LSD was first synthesized on November 16, 1938 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland as part of a large research program searching for medically useful ergot alkaloid derivatives. It is used mainly as an entheogen, recreational drug, and as an agent in psychedelic therapy. LSD is non-addictive, is not known to cause brain damage, and has extremely low toxicity relative to dose, although in rare cases adverse psychiatric reactions such as anxiety or delusions are possible.
Abstract
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated as LSD is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an altered sense of time and spiritual experiences, as well as for its key role in 1960s counterculture. It is used mainly as an entheogen, recreational drug, and as an agent in psychedelic therapy. LSD is non-addictive, is not known to cause brain damage, and has extremely low toxicity relative to dose, although in rare cases adverse psychiatric reactions such as anxiety or delusions are possible.
[1]
Street Names
Acid,
blotter,
dots
[2]
History
LSD was first synthesized on November 16, 1938 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland as part of a large research program searching for medically useful ergot alkaloid derivatives. LSD's psychedelic properties were discovered 5 years later when Hofmann himself accidentally ingested an unknown quantity of the chemical.Hofmann found the effects to be much stronger than he anticipated.Sandoz Laboratories introduced LSD as a psychiatric drug in 1947.
Beginning in the 1950s the US Central Intelligence Agency began a research program code named Project MKULTRA. Experiments included administering LSD to CIA employees, military personnel, doctors, other government agents, prostitutes, mentally ill patients, and members of the general public in order to study their reactions, usually without the subject's knowledge. The project was revealed in the US congressional Rockefeller Commission report in 1975.
On October 24, 1968, possession of LSD was made illegal in the United States.
[4]
Pharmacology
The chemical formula for LSD is: C20H25N3O
A moderate dose of LSD will significantly alter state of consciousness. This alteration is
characterized by a stimulation of affect, enhanced capacity for introspection, and altered psychological functioning in the direction of Freudian primary processes, known otherwise as
hypnagogic experience and dreams. Especially noteworthy are perceptual changes such as illusions, pseudohallucinations, synesthesias, and alterations of thinking and time experience. Changes of body-image and egofunction also often occur.
Traumatic experiences can have long-lasting effects on LSD users, including mood swings and rarely flashback phenomena. It should be noted, however, that these generally take place in uncontrolled
conditions. Conversely, it has been shown that under controlled and supportive conditions, the LSD experience may have lasting positive effects on attitude and personality.
[5]
Uses
There have been claims that LSD can be used in psychiatry for its perceived therapeutic value, in the treatment of alcoholism, pain and cluster headache relief, for spiritual purposes, and to enhance creativity.However, government organizations like the United States Drug Enforcement Administration maintain that LSD "produces no aphrodisiac effects, does not increase creativity, has no lasting positive effect in treating alcoholics or criminals, does not produce a 'model psychosis', and does not generate immediate personality change.
However most people who use LSD do it for recreational purpose.
[3]
Scheduling
In the US, LSD is Sechedule I drug.
[2]
Psychological and physical addiction liability
LSD can cause pupil dilation, reduced appetite, and wakefulness. Other physical reactions to LSD are highly variable and nonspecific, and some of these reactions may be secondary to the psychological effects of LSD. The following symptoms have been reported: numbness, weakness, nausea, hypothermia or hyperthermia, elevated blood sugar, goose bumps, increase in heart rate, jaw clenching, perspiration, saliva production, mucus production, sleeplessness, hyperreflexia, and tremors. Some users, including Albert Hofmann, report a strong metallic taste for the duration of the effects.
LSD's psychological effects vary greatly from person to person, depending on factors such as previous experiences, state of mind and environment, as well as dose strength. They also vary from one trip to another, and even as time passes during a single trip. An LSD trip can have long-term psychoemotional effects; some users cite the LSD experience as causing significant changes in their personality and life perspective. Widely different effects emerge based on what Timothy Leary called set and setting; the "set" being the general mindset of the user, and the "setting" being the physical and social environment in which the drug's effects are experienced.
[6]
Withdrawal Effects
As LSD is not an addictive drug, there are no withdrawal symptoms observed when an user stops taking this drug.
[7]
Long term effects
Repeated use of LSD may result in prolonged depression and anxiety. The drug may reveal deep seated mental or emotional problems that were previously unknown to the user.
Heavy users sometimes develop signs of organic brain damage, such as impaired memory and attention span, mental confusion and difficulty with abstract thinking. It is not yet known whether such mental changes are permanent or if they disappear when LSD use is stopped.
[7]
Physical effects
LSD can exert a profound indirect effect on physical health. Cases of suicide have occurred after taking LSD and the drug can induce violent or hazardous behavior, resulting in death or injury to the user or others. Irrational behaviour is common under the influence of the drug and a user may run onto a busy road or attempt to fly etc. Similarly, the distorted perception of time and distance and other vivid hallucinations caused by LSD make driving a motor vehicle absolute madness - yet an LSD user would have no real appreciation of the dangers.
[7]
Medical Treatment
There are no medical treatment options as such, because LSD is not an addictive drug. As there are no recognized withdrawal symptoms, treatment of LSD abuse is a little different than with some of the other drugs. It is mostly an effort to help on a psychological level.
[7]
Pychological Treament
Psychological treatment may include:
Behavior modification,
Counseling,
Psychotheripic treatment
[7]
Related drugs
Related drugs inlcude:
psilocybin,
psilocybin,
mescaline
Related Synthetics
Related synthetics:
DOC
References
[1] http://www.drugs.com/lsd.html
[2] http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/lsd-acid
[3] http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/hallucinogens-lsd-peyote-psilocybin-pcp
[4] http://www.maps.org/research/psilo/psilo_ib.pdfhttps://ecstasydata.org/general/newsletter/erowid_newsletter12.pdf
[5] http://www.maps.org/research/cluster/psilo-lsd/cns-neuroscience+therapeutics_2008-passie.pdf
[6] http://www.psychedelic-library.org/child5.htm
[7] http://www.recovery.org.uk/druginfo/index.html
