohol articles

Controlled Substance Image Gallery

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images

A hippie "Magic Bus" on display at the Museum at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, a museum
built on the site of the 1969 Woodstock music festival. See more controlled substance pictures.

The psychedelic drug LSD has been called acid, blotter, California sunshine, dots, Electric
Kool-Aid and countless other colorful nicknames since it was first sold on the street in the early
1960s. It makes sense that LSD would be popular. It's easy to take -- it's colorless, odorless and
tasteless -- and ingesting just a tiny amount (25 micrograms, or 0.000025 grams, less than the
weight of two salt grains) is enough to feel the effects. It's also easy to conceal, since today's
doses are usually found on tiny squares of absorbent paper. LSD can be difficult to detect,
because of the small amount ingested and the fact that it's quickly metabolized by the body.
Finally, LSD is cheap compared to other drugs. A single dose usually costs no more than $5, and
often it can be gotten for free.

The same things about LSD that would make it popular also make it scary, and we've been
warned about its many dangers at one time or another. For example, you may have been told that
LSD can "fry" or put holes in your brain, or make you go insane and do dangerous things.
Supposedly people have leapt from buildings or overpasses while tripping or have drowned
because they thought that they could walk on water. There are tales that people seeking to hook
children on LSD have put the drugs on postage stamps or lick-and-stick tattoos. Not all of these
things are true. In fact, many of the things we've been told about what LSD does, and what
people do under its influence, are myths or exaggerations created to frighten impressionable
teenagers.
Other Drugs

 Marijuana
 Crack Cocaine
 DiscoveryHealth.com: Addiction Center

The truth is, although LSD has been around for more than 60 years and been taken by thousands
upon thousands of people, it's still not very well understood by most of us. Although it will
forever be associated with hippies and the 1960s counterculture movement, LSD was first
synthesized by researches seeking to create new medicines. Let's begin with LSD's own
beginnings -- in a lab in Switzerland.

Next Page

Inside this Article How LSD Works

by Shanna Freeman

Print
Cite This!
Close 
Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks article:

Real-life drama from Discovery Health and audience favorite fitness shows from Fit TV have
combined on a new channel: Discovery Fit & Health!

Inside this Article

1. Introduction to How LSD Works

2. LSD History
3. How to Make LSD

4. LSD Trips: Something Happened to Me Yesterday

5. LSD Effects on the Body: Melts Your Mind, Not in Your Hands
6. LSD Dangers and Abuse
7. See more »
7. LSD as Medicine: Opening the Doors of Perception
8. Cultural History of LSD: Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out
9. LSD Drug Laws Today
10. Lots More Information
11. See all Drugs & Alcohol articles

LSD History
 Keystone/Getty Images
Dr. Albert Hofmann in 1967

A Swiss chemist named Albert Hofmann was employed in a laboratory at Sandoz, a

pharmaceutical company, when he first synthesized LSD. Sandoz was working on a research
project involving a parasitic fungus called ergot that grows on rye, known as Claviceps
purpurea. In the Middle Ages, it poisoned thousands of people who ate rye bread infected with
it. Ergot had also been used by midwives, who sometimes gave it to pregnant women to bring
about and speed up labor. In the 19th century, most physicians deemed the practice too
dangerous because high dosages lead to strong contractions and endanger the baby, although
physicians sometimes still used ergot to stop a woman's bleeding after childbirth.

In the 1930s, researchers at the Rockefeller Institute in New York isolated lysergic acid from an
ergot compound. This research was the basis for Hofmann's work at Sandoz. While deriving
different compounds from lysergic acid, Hofmann developed several medicines, including drugs
that lowered blood pressure and improved brain function in the elderly. In 1938, Hofmann
derived the 25th in a series of these derivatives. It was lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD-25.
He thought that LSD-25 might stimulate breathing and circulation. But tests didn't show
anything special, and Sandoz abandoned further study.

Five years later, Hofmann's thoughts returned to LSD-25's potential. He felt that it hadn't been
fully explored, so he took the unusual step of synthesizing another batch for further testing.
During the process, however, Hofmann began to feel strange. He stopped his work and went
home early, "being affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness."
While at home, he was in a "dreamlike state" and "perceived an uninterrupted steam of fantastic
pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors" [source: Hofmann]. At
the time, Hofmann decided that he must've gotten some of the solution on his finger. (Later it
was determined that he must have touched his finger to his mouth, as LSD can't be absorbed
through the skin.)
The next day, Hofmann purposely dosed himself with LSD. He took 250 micrograms, 10 times
more than today's typical minimum dose. Hofmann became delirious and could barely speak.
Initially he panicked and asked his laboratory assistant to call a doctor. The doctor could find
nothing wrong with Hofmann other than the fact that his pupils were dilated -- he had normal
blood pressure, heart rate and respiration. Soon his panic gave way to euphoria, and Hofmann
once again saw beautiful shapes and colors. The next day, he told others at Sandoz about what
had happened, and they experimented with similar results. No other drug had been known to
have such strong effects in such small doses.

After trials on animals, Sandoz gave LSD to research institutes and doctors to use in psychiatric
experiments on both healthy and mentally ill subjects. The research was compelling enough to
convince Sandoz to patent LSD and market it as Delysid in 1947. It was sold in 25-microgram
tablets for use in analytical psychotherapy. Sandoz also suggested that psychiatrists take the drug
themselves, so that they could better understand their patients. Two years later, doctors at the
Boston Psychotropic Hospital were using it on their own patients. By 1960, there had been
hundreds of papers published in scientific and medical journals on the various uses of LSD -- it
was the talk of the psychiatric community. But by 1966, Sandoz had stopped making it
altogether. Let's see how LSD is made illegally.

How LSD Works

LSD Trips: Something Happened to Me
Yesterday
It's often stated that LSD causes hallucinations, but that's not quite true. When a person has a
hallucination, he or she believes that everything that he or she sees and feels is real. LSD
changes the way people perceive the world around them, as well as what they think and feel, but
people on LSD don't see things that aren't there. They see what's already there in a different way,
and most of the time, they're aware that their altered perceptions are caused by the drug.

After taking LSD, the effects -- known as a "trip" -- usually start within an hour and can last up
to 12 hours, with a peak about halfway through the experience. Exactly how LSD affects each
person varies widely. Some physical changes in the body during tripping include dilated pupils,
increased blood pressure and a high body temperature. People on LSD may also feel dizzy,
sweat, have blurred vision and feel tingling in their hands and feet. They may feel drowsy but not
sleepy.
 Datacraft/Getty Images
A good trip might look like this.

LSD's primary effects are visual. Colors seem stronger and lights seem brighter. Objects that are
stable might appear to move or have a halo of light around them. Sometimes objects have trails
of light coming from them or appear smaller or larger than they really are. LSD users often see
patterns, shapes, colors and textures. Sometimes it seems that time is running backward, or
moving very quickly or slowly. On very rare occasions (although it's sometimes portrayed as
common), tripping can cause synesthesia -- a confusion of sensations between different types of
stimuli. Some people have described this as seeing colors when they hear specific sounds.

There is an overall sense of happiness and euphoria. Everything is beautiful, interesting and
magical. People on LSD often become very emotional and dreamlike. Large doses of may make
them feel especially contemplative. They feel that their mind has burst through its normal
boundaries, and they often claim to have had experiences that are spiritual or religious, with a
new understanding of how the world works.

People tripping on LSD are generally impulsive and have very poor judgment. This is part of
why it's usually preferable among LSD users to trip in groups, especially with others who have
experience, and in calm places like home or in a park. Close friendships have been formed
among people who have tripped together. For people not tripping but observing, LSD users can
be scary. They might spend lots of time pondering something that appears incredibly
unimportant. They aren't always easy to understand, but when they do talk, they speak quickly
and jump from subject to subject.

The above are considered to be "good trips." Most people who have used LSD know that there's
always a possibility of having a "bad trip." It's not really clear what causes a bad trip, especially
since each trip can be very different depending on the person. LSD users sometimes say that it's
due to the "set and setting." This means that if you are already in a bad mood, or you trip in a
highly structured environment that requires you to think logically (such as school), you could
have a bad trip. This may include losing sight of the illusory aspect of tripping, which results in
fear and paranoia. The loss of control is frightening, and it seems like the trip will never end.
Sometimes when someone has a bad trip, he or she is taken to a hospital. However, there usually
isn't much that doctors do other than give the person a quiet space and reassurance. They may
administer an anti-anxiety medication or a mild tranquilizer to ease the patient's panic. As the trip
ends, the patient may feel dizzy or nauseous, but people usually recover with no lasting side
effects.

For some, one bad trip is enough to swear off LSD forever. Even if LSD users don't have a bad
trip, heavy use of LSD can still cause a lot of problems. Next, we'll look at how LSD works in
the body and its effects on mental and physical health.

How LSD Works

LSD Effects on the Body: Melts Your Mind,
Not in Your Hands

Dr. Dennis Kunkel/Getty Images

Serotonin crystals

Researchers aren't 100 percent sure what LSD does in the central nervous system, or exactly how
it causes those hallucinogenic effects. This is in part because there have never been scientific
research studies on how LSD affects the brain. It's believed that LSD works similarly to
serotonin, a neurotransmitter responsible for regulating moods, appetite, muscle control,
sexuality, sleep and sensory perception. LSD seems to interfere with the way the brain's
serotonin's receptors work. It may inhibit neurotransmission, stimulate it, or both. It also affects
the way that the retinas process information and conduct that information to the brain.
As little as 0.25 micrograms of LSD per 2.2 pounds (about 1 kilogram) of body weight can
produce the effects. A typical dose today is around this amount; in the 1960s, it was up to four
times as much. When a person takes LSD, it's quickly metabolized in the liver and eventually
excreted in the urine. A small amount is left in the body by the end of the trip and is probably
gone entirely a few weeks afterward.

It has been stated before that LSD remains in the body forever in minuscule amounts in the brain
or spinal fluid, but there's no evidence to support this claim. People who believe in it, however,
say that the brain holds and may release molecules of LSD over time, and this is what causes
flashbacks. A flashback occurs when a person who has used LSD in the past has an experience,
lasting anywhere from seconds to hours, similar to that of an actual trip. Some LSD users enjoy
them and consider them "free trips," while others find them incredibly upsetting. The majority of
LSD users report never having flashbacks, and some people claim that they don't really exist.
They're a very controversial topic among LSD users and researchers.

Of those who have reported experiencing flashbacks, many are also mentally ill. Some doctors
suggest that what the user perceives as a flashback is really a form of psychosis or mental illness
that may have emerged due to LSD use. There's a medically recognized disorder called
Hallucinogen Persisting Perceptive Disorder (HPPD), in which some people who have taken
LSD constantly experience visual hallucinations (as opposed to the brief flashbacks). It's not yet
known exactly what makes some people more susceptible to this than others.

On the next page, we'll look at worst-case scenarios.

LSD Dangers and Abuse

There have been very few reports of LSD overdoses that resulted in death or permanent health
problems. In 1973, a case was recorded in The Western Journal of Medicine in which eight
people took massive overdoses of LSD at a party. They thought that the white powder being
passed around was cocaine and snorted milligrams of it. Most of them passed out. In the hospital,
they suffered from fevers, vomiting and internal bleeding. However, all of the patients recovered
within 12 hours with no lasting effects. Five of them were examined regularly for a year
afterwards for long-term problems. There have been reports of heart attacks, strokes and other
deaths associated with LSD use, but many of these users also had other recreational drugs in
their systems, so the role of LSD was inconclusive.
 Michael Dunning/Getty Images
Driving while tripping: not a good idea.

The real physical damage associated with LSD comes from what can happen when someone
loses inhibitions and has poor judgment, skewed perceptions or a sense of immortality while
tripping. LSD users have accidentally killed themselves by walking in front of a car, getting into
a car accident while tripping, or falling from windows or buildings.

These people didn't "go crazy." LSD isn't likely to make someone go insane or become
psychotic. It can interact with other drugs and cause psychotic symptoms (especially other drugs
that work on neurotransmitters). Some people with histories of certain mental illnesses, such as
schizophrenia or psychosis, may have their symptoms exacerbated on LSD. It may also speed the
onset of these illnesses if one was already going to develop.

Heavy LSD users can also develop profound social problems, completely ruin their sleep cycles
and lose interest in eating and personal hygiene. They become uninterested in participating in the
world going on around them and feel completely disconnected from everybody else. The real
problem is that because they're taking LSD so often, they think the LSD is creating the illusion
that their life is a mess instead of recognizing that it really is a mess.

You won't hear about someone being in rehab for LSD abuse, however, because it's not an
addictive drug. Using LSD for just a few days in a row can cause a person to build up a tolerance
quickly, so it's rarely used more than once a week. A person who uses LSD twice a week is
considered a heavy user. In addition, repeated trips tend to lose their novelty, and what once
seemed magical becomes everyday and commonplace. The effects caused by LSD aren't
dependable in the way that other drugs' effects are -- you never know how you'll feel or what
you'll see. Addicts crave dependability.

Next, let's take a look at LSD that's used for purposes other than recreation.
LSD as Medicine: Opening the Doors of
Perception

John Loengard/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

A group of volunteers under the effect of LSD-25 during an experiment conducted by the
International Federation for Internal Freedom (IFIF)

Before it was a recreational drug, LSD was used in psychiatric therapy. In the beginning,
psychiatrists hoped that LSD would prove to be a cure for some forms of mental illness. It was
thought that giving a patient LSD would remove the need for years of psychotherapy and bring
about permanent changes in behavior and personality. Between 1950 and 1965, approximately
40,000 patients were given Sandoz's Delysid tablets [source: Henderson]. These included
schizophrenics, obsessive-compulsives, depressives and autistic people. It was also administered
to people considered mentally ill with sexual perversions, such as homosexuality.

There were two main types of therapy that incorporated LSD usage. In Europe, psycholitic
therapy was common. Psychiatrists gave patients low doses of LSD (50 micrograms or less)
over several sessions and encouraged them to focus on their childhood and subconscious.
American psychiatrists were more likely to use psychedelic therapy. They gave their patients
high doses of about 200 micrograms over just a few sessions. Instead of bringing out childhood
memories, these doctors hoped the high doses of LSD would elicit a positive spiritual awakening
and encourage patients to find meaning in their lives and want to better themselves.

The spiritual awakening approach was also used on alcoholics, who were difficult to treat
through other types of therapy. Some psychiatrists attempted to induce a form of delirium
tremens, which might scare alcoholics into reforming themselves. LSD was also given to
criminals in the hopes that they could be reformed. Although many psychiatrists reported good
results, there were few large studies. The small-scale studies are often considered flawed today
because they didn't employ controls.

Sandoz recommended very specific doses of LSD and stated it should only be administered by a
psychiatrist in a controlled medical setting. Of course, there was a black market for the drug by
1962. As recreational use grew, the federal government became increasingly concerned about
LSD's effects and took steps to restrict its official use. Many researchers felt that their studies
were terminated before they could reach a definite conclusion about LSD's therapeutic effects.
By 1965, very few researchers in the United States were still allowed to possess LSD. There
were only six projects conducted in 1969, and by 1974, the National Institutes for Mental Health
(NIMH) declared that LSD had no real therapeutic value.

The last therapeutic LSD study in the United States took place in the 1980s. The researchers
believed that LSD could be beneficial to terminally ill patients because it helped them to stay
aware of their surroundings, relieved their pain and made them feel more connected to their
families. The study ended, however, before the idea could be completely explored.

There are currently studies using LSD in humans in other countries, such as Switzerland and the
United Kingdom. In September 2008, the Food and Food Administration (FDA) opened the door
once again for end-of-life clinical research using LSD. This may signal a renewed interest in
other therapeutic uses for the drug.

On the next page, we'll look at the group of people most often associated with LSD: hippies.

Cultural History of LSD: Turn On, Tune In,

Drop Out
 Santi Visalli Inc./Getty Images
A male hippie at a be-in at Central Park in New York City in 1968.

LSD played an important part in the 1960s counterculture movement. As use spread from
research projects at universities to the street, LSD was credited with expanding the minds of
young people who were disillusioned with the status quo. We'll take a closer look at just a few of
the people instrumental in spreading the drug's popularity.

Dr. Timothy Leary was a psychology professor at Harvard when he first tried psilocybin
mushrooms in 1960. He was so changed by the experience that he and his Harvard colleague
Richard Alpert founded a study to test the effects of psychedelic drugs. Leary believed that they
could treat a host of mental illnesses and profoundly change those who took them. Complaints
from parents and others, however, led Harvard to fire Leary in 1963.

In 1964, he co-authored a book about psychedelic drugs and founded the League for Spiritual
Discovery the following year. This was a religion that claimed LSD as a holy sacrament that
must be kept legal for religious freedom. Leary toured the country with a presentation that
attempted to demonstrate the experience of tripping. He spoke the phrase that came to exemplify
the LSD movement, "turn on, tune in, drop out," during a 1967 speech in San Francisco before
30,000 hippies. Leary later stated in his biography that "'turn on' meant to go within to activate
your neural and genetic equipment [...] 'Tune in' meant interact harmoniously with the world
around you [...] 'Drop out' meant self-reliance" [source: Leary]. He was disappointed that people
thought he meant "Get stoned and abandon all constructive activity."

Ken Kesey was an author whose first experience with LSD came when he volunteered in 1959
to take part in a CIA study of the effects of psychedelic drugs. He and his friends, known as The
Merry Pranksters, traveled across the country in a school bus called "Furthur" as a social
experiment. Their adventures were documented by author Tom Wolfe in "The Electric Kool-Aid
Acid Test."
While Timothy Leary originally advocated a more serious, controlled use of LSD, Kesey was an
"acid populist" who believed that if enough people used it, society as a whole could be
transformed. In 1965, he began holding psychedelic parties advertised with signs that read "Can
you pass the acid test?" Kesey believed that the acid tests expanded consciousness and started a
revolution.

Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes

Is the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" an LSD song? John Lennon didn't deny that the lyrics
were inspired by drug experiences, but he claimed that he didn't notice that the title spelled out "LSD"
until someone pointed it out. He said the title was from his son Julian, who painted a picture of his
classmate Lucy surrounded by sparkling stars. When Lennon asked Julian what the painting was called,
he replied, "Lucy in the sky with diamonds." Lennon showed off the painting and maintained that it was
the origin of the title until his death.

Owsley Stanley was a self-taught chemist who helped to make LSD popular and accessible in
the influential Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco. While a student at the University of
California at Berkley, Stanley tried LSD but was frustrated with the wide differences in quality
and purity. He set up his own lab to make pure, high-quality LSD, which became known as
"Owsley LSD" or simply "Owsley." It became the standard by which other LSD was measured
after Sandoz stopped making the drug and it became illegal. He often distributed it freely, and it
has been estimated that Stanley made half a kilo of LSD, enough for 10 million 50-microgram
trips, in his lifetime. He also created an LSD synthesis that was 99 percent pure called White
Lightning, as well as another psychedelic drug, STP.

Stanley also became friends with the band the Grateful Dead (who performed at Kesey's acid
tests) and worked as their sound engineer. He not only heavily influenced the band's sound, but
also designed their Lightning Bolt Skull logo and was the inspiration for the Dancing Bears logo
because of his nickname, "The Bear."

So what happened between the 1960s and today?

How LSD Works

by Shanna Freeman

Print
Cite This!
Close 
Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks article:
Freeman, Shanna.  "How LSD Works"  10 December 2008.  HowStuffWorks.com.
<http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/drugs-alcohol/lsd.htm>  17 April 2011.
Cite
Feedback

52

We've Launched!

Discovery Fit & Health

Real-life drama from Discovery Health and audience favorite fitness shows from Fit TV have
combined on a new channel: Discovery Fit & Health!

Inside this Article

1. Introduction to How LSD Works

2. LSD History
3. How to Make LSD

4. LSD Trips: Something Happened to Me Yesterday

5. LSD Effects on the Body: Melts Your Mind, Not in Your Hands
6. LSD Dangers and Abuse
7. See more »
7. LSD as Medicine: Opening the Doors of Perception
8. Cultural History of LSD: Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out
9. LSD Drug Laws Today
10. Lots More Information
11. See all Drugs & Alcohol articles

Lots More Information

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More Great Links

 The Albert Hofmann Foundation

 Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
 National Institute on Drug Abuse: Hallucinogens
 U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration: LSD

Sources

 The Albert Hofmann Foundation

http://www.hofmann.org
 Cavallo, Dominick. "A Fiction of the Past: The Sixties in American History." St. Martin's Press, 1999.
 Henderson, Leigh A. and William J. Glass. "LSD: Still With Us After All These Years." Jossey-Bass, 1998.
 "The Hippies: Philosophy of a Subculture." Time Magazine, July 7, 1967.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,899555-1,00.html
 Hofmann, Albert. "LSD: My Problem Child." McGraw-Hill, 1980.
 Klock, John C., et al. "Coma, Hyperthermia and Bleeding Associated with Massive LSD Overdose: A
Report of Eight Cases." Western Journal of Medicine, Vol. 120, issue 3, March 1974.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=1129381&blobtype=pdf
 Leary, Timothy. "Flashbacks." Tarcher, 1997.
 Lee, Martin. "Acid Dreams: The CIA, LSD, and the Sixties Rebellion." Grove Press, 1985.
 Lewisohn, Mark. "The Complete Beatles Chronicle." Hamlyn, 2006.
 "LSD." U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, August 2006.
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/lsd.html
 Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
http://www.maps.org
 "NIDA Info Facts: Hallucinogens." National Institutes on Drug Abuse, July 2008.
http://www.drugabuse.gov/infofacts/hallucinogens.html
 "Safety Data for Hydrazine (Anhydrous)." Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford
University, November 12, 2008.
http://msds.chem.ox.ac.uk/HY/hydrazine.html
 Solomon, David. "LSD: The Consciousness Expanding Drug." Berkley, 1965.

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