LSD Essays (1549 words) - Designer Drugs, Lysergamides, Entheogens

LSD annon Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) LSD), a potent hallucinogenic drug, also called a psychedelic, first synthesized from lysergic acid in Switzerland in l038. Lysergic acid is a white odorless drug, a component of the mold of ERGOT. Ergot is a product of the fungus Claviceps purpurea. Th e bio-active ingredients of ergot are all derivatives of lysergic acid. LSD is a semi-synthetic derivative of lysergic acid. Thus LSD is an ergot - like substance. The drug evokes dreamlike changes in mood and thought and alters the perception of time and space. It can also create a feeling of lack of self-control and extreme terror. Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) also goes by names like: acid, sugar, Blotter, Sugar Cubes, Blue Unicorn, Acid, Cid, Sid, Bart Simpsons, Barrels, Tabs, Blotter, Heaven ly blue, L, liquid liquid, Microdots, Mind detergent, Orange cubes, Orange micro, Owsley, Wedding Bells, windowpane, etc. LSD is very potent: the effective dose is measured in micrograms (ug) -- however, the lethal dose is literally thousands of times that, making the drug essentially non-toxic. LSD is non-addictive, and there have been only a few cases of possible overdose where people ingested extremely large amounts of the drug (Alan et al., 1978; Griggs et al,. 1977). LSD can be administered a number of ways, the most common : orally though paper, sugar cubes, on a piece of gelatin, or by pill ; intravenously or intramu scularly. A standard dose with noticeable hallucinogenic effects is about 100-200 ug. The intensity of the trip is proportional to the size of the dose-- it is interesting to note, though, that the duration of the trip seems to stay the same at higher dos es (Freedman, 1984). Physical effects include drowsiness, dizziness, dilated pupils, numbness and tingling, weakness, tremors, and nausea. Transient abnormal thinking induced by LSD, such as a sense of omnipotence or a state of acute paranoia, can result in dangerous behavior. Long-term adverse reactions such as persistent psychosis, prolonged depression, or faulty judgment have also been reported following LSD ingestion but whether these are a direct result of ingestion is difficult to establish. Althoug h LSD is not physiologically addicting, the drugs potent mind-altering effects can lead to chronic use. In the 1960s LSD use was widespread among people who sought to alter and intensify their physical senses; to achieve supposed insights into the unive rse, nature, and themselves; and to intensify emotional connections with others. The drug has been tried as a treatment for infantile autism, for alcoholism, and to accelerate psychotherapy, but no medical use has been established. Non-medical use is ille gal in the U.S. 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 different phases. THE ONSET- Thirty minutes to an hour after being taken, colors 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 now visible with eyes open. Fantastic visions appear from nowhere-from shapes in smoke, to lines on the palms of the hand. THE PEAK- Time is slowed to a standstill. Trippers may feel they are in a different world. For some this may be profound and mystical, for others it can be very frightening. The sense of reality is altered-people may feel feelings of flight, or feel they can breathe underwater like a fish. THE COMEDOWN- Five or six hours after taking the drug the sensations begin to subside. After eight hours the trip is usually over, however some residual effects may remain until sleep. The psychedelic effects of d-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-25 (LSD) were discovered by Dr Albert Hoffman by accident in 1938 when a small amount of the drug soaked through his fingers during a routine synthesis. He experienced an imaginative dream-like stat e for a duration of 2-3 hours (Hoffman,1983). Since then a great deal of work has been done attempting to document the health effects of LSD. In the 1950s and 1960s, LSD was used by psychiatrists for analytic psychotherapy (controversial analysis). It w as thought that the administration of LSD could aid the patient in releasing repressed material. It was also suggested that psychiatrists themselves might develop more insight into the pathology (the study of essential nature of disease) of a diseased min d through self experimentation. During the late sixties LSD became popular as a recreational drug. While it has been suggested that recreational use of the drug has dropped, a recent report on CNN claiming that 4.4 percent of 8th graders have tried