What is LSD?
Lysergic acid diethylamide (more commonly know as LSD or “acid”) is one of the most popular and commonly known members of the drug class known as hallucinogens. First synthesized in 1938 by Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman, LSD was once employed as a therapeutic agent – and was investigated by military and intelligence services for use in interrogation and mind control.
However, since 1966, use of the drug has been outlawed in the United States – and 1971’s United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances required participating nations to outlaw the drug. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, LSD is considered a Schedule I drug in the United States, meaning that it has been determined to have “a high potential for abuse and … no legitimate medical purpose.”
A virtually odorless and colorless substance, it is often sold on the street on absorbent “blotter paper” or in tablet/capsule form. LSD reached its height of popularity during the 1960s and early 1970s, when (according to the DEA) common dosages ranged between 100 and 200 micrograms. Today, the DEA reports that the average illicit dose contains from 20 to 80 micrograms.
According to information provided on the website of the U.S. Department of Justice, LSD is primarily used by teenagers and young adults:
Approximately 1.9% of eighth graders, 2.5% of tenth graders, and 3.5% of twelfth graders surveyed as part of the 2005 Monitoring the Future study reported lifetime use of LSD. Approximately 44% of eighth graders, 60.8% of tenth graders, and 69.9% of twelfth graders surveyed in 2005 reported that taking LSD regularly was a "great risk." Additional survey results indicate that 5.6% of college students and 13.4% of young adults reported lifetime use of LSD.
Effects of LSD
Among recreational users, LSD is popular for its psychedelic effects, such as altered states of consciousness including auditory and visual hallucinations that can last as long as 12 hours.
LSD users typically begin to feel the first effects of the drug within about an hour of taking it. Physical symptoms of LSD use include increases in heart rate and blood pressure, tremors, heightened body temperature, and dilated pupils.
The most dramatic impact of LSD is its influence on a user’s cognitive abilities. The drug may cause dramatic emotions, rapid mood swings, and feelings ranging from euphoria to terror. A person’s sense of time and perception can be significantly altered, and the drug’s effects can last as long as half a day or more.
Health Hazards
The two most direct risks related to LSD use are accidents (which can result from a user’s impaired perception) and “flashbacks” – sudden onsets of LSD-like impairment that can occur months or even years after the person had taken the drug. LSD-impaired individuals have been involved in fatal accidents, which may have been fueled in part by the terror or despair that can be associated with a “bad trip.”
Extended exposure to LSD has been linked to the development of psychosis, dissociative disorder, and depression – though researchers have been unable to determine a direct cause-effect relationship between the drug and these psychological conditions.
Though experts are concerned about LSD’s potential for abuse, the drug is not considered to have addictive properties, and many users voluntarily cease their use of the drug. However, long-term users do develop tolerance to the drug, which means that they may have to use increasingly large amounts of LSD in order to achieve the same “high” that the experienced during their initial exposures to the substance.
Treatment
Depending upon the specific nature and severity of their behavior, individuals who are using or abusing LSD may benefit from a variety of therapeutic techniques, including out-patient counseling, hospitalization, or a stay at a residential treatment facililty.
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