LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide): Uses, Hazards, Effects, FAQs

LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide is a synthetic chemical and a psychedelic drug derived from a chemical found in the rye fungus. It is best known for its use during the counterculture of the 1960s, and the resulting ban gave him a rather negative reputation.

Psychedelics are drugs that can induce an altered state, perhaps best described as a dream state, for a number of minutes or hours, depending on the specific psychedelic.

LSD is a white crystalline substance with no odor. However, LSD is so powerful that a low dose of a pure drug is so effective that it is virtually invisible. As a result, it is usually diluted with other materials. The most common form of LSD consists of drops of dried LSD solution on gelatin sheets, pieces of absorbent paper or pieces of sugar that release the drug when ingested. It is also sometimes sold in liquid, tablet or capsule form.

In 1938, Albert Hofmann, a Swiss scientist, synthesized LSD in his laboratory in Zurich, Switzerland. Unexpectedly, he discovered his hallucinogenic effects in 1943, when a small amount came into contact with his skin.

LSD is an extremely powerful hallucinogen with tremendous therapeutic, spiritual and cultural potential.

It is also Known as “acid” and with many other names, It is sold on the street in the form of small tablets (“microdots”), capsules or jelly (“windows”). Sometimes LSD is added to paper towels, which are then divided into small squares decorated with drawings or comic characters. Sometimes it is sold in liquid form. But no matter what form you get, It takes the user to the same place, a serious disconnect from reality.

Users of this drug called a “trip” an LSD experience, which typically lasts about twelve hours. When things go wrong, what happens often, we talk about “bad journey”, another name for a living hell.

Chemical Structure

Mechanism

It stimulates the production of serotonin in the cortex and deep brain structures by activating serotonin receptors.

These receivers help visualize and interpret the real world. Extra serotonin allows more stimuli to be treated than usual. Normally, the brain filters irrelevant stimuli, but with LSD this is not the case.

This overstimulation causes changes in thought, attention, perceptions, and emotions.

These alterations appear as hallucinations. The sensations seem real, but they are created by the mind.

Perceptions can involve one or more of the five senses. This can also cause a mixture of senses called synesthesia. People report “hearing” colors and “sighted” sounds.

LSD Uses

LSD is currently listed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the most penalized category of drugs. Schedule I drugs are considered “high potential for abuse” and no medical use currently accepted.

The production and sale of this drug are illegal in many countries, but some people have requested its reclassification. According to them, this could be useful for research and development purposes of clinical applications.

However, scientists considered psychedelics as promising treatments to help treat a wide range of psychiatric diagnoses, including alcoholism, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders and depression. Recent results of epidemiological studies have shown lower rates of mental and suicidal disorders among people who have used psychedelics such as LSD.

It is used for the following purposes

• It is used as a Recreational drug
• It is used as a spiritual drug because it can catalyze intense spiritual experiences
• Currently, there is no medical use approved by the authorities.

Hazards

Following are some health hazards of using this drug. This may not be the full list you can consult your doctor after experiencing the following or other severe risks.

• LSD users often suffer from loss of appetite, insomnia, dry mouth and tremors. Visual changes are among the most common effects: the user can choose the intensity of certain colors.
• Body temperature can rise or fall as blood pressure and heart rate increase or decrease. Sweating or chills are not uncommon.
• He also feels extreme mood swings, ranging from “feeling of happiness” too intense terror. The worst is that the LSD user cannot identify the sensations produced by the drug and those that are part of reality.
• Not only do they separate themselves from the usual activities of life, but they also feel the need to take more and more drugs to try the same sensation again. Others experience terrible and terrible thoughts and feelings, they fear losing control of their lives, they fear madness and death and despair when they use LSD. Once started, a “bad trip” often cannot be stopped, which can take up to twelve hours. In fact, some people never recover from acid-induced psychosis.
• Some users of this drug experience intense happiness that they confuse with “lighting”.
• At a sufficiently large dose, LSD creates delusions and visual hallucinations. The time and the sense of the user’s self-defense. The dimensions and shapes of objects are distorted, as are movements, colors, and sounds. Even touch and normal bodily sensations become something strange and strange. The sensations seem to overlap, giving the user the feeling of feeling the colors and seeing the sounds. These changes can be scary and cause panic.
• Many users have flashbacks or repetitions of the LSD path, often without warning, long after taking LSD.
• The ability to make reasonable decisions and identify common risks is compromised. An LSD user can attempt to exit a window to “look” at the floor. You might find it fun to watch the sunset without rejoicing that you’re in the middle of a busy intersection.
• As LSD accumulates in the body, users develop tolerance to the drug. In other words, some repeat users have to take them at ever higher doses to reach a “high level”. This increases both the physical impact and the risk of miscarriage, which can lead to psychosis.
• Management errors and backtracking are just some of the risks of using LSD. Users of this drug may have a relatively long psychosis or severe depression.

How do you take it?

LSD is always taken orally and injected for research purposes only. It is usually dissolved in an absorbent paper that can be divided into tabs. others, less often, the way to take this psychedelic, use it in the form of liquid LSD and gelatin

You have to put the tongue under the tongue for about 10 minutes, then you can swallow it safely.

If you are trying this drug for the first time or want to use a new source, we recommend that you take a low dose to avoid a bad trip.

How much?

A single dose of LSD may be between 40 and 500 micrograms. Following are some facts about how much people take.

• Low dose is 25–100 µg
• The most common Medium dose is 65–175 µg
• High dose is 175–250 µg
• The heavy dose is 250+ µg (In some Cases 500 µg )

Effects of LSD

It can cause some short terms effects and long term effects on your body.

Short Term Effects

Physical effects

• Raised body temperature
• Dilated pupils
• Increased blood sugar
• Rapid heartbeat
• Dry mouth
• Weakness
• High blood pressure
• Palpitations
• Salivation
• Tingling fingers and toes
• Tremors
• Sweating
• Facial flushing
• Loss of appetite
• Chills
• Nausea
• Blurred vision
• Sleeplessness
• Dizziness

Mental Effects

• Visual hallucinations
• Delusions
• Panic attacks
• An artificial sense of euphoria or certainty
• Impaired depth perception
• Severe, terrifying thoughts and feelings
• Distortion of one’s sense of time and identity
• Impaired perceptions
• Severe depression or psychosis
• Fear of losing control
• Flashbacks, or a recurrence of the LSD trip, often without warning long after taking the drug.

Long-Term Effects

• Flashbacks are “spontaneous repetitive repetitions of some of the sensory distortions originally generated by LSD”. Twists of the flame may include visual disturbances such as halos or traces associated with moving objects or false vision in peripheral vision.
• Drug-induced psychosis Some people, even those who have no history or symptoms of mental disorders, distorted the ability to recognize reality, think rationally, or communicate with others and caused by this drug, can take years to get the drug taken.

Treatment for the use of LSD

• Tell your doctor about your condition. He/she takes you to further treatments.
• Behavioral Counseling Speech therapy can also be an option to help you understand your behavior and why you continue to use LSD.
• Additional drug treatment may be needed to treat drug-related symptoms such as anxiety, depression or schizophrenia.
• Take care of yourself: train, eat healthily and control stress. Surround yourself with supportive people.
• Avoid addicts every day, even if they are old friends.
• Search for new hobbies and interests that distract you from using this drug. Consider an opportunity for volunteering.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is LSD?

LSD Full Form-lysergic acid Diethylamide, also known as “acid”, is considered the most well known and sought after psychedelic drug. It is active in exceptionally low doses (about 20 micrograms) and is taken orally, sometimes as drops or more often on paper towels. He is then absorbed by the tongue, then ingested.

Is LSD Addictive Drug?

There is no evidence that LSD is addictive, but you can tolerate its effects. LSD is not considered an addiction or a cause of compulsive use.

Reasons

• The intense and long-lasting experience, which can be physically and mentally difficult, may lead people who use LSD to not medically limit their frequency of use.
• The human body is rapidly increasing tolerance to this drug, so users need much higher doses after only a few days of repeated use, making it extremely difficult to see effects after more than four days of use repeated.

What happens if I overdose LSD?

If you take a significant amount, the negative effects of this drug are more likely to occur. If you or any of your acquaintances have any of the following symptoms, call an ambulance service.

Can LSD be used with medical methods?

Studies reporting the possibility of using LSD as a therapeutic treatment for various mental health problems have been published since the 1950s. But after the LSD was criminalized by the United States in 1966, clinical research was abandoned and its potential has been forgotten for decades1.

New research is starting to change the perception of LSD as a drug that can affect mental health and well-being, a way to relieve the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Its benefits are also studied to help people who are trying to beat addiction.

How to End LSD Abuse?

LSD is not considered responsible for addiction and does not result in physical dependence or withdrawal symptoms. Few people who abuse this hallucinogen think they need rehabilitation. However, the constant consumption of this drug is very dangerous and indicates a certain level of addictive behavior. Mixing LSD with other drugs, such as alcohol, opioids, marijuana, etc., may also indicate a multiple drug abuse problem, which is very dangerous and can lead to health problems. long-term, including an overdose.

How does LSD work?

LSD, like many other psychedelics, acts as a serotonin receptor agonist. Basically, this means that It acts on serotonin receptors, in the same way that serotonin (the real hormone) acts on serotonin receptors. This mechanism is believed to be somehow related to the “psychedelic” effects of This drug.

It also acts on dopaminergic and adrenergic receptors. However, like other psychedelics, the concentration of dopamine does not increase, which many scientists think is why psychedelics do not create physical dependence.

What does it look like?

LSD is usually sold as small squares of paper with images, called tabs or blotting papers. It can also be sold as a liquid or tiny bullet, called micro-points.

What taste/smell?

Liquid LSD (often called liquid acid) has no taste. Its labels have the same taste like paper.

How do people take it?

Some people can inhale LSD through the nose (sniff) or inject it into a vein (inflate it). There is no way to predict the amount of this drug you consume. It is available in tablet or lozenge (called micro-dot), in liquid on sugar cubes, and in pure liquid, etc.