Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, 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, synesthesia, 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. [3] History LSD was first synthesized on November 16, 1938[85] 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.
[86]The first intentional ingestion of LSD occurred on April 19, 1943,[87] when Hofmann ingested 250 µg of LSD. He said, this would be a threshold dose based on the dosages of other ergot alkaloids. Hofmann found the effects to be much stronger than he anticipated. [88] Sandoz Laboratories introduced LSD as a psychiatric drug in 1947. [89] Albert Hofmann in 2006 Pharmacokinetics LSD’s effects normally last from 6–12 hours depending on dosage, tolerance, body weight and age. [5] The Sandoz prospectus for “Delysid” warned: “intermittent disturbances of affect may occasionally persist for several days.
“[4] Contrary to early reports and common belief, LSD effects do not last longer than the amount of time significant levels of the drug are present in the blood. Aghajanian and Bing (1964) found LSD had an elimination half-life of only 175 minutes. [1] However, using more accurate techniques, Papac and Foltz (1990) reported that 1 µg/kg oral LSD given to a single male volunteer had an apparent plasma half-life of 5. 1 hours, with a peak plasma concentration of 5 ng/mL at 3 hours post-dose. [2] Dosage.
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 of LSD. [7][71] Dosages of LSD are measured in micrograms (µg), or millionths of a gram. By comparison, dosages of most drugs, both recreational and medicinal, are measured in milligrams (mg), or thousandths of a gram. For example, an active dose of mescaline, roughly 0. 2 to 0. 5g, has effects comparable to 100 µg or less of LSD. [4 Neurological, Psychological and Sensory Effects.
LSD can cause pupil dilation, reduced appetite (for some, it increases), 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 and an increase in heart rate, 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.
[11] LSD is not considered addictive by the medical community. [12] Rapid tolerance build-up prevents regular use, and there is cross-tolerance shown between LSD, mescaline[13] and psilocybin. [14] This tolerance diminishes after a few days without use and is probably caused by downregulation of 5-HT2A receptors in the brain[15][16] LSD’s psychological effects (colloquially called a “trip”) 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. Some psychological effects may include an experience of radiant colors, objects and surfaces appearing to ripple or “breathe”, colored patterns behind the closed eyelids (eidetic imagery).
An altered sense of time (time seems to be stretching, repeating itself, changing speed or stopping), crawling geometric patterns overlaying walls and other objects, morphing objects, a sense that one’s thoughts are spiraling into themselves, loss of a sense of identity or the ego (known as “ego death”), and other powerful psycho-physical reactions. [17]
Many users experience dissolution between themselves and the “outside world”. [18] This unitive quality may play a role in the spiritual and religious aspects of LSD.
The drug sometimes leads to disintegration or restructuring of the user’s historical personality and creates a mental state that some users report allows them to have more choice regarding the nature of their own personality. Prevalence of drug use in Canadian Population (Statistical Data) LSD, Amphetamines (Speed) and Heroin: The percentage of Canadians reporting use of one or more of these drugs in 1999 is just over 1%, an increase from 0. 4% in 1989. More males (1. 5%) than females (0. 7%) use these drugs.
The proportion of Canadians who have used these drugs at least once in their lives has risen to 6% in 1994, from 4% in 1989. Mortality due to illicit drug use is relatively infrequent compared with alcohol and tobacco-related mortality, but illicit drug deaths involve younger people. There is a great deal of provincial variation in death rates due to illicit drugs. The greatest number of deaths per capita occur in BC (4. 7 per 100,000 population in 1992); BC remains the highest, with annual overdose rates averaging more than 300 persons (2003).
Alberta (3.1) and Quebec (2. 8) also have rates above the national average till today. References 1. ^ a b c Aghajanian, George K. ; Bing, Oscar H. L. (1964). “Persistence of lysergic acid diethylamide in the plasma of human subjects” (PDF). Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 5: 611–614. PMID 14209776. Retrieved 2009-09-17. 2. ^ a b Papac, DI; Foltz, RL (May/June 1990). “Measurement of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in human plasma by gas chromatography/negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry” (PDF). Journal of Analytical Toxicology 14 (3): 189–190.
PMID 2374410. Retrieved 2009-09-17. 3. ^ Passie T, Halpern JH, Stichtenoth DO, Emrich HM, Hintzen A (2008). “The Pharmacology of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: a Review”. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics 14 (4): 295–314. doi:10. 1111/j. 1755-5949. 2008. 00059. x. PMID 19040555. 4. ^ a b c d Hofmann, Albert. LSD—My Problem Child (McGraw-Hill, 1980). ISBN 0-07-029325-2. 5. ^ a b c d e f Alexander and Ann Shulgin. “LSD”, in TiHKAL (Berkeley: Transform Press, 1997). ISBN 0-9630096-9-9. 6. ^ Shulgin, Alexander; Shulgin, Ann (1991).
“Burt”. PiHKAL (1st ed.). Transform Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-9630096-0-9. 7. ^ a b Greiner T, Burch NR, Edelberg R (1958). “Psychopathology and psychophysiology of minimal LSD-25 dosage; a preliminary dosage-response spectrum”. AMA Arch Neurol Psychiatry 79 (2): 208–10. PMID 13497365. 8. ^ Arthur Stoll and Albert Hofmann LSD Patent April 30, 1943 in Switzerland and Mar. 23, 1948 in the United States. 9. ^ “LSD: cultural revolution and medical advances”. Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 2007-09-27. 10. ^ “The Albert Hofmann Foundation”. Hofmann Foundation.
Retrieved 2007-09-27. 11. ^ Albert Hofmann. “LSD: My Problem Child”. “”taste of metal on the palate”” 12. ^ Luscher C, Ungless MA (November 2006). “The Mechanistic Classification of Addictive Drugs”. PLoS Med. 3 (11): e437. doi:10. 1371/journal. pmed. 0030437. PMC 1635740. PMID 17105338. 13. ^ Wolbach AB Jr, Isbell H, Miner EJ (1962). “Cross tolerance between mescaline and LSD-25, with a comparison of the mescaline and LSD reactions”. Psychopharmacologia 3: 1–14. doi:10. 1007/BF00413101. PMID 14007904. 14. ^ Isbell H, Wolbach AB, Wikler A, Miner EJ (1961).
“Cross Tolerance between LSD and Psilocybin”. Psychopharmacologia 2 (3): 147–59. doi:10. 1007/BF00407974. PMID 13717955. 15. ^ McKenna, DJ; Nazarali, AJ; Himeno, A; Saavedra, JM (1989). “Chronic treatment with (+/-)DOI, a psychotomimetic 5-HT2 agonist, downregulates 5-HT2 receptors in rat brain”. Neuropsychopharmacology2 (1): 81–87. doi:10. 1016/0893-133X(89)90010-9. PMID 2803482. 16. ^ Buckholtz, NS; Zhou, DF; Freedman, DX; Potter, WZ (1990). “Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) administration selectively downregulates serotonin2 receptors in rat brain”.
Neuropsychopharmacology 3 (2): 137–148. PMID 1969270. 17. ^ The Good Drugs Guide. “LSD psychedelic effects”. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 18. ^ a b Linton Harriet B. , Langs Robert J. (1962). “Subjective Reactions to Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD-25)” (PDF). Arch. Gen. Psychiat 6(5): 352–68. doi:10. 1001/archpsyc. 1962. 01710230020003. 19. ^ “LSD dangers”. The Good Drugs Guide. Retrieved 2008-10-20. 20. ^ Katz MM, Waskow IE, Olsson J (1968). “Characterizing the psychological state produced by LSD”. J Abnorm Psychol 73 (1): 1–14. doi:10. 1037/h0020114. PMID 5639999.