LSD

What exactly is LSD? Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known as entactogen, is a very strong psychoactive medication that is classified as a Schedule I drug by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and is used as a mind-altering substance among many partygoers. This psychedelic club drug is in the same class of other popular club drugs such as gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB); 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) also commonly known as Ecstasy; and ketamine. This substance is often abused, leading to the need for LSD addiction treatment.

LSD – Then And Now

LSD was first synthesized in 1938, by the Swiss biochemist Albert Hofmann, but the hallucinogenic properties of LSD were not discovered until 1943, when Hofmann accidentally ingested the substance and had hallucinations.

In the 1950s and 1960s, LSD was used as an experimental treatment for depression, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sexual dysfunction and autism. In the 1960s, LSD was a part of a psychedelic revolution and, as a result, the drug was banned by federal law in 1966 for any recreational or medical treatment purpose. LSD is synthesized from a naturally occurring substance known as d-lysergic acid amide, which is commonly found in grains such as rye and in seeds of morning glories and Hawaiian baby woodrose.

LSD usually comes in various pill forms. The minimum effective dose to produce an acute hallucinating state is approximately 25 micrograms. LSD is odorless, colorless and slightly bitter tasting when taken by mouth. The drug is primarily responsible for producing pseudohallucinations and hallucinations without altering memory and orientation. Pseudohallucinations are illusions derived from actual true experiences, which include synesthesias. Synesthesia is a crossover of senses such as feeling colors or sounds evoked by a visual image. The most common hallucination is a visual hallucination.

With approximately $15 for each dose, hallucinating on LSD is reasonably affordable. LSD is not considered addictive and, therefore, recovering from LSD and LSD addiction treatment can be easier to tackle in comparison to recovery from other substances.

Effects of LSD

Acute effects from LSD ingestion include the following:

• Feeling of inner tension, often relieved by laughing or crying
• Multiple, simultaneous emotions, such as joy, rage, terror or panic
• Religiosity and a feeling of “oneness with the universe”
• Possible distorted perception of the passage of time
• Possible magnification or distortion of sounds
• Illusions
• Hallucinations
• Moving patterns of bright colors on people and objects
• Halos around objects
• Synesthesia
• Difficulties expressing thoughts
• Depersonalization
• Panic reaction
• Suicidal ideations
• Self-aggression
• Sweating
• Drowsiness
• Hypertension
• Tachycardia (rapid heartbeat
• Papillary dilatation
• Tremors

Massive overdoses of LSD can result in respiratory arrest, hyperthermia, autonomic instability, and bleeding disorders. LSD is also known to cause serotonin syndrome when taken with agents containing serotonin, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Serotonin syndrome can result in high body temperature, hypertension, agitation, increased reflexes and tremors.

Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) describes spontaneous, repeated or continuous recurrences of sensory distortions or hallucinations long after initial use with LSD. These symptoms can occur weeks, months or even years after use, even when brain scans show normal brain structures. Therefore, the effects of LSD can be long lasting.