LSD

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LSD blotter paper.

The full name of LSD is D-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide. Chemically it is C₂₀H₂₅N₃O but is called Acid, Lysergide or Tripz on the street. It is a potent synthetic hallucinogen and psychedelic entheogen which was originally derived from ergot fungus. LSD is typically consumed orally as a clear, odorless, tasteless liquid, often on a substrate such as absorbent blotter paper, a sugarcube, or gelatin. It is also possible to deliver it via food or drink. LSD is an abbreviation of the German term for the compound, Lyserg-S�ure-Diaethylamid.

LSD was once marketed as a psychiatric miracle drug, and became a popular recreational drug among mental health professionals during the 1950s. Cold War era intelligence services were interested in using LSD as a psychological manipulation tool. Several mental health professionals, notably Harvard psychology professors Drs. Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (later known as Ram Dass), became convinced of LSD's potential as a tool for spiritual growth. They were dismissed from the traditional psychological community and spread LSD use to a much wider portion of the public as countercultural spiritual gurus among the hippies of the 1960s.

Dosage

LSD is one of the most potent drugs in common use, and the only drugs that are of a similar potentcy are closely related to LSD in their chemistry, with the exceptions of Salvinorin A and Divinorin C, two chemically-unrelated compounds found in the Salvia Divinorum plant. LSD is 100 times more potent than psilocybin and psilocin and 4,000 times more potent than mescaline. Dosages of LSD are measured in micrograms, or millionths of a gram. By comparison, dosages of almost all other drugs, both recreational and medical, are measured in milligrams, or thousandths of a gram.

The dosage level that will produce a threshold hallucinogenic effect in humans is generally considered to be 25 micrograms. In the late 1990s, LSD obtained during drug law enforcement operations in the United States has usually ranged between 20 and 80 micrograms per dose. During the 1960s, dosages were commonly 300 micrograms or more. The drug's effects become markedly more evident at higher dosages.

Effects

Physical

Physical reactions to LSD may include: body-temperature increase, dry-mouth, "goose-bumps", heart-rate increase, muscle-tension, nausea, perspiration, pupil-dilation, salivation, mucous production, sleeplessness, tremors.

Psychological

LSD's psychological effects (commonly called a "trip") vary greatly from person to person, from one trip to another, and even as time passes during a single trip. Widely different effects emerge based on what 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.

A single LSD trip can have long lasting or even permanent neutral, negative, and positive psychoemotional effects. If repeated frequently or taken in large doses, it can induce "psychotic" states such as egolessness and catatonia, or even a long term state of schizophrenia called LSD psychosis.

LSD experiences can be indescribably ecstatic as well as hellishly difficult; many difficult experiences (or "bad trips") result from a panicked user feeling that they have been permanently severed from reality and the ego. If the user is in a hostile or otherwise unsettling environment while tripping, or is not mentally prepared for the powerful distortions in perception and thought that the drug causes, effects will be unpleasant. Unless the user alters set and setting, such unpleasant effects can sometimes snowball upon one another and spin out of control into a hellish state of psychosis resembling acute schizophrenia. This psychosis usually desists once the drug's effects have worn off, though occasionally a long-term state of LSD psychosis will result.

Conversely, a pleasant, comfortable environment and a relaxed, balanced and open midset will result in a unique and extremely unusual experience. Many artists and authors have attempted to describe these states, which vary widely among different individuals.

Sensory/Perception

Beginning in the first hour after ingestion, and continuing for the duration of the trip, the user may experience anything from subtle changes or distortions in visual perception and a change in mood to eyes-open audiovisual hallucinations. Visual elements often feature repetitive geometric shapes; conversley, looking at something with repetitive geometric shapes may encourage hallucinations to develop. Synaesthesia is relatively common, especially at higher dosages.

The user may also suffer impaired depth and time perception, with distorted perception of the size and shape of objects, movements, color, sound, touch and the user's own body image. The change in time perception may lead a user to sit or lie in awkward positions for an extended period of time, resulting in muscle cramps and soreness that are often mistakenly attributed to the action of the LSD itself. The user may experience a great variability in ability to focus on ideas and external stimuli, from greatly enhanced to completely impossible.

Spiritual

Some -- though by no means all -- users report intense mystical and/or spiritual experiences while tripping. Some relate direct contact with God. LSD is considered an "entheogen", and can catalyze intense spiritual experiences where users feel they have come into contact with a greater spiritual order. It is common for users to experience permanent or long-lasting changes in their life perspective. Some users consider LSD a religious sacrament, or a powerful tool for access to the divine. Some books have been written comparing a LSD trip to the state of Buddhism's enlightenment.

Such mystical experiences under the influence of LSD have been observed and documented by researchers such as Leary and Stanislav Grof.

Acute Duration

LSD's primary effects normally last at least 8 hours, and the effects of higher doses last for 10 to 12 hours or more. It is typical for a user of LSD to be unable to sleep restfully until at least 12 hours or more have passed, and they do not feel completely "back to normal" until after getting one or two full nights of restful sleep, although they will exhibit no outward signs of impairment after the drug has worn off. There has been statements that LSD crystals lodge in the body's fatty tissues and can cause flashbacks.

Physical Dangers

While LSD is generally considered physically nontoxic, dangers can arise from bad judgments made during the experience. As with many drugs, while under the influence of LSD the ability to make sensible judgments and understand common dangers can be impaired, making the user susceptible to personal injury. If the user attempts to drive a car or operate machinery, their impaired state can lead to accidents and injury.

Flashbacks

There is also a commonly reported risk of "flashbacks", a psychological phenomenon in which an individual experiences an episode of some of the subjective effects of LSD (this may be a positive or negative experience) long after the drug has been consumed and worn off -- sometimes weeks or months afterward. Despite anecdotal claims that flashbacks are common, studies have shown that these experiences are relatively rare.

Debate continues over the nature and causes of flashbacks. Some say flashbacks are a manifestation of post-traumatic stress disorder, not directly related to LSD's mechanism, and varying according to the susceptibility of the individual to the disorder. Several urban legends claim that flashbacks are the result of trace amounts of LSD or related chemicals being dislodged and released into the body after having been crystallized and stored in fat or spinal fluid cells, though there is no scientific research supporting this theory.

There is a clear link between flashback incidences and a history of LSD consumption. Drug studies have not confirmed that LSD can cause flashbacks or lasting psychoses, according to a meta-study at maps.org (see the link at the end of this article).

Addictive Potential

LSD is not addictive in that its users do not exhibit the medical community's commonly accepted definitions of addiction and physical dependence (see the link at the end of this article). LSD users do, however, exhibit tolerance; LSD's effects diminish with frequent, repeated use, especially over short periods of time. This tolerance passes after only a few days' abstention from use.

History

Early History: Its Synthesis

LSD was first synthesised by the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann in the Sandoz (now Novartis) laboratories in 1938. It was developed initially as a circulatory and respiratory stimulant. However, no extraordinary benefits of the compound were identified and its study was discontinued. The hallucinogenic effects were unknown until 1943, when Dr. Hoffman accidentally consumed some LSD.

Interest in the drug was revived in the 1940s when it was thought to be a possible treatment for schizophrenia. Because of LSD's structural relationship to a neurochemical that is present in the brain, and its similarity in effect to certain aspects of psychosis, LSD was used as a research tool in studies of mental illness.

Psychiatric Use

Sandoz Laboratories (a precursor to Novartis), the drug's sole producer, began marketing LSD in 1947 under the trade name "Delysid", and it was introduced into the United States a year later. Sandoz marketed LSD as a psychiatric cure-all and hailed it as a cure for everything from schizophrenia to criminal behavior, sexual perversions and alcoholism. In fact, Sandoz, in its LSD-related literature, suggested that psychiatrists take the drug themselves in order to gain an understanding of the subjective experiences of the schizophrenic.

In psychiatry, the use of LSD by students was an accepted practice; it was viewed as a teaching tool in an attempt to understand schizophrenia. From the late 1940s through the mid-1970s, extensive research and testing were conducted on LSD. During a 15-year period beginning in 1950, research on LSD and other hallucinogens generated over 1000 scientific papers, several dozen books, and 6 international conferences, and LSD was prescribed as treatment to over 40,000 patients. Scientific study of LSD ceased circa 1980 as research funding declined, and governments became wary of permitting such research fearing that the results of the research might encourage illicit LSD use.

The United States Drug Enforcement Agency claims:

Although initial observations on the benefits of LSD were highly optimistic, empirical data developed subsequently proved less promising... Its use in scientific research has been extensive and its use has been widespread. Although the study of LSD and other hallucinogens increased the awareness of how chemicals could affect the mind, its use in psychotherapy largely has been debunked. It 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, drug studies have confirmed that the powerful hallucinogenic effects of this drug can produce profound adverse reactions, such as acute panic reactions, psychotic crises, and "flashbacks", especially in users ill-equipped to deal with such trauma.

Dr. Timothy Leary

A significant number of researchers disagreed with the government's assessment of LSD. Dr. Timothy Leary, a psychology professor at Harvard University, was the most prominent pro-LSD researcher. Leary claimed that using LSD with the right dosage, set (what one brings to the experience), and setting, preferably with the guidance of professionals, could alter behavior in dramatic and beneficial ways.

Dr. Leary began conducting experiments with psilocybin in 1960 on himself and a number of Harvard graduate students after trying hallucinogenic mushrooms used in religious rituals while visiting Mexico. His group began conducting experiments on state prisoners, where they claimed a 90% success rate preventing repeat offenses. A student introduced Leary to LSD, and he then incorporated that drug into his research as his mental catalyst of choice. His experiments produced no murders, suicides, psychotic breaks, or bad trips. On the contrary, almost all of Leary's subjects reported profound mystical experiences which they felt had a tremendous positive effect on their lives.

By 1962, faculty discontent with Leary's experiments reached critical mass. Leary was informed that the CIA was monitoring his research (see Government experiments below). Many of the other faculty members had harbored reservations about Leary's research, and powerful parents began complaining to the university about Leary's distribution of hallucinogenic drugs to their children. Further, many undergraduate students who were not part of Leary's research program heard of the profound experiences other students had undergone, and began taking LSD (which was not illegal at the time) recreationally. Leary and another professor, Richard Alpert, were dismissed from the university in 1963.

Leary and Alpert, unfazed by their dismissals, relocated to a large private mansion in New York known as Millbrook, where they continued their experiments. Leary later wrote, "We saw ourselves as anthropologists from the twenty-first century inhabiting a time module set somewhere in the dark ages of the 1960s. On this space colony we were attempting to create a new paganism and a new dedication to life as art."

A judge who expressed dislike for Dr. Leary's books sentenced him to 30 years in prison for possession of half a marijuana cigarette (which was later reversed by the Supreme Court). Publicity surrounding the case further cemented Leary's growing reputation as a countercultural guru. Around this time, President Richard Nixon described Leary as "the most dangerous man in America." Repeated FBI raids instigated the end of the Millbrook experiment. Leary refocused his efforts towards countering the tremendous amount of anti-LSD propaganda being issued by the United States government at the time, coining the slogan, "Turn on. Tune in. Drop out."

Many experts blame Leary and his antics for the near-total suppression of psychedelic research over the last thirty years.

Government Experiments

LSD was the original centerpiece of the United States Central Intelligence Agency's top secret MK-ULTRA project, an ambitious undertaking conducted from the 1950s through the 1970s designed to explore the possibilities of pharmaceutical mind control. Hundreds of subjects, including CIA agents, government employees, military personnel, prostitutes, members of the general public, and mental patients were given LSD, many without their knowledge or consent. The experiments often involved severe psychological torture, and many victims committed suicide or wound up in psychiatric wards. The researchers eventually concluded that LSD's effects were too varied and uncontrollable to make it of any practical use as a truth drug, and the project moved on to other substances. See MK-ULTRA.

Though no evidence has yet come to light in the West, it is presumed likely that the Soviet government conducted its own experiments on the properties of LSD during the Cold War.

Recreational Use

LSD began to be used recreationally in certain, primarily medical, circles. Some psychiatric and medical professionals, acquainted with LSD in their work, began using it themselves and sharing it with friends and associates. During the early 1960s, this first group of casual LSD users evolved and expanded into a subculture that extolled the mystical and religious symbolism often engendered by the drug's powerful effects, and advocated its use as a method of raising consciousness. The personalities associated with the subculture, gurus such as Dr. Timothy Leary, usually connected to academia, soon attracted a great deal of publicity, generating further interest in LSD.

The popularization of LSD outside of the medical world was hastened when individuals such as Ken Kesey participated in drug trials and liked what they saw. Tom Wolfe wrote a widely read account of these early days of LSD's entrance into the real world in his book The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, which was written as he traveled around the country in a psychedelic bus with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters.

The Beatles wrote a song which many assumed referred to LSD, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," although John Lennon is said to have always dismissed the connection as mere coincidence; the song title is reputedly based on how Lennon's son Julian described the subject of a drawing he made (the Lucy of the song is one Lucy O'Donnell). The Beatles were, however, experimenting with the drug, and the songs "She Said She Said" (the line,'I know what it's like to be dead' is from an LSD trip that the Beatles took with Peter Fonda. Peter kept saying that to John Lennon) and "Got To Get You Into My Life" from the album Revolver were admittedly about LSD trips.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the drug culture adopted LSD as the psychedelic drug of choice, particularly amongst the hippie community. However, LSD dramatically decreased in popularity in the mid-1970s. This decline was due to negative publicity centered on side-effects of LSD use (most misleading or patently false,) its criminalization and the increasing effectiveness of drug law enforcement efforts, rather than new medical information.

As a recreational drug, LSD has remained popular among certain segments of society. Traditionally, it has been popular with high school and college students and other young adults. LSD also has been integral to the lifestyle of many individuals who follow certain rock music bands, most notably the Grateful Dead. Older individuals, introduced to the hallucinogen in the 1960s, also still use LSD.

LSD made a comeback in the 1990s, especially through the acid house scene and raver subculture. However, the current average oral dose consumed by users is 30 to 50 micrograms, a decrease of nearly 90 percent from the 1960 average dose of 250 to 300 micrograms. Lower potency doses probably account for the relatively few LSD-related emergency incidents during the past several years and its present popularity among young people.

Retail-level distribution of LSD often takes place during concerts and all-night raves. Users usually obtain LSD from friends and acquaintances.

Chemistry

LSD commonly is produced from lysergic acid, which is made from ergotamine tartrate, a substance derived from an ergot fungus on rye, or from lysergic acid amide, a chemical found in morning glory seeds. Although theoretically possible, manufacture of LSD from morning glory seeds is not economically feasible and these seeds have never been found to be a successful starting material for LSD production.

File:Lsd-chem.jpg

Only a small amount of ergotamine tartrate is required to produce LSD in large batches. For example, 25 kilograms of ergotamine tartrate can produce 5 or 6 kilograms of pure LSD crystal that, under ideal circumstances, could be processed into 100 million dosage units (50 micrograms), more than enough to meet what is believed to be the entire annual U.S. demand for the drug. LSD manufacturers need only create a small quantity of the substance and, thus, enjoy the advantages of ease of concealment and transport not available to traffickers of other illegal drugs, primarily marijuana and cocaine.

Manufacturing LSD is time consuming and dangerous. Relatively sophisticated and expensive laboratory equipment is required, and it takes from 2 to 3 days to produce 30 to 100 grams of crystal. Some of the reactions necessary may cause significant explosions if not performed properly by a trained organic chemist. It is believed that LSD usually is not produced in large quantities, but rather in a series of small batches. Production of LSD in small batches also minimizes the loss of precursor chemicals should they become contaminated during the synthesis process.

The DEA has indicated that it believes almost all LSD sold in the United States comes from a single unidentified northern California laboratory which has been operated by the same person or group since the 1960s. The product is then easily concealed in small vials and distributed via commercial package delivery services to wholesale-level distributors, who then resell the vials to associates, who in turn apply the liquid to media such as blotter paper, sugar cubes, or geltabs for retail-level sales.

Forms of LSD

LSD is produced in crystalline form and then mixed with excipients or diluted as a liquid for production in ingestible forms. Often, LSD is sold in tablet form (usually small tablets known as microdots), on sugar cubes, in thin squares of gelatin (commonly referred to as window panes), and most commonly, as blotter paper (sheets of paper soaked in or impregnated with LSD, covered with colorful designs or artwork, and perforated into one-quarter inch square, individual dosage units). LSD is sold under more than 80 street names including acid, blotter, cid, doses, and trips, as well as names that reflect the designs on the sheets of blotter paper. On occasion, authorities have encountered the drug in other forms-- including powder or crystal, liquid, and capsule-- and laced on other substances. More than 200 types of LSD tablets have been encountered since 1969 and more than 350 paper designs have been acquired since 1975. Designs range from simple five-point stars in black and white to exotic artwork in full four-color print. Inexpensiveness (prices range from US $2 to $5 per dosage unit or 'hit'; wholesale lots often sell for as little as $1 or less), ready availability, alleged 'mind-expanding' properties, and intriguing paper designs make LSD especially attractive to junior high school and high school students.

Legal Status

The United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances (adopted in 1971) requires its parties to prohibit LSD. Hence, it is illegal in all parties to the convention, which includes the United States and most of Europe. However, enforcement of extant laws varies from country to country.

LSD is easy to conceal and smuggle. A tiny vial can contain thousands of doses, and the drugis not addictive and does not induce users to crave it again after its effects have worn off. Not much money is made from retail-level sales of LSD, so the drug is typically not associated with the violent organized criminal organizations involved in cocaine and opiate smuggling.

Unlike alcohol prohibition, LSD prohibition does not make an exception for religious use, presumably because nontraditional entheogen-centered religions are extremely uncommon and not generally accepted by modern societies. By contrast, the United States government permits some tribes of Southwestern American Indians to cultivate and use hallucinogenic peyote cactus in traditional religous rituals.

LSD was not illegal in the United States until 1967. The US Federal Government classified it as a Schedule I drug according to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. As such, the Drug Enforcement Administration holds that LSD meets the following three criteria: it is deemed to have a high potential for abuse; it has no legitimate medical use in treatment; and there is a lack of accepted safety for its use under medical supervision. Lysergic acid and lysergic acid amide, LSD precursors, are both classified in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. Ergotamine tartrate, a precursor to lysergic acid, is regulated under the Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act.

LSD in the United States

LSD has been manufactured illegally since the 1960s. A limited number of chemists, probably less than a dozen, are believed to be manufacturing nearly all of the LSD available in the United States. Some of these manufacturers probably have been operating since the 1960s.

LSD manufacturers and traffickers can be separated into two groups. The first group, located in northern California, is composed of chemists (commonly referred to as 'cooks') and traffickers who work together in close association; typically, they are major producers capable of distributing LSD nationwide. The second group is made up of independent producers who, operating on a comparatively limited scale, can be found throughout the country. As a group, independent producers are of less concern to the Drug Enforcement Agency than the northern California group-- inasmuch as their production is intended for local consumption only.

Much of the LSD manufactured in clandestine laboratories is believed to be located in Northern California, and initial distribution sources for the drug are typically located in the San Francisco Bay area. LSD is available in at least retail quantities in virtually every state, with supply increasing in some states.

In November of 2003, William Leonard Pickard and Clyde Apperson of California were sentenced to two life sentences and two 30 year sentences, respectively, after being convicted in Federal Court of running a large scale LSD manufacturing operation out of several clandestine laboratories. The government claims that these two men were responsible for the vast majority of LSD sold illegally in the United States, and that black market LSD availability dropped by 95% after the two were arrested in 2000. [1]

External links

Research

Science & Consciousness Review, The Neurochemistry of Psychedelic Experience: http://www.sci-con.org/editorials/20030603.html

References

Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "LSD" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LSD, used under the GNU Free Documentation License

LSD