LSD-25

From The Maze Where Realities Converge - the psychedelic encyclopedia of reality from The Ultimate Comment

ricc4tmon

LSD molecular structure

LSD-25, LSD, acid, Lysergic acid diethylamide, trips, L, sugar, Sandoz, Sunshine or Lucy is the archetypical psychedelic. Anyone wanting to know what the psychedelic experience is like need look no further than this drug. The experience is nigh on impossible to describe, and is different for each user. Some idea of 'what it's like' may be gleaned from Erowid's experience vaults.

LSD is an ergoline, derived from the alkaloids of the ergot fungus (claviceps purpurea) which grows on rye. It was first synthesised by Albert Hofmann in 1943. It was the 25th compund he derived from the fungus, hence LSD-25. LSD stands for Lysergic sauer diethylamid, German for lysergic acid diethylamide. It affects serotonin uptake in the brain, acting as either an antagonist or a partial agonist at the 5HT2a and 5HT2c receptors.

It has been commented that LSD is the easiest of all drugs to consume. No more than a single drop of liquid, a square of paper smaller than your little fingernail, or a pill no bigger than an ant's head need be consumed. This is because the dosage is tiny, starting at about 100Î¼g (Î¼g means micrograms, or millionths of a gram.), but ranging up to hundreds of times that, depending on how wasted you want to get. The only reported death from overdose was of a man who injected 320mg, or 3200 times the recommended dose. Others have orally consumed larger doses than this and survived.

1 Health issues
2 Myths
3 Theories
4 See Also
5 Forum Links
6 External links

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Health issues

Because of its importance as a force of change in the 20th century, LSD has been studied more extensively than nearly any other drug. The only physical contraindication all this research has turned up is that it should not be taken by pregnant women, and even this has been called into question by other research.

Mental health risks are a far more realistic concern. LSD (or any psychedelic) may cause a latent psychosis to flourish. This is probably what happened to Syd Barrett. For this reason, people with a family history of schizophrenia or similar disorders are advised not to take acid.

LSD can also cause a 'bad trip', i.e. a profoundly and intensely unpleasant experience, characterised by confusion, paranoia and panic. This is temporary, and like any LSD experience, will wear off within hours, though it may leave the user feeling traumatised.

It is not thought that LSD can induce lasting psychosis in healthy users. However, LSD is commonly linked to Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD), with somewhere between 3 and 70%, according to various sources, experiencing some sort of long terms perceptual problem from usage of the drug, and there are numerous psychological conditions comorbid with HPPD, including depersonalisation disorder.

Because the dosage required is so fucking tiny, one need not be worried about contaminants in illicitly acquired LSD, which is a major concern with other street drugs, especially ecstasy. Only the most potent poisons would cause harm at such doses as can be squeesed onto a blotter.

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Myths

There have been numerous misconceptions, misunderstandings, and downright lies about the dangers of LSD including the following:

LSD crystallises in your spine and remains there for the rest of your life, occasionally causing 'flashbacks'. Some even say that when your hear a crack in your spine from stiffness, this causes the stored LSD to be released. In fact, LSD cannot survive for extended periods of time except when refrigerated; thus there is no way it could stay active in the human body for more than 24 hours. Furthermore, it is water-soluble (as evidenced by the fact that it comes in liquid form), so it could not crystallise in the body.
LSD causes your brain to bleed
LSD causes your spine to move up into your brain
LSD on the street is laced with strychinine

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Theories

It is theorised that "[if] one was to acquire liquid lsd that you'd probably see small hallucinations floating in it... and probably the 8 gods, may be the only place where all of them would be present at the one time. "

Research by our man Oracle has shown that small quantities of LSD (like a quarter of a medium-strength tab) enable you to stay up all night and write deadly college essays.

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