Lysergic Acid Diethylamide

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 selfdestructive 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".