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LSD Side
Effects
Hallucinogens
aka: Cartoons, tripping, spacing, |
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LSD
(lysergic acid diethylamide) is one of the major drugs making up the hallucinogen class.
LSD was discovered in 1938 and is one of the most potent mood-changing chemicals. It is
manufactured from lysergic acid, which is found in ergot, a fungus that grows on rye and
other grains.
| LSD,
commonly referred to as "acid," is sold on the street in tablets, capsules, and,
occasionally, liquid form. |
| It is odorless,
colorless, and has a slightly bitter taste and is usually taken by mouth. |
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| Often LSD is added to
absorbent paper, such as blotter paper, and divided into small decorated squares, with
each square representing one dose. |
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The Drug Enforcement Administration
reports that the strength of LSD samples obtained currently from illicit sources ranges
from 20 to 80 micrograms of LSD per dose. This is considerably less than the levels
reported during the 1960s and early 1970s, when the dosage ranged from 100 to 200
micrograms, or higher, per unit.
Health Hazards
The effects of LSD are unpredictable.
They depend on the amount taken; the user's personality, mood, and expectations; and the
surroundings in which the drug is used. Usually, the user feels the first effects of the
drug 30 to 90 minutes after taking it. The physical effects include dilated pupils, higher
body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, loss of appetite,
sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors.
Sensations and feelings change much
more dramatically than the physical signs. The user may feel several different emotions at
once or swing rapidly from one emotion to another. If taken in a large enough dose, the
drug produces delusions and visual hallucinations. The user's sense of time and self
changes. Sensations may seem to "cross over," giving the user the feeling of
hearing colors and seeing sounds. These changes can be frightening and can cause panic.
Users refer to their experience with
LSD as a "trip" and to acute adverse reactions as a "bad trip." These
experiences are long - typically they begin to clear after about 12 hours.
Some LSD users experience severe,
terrifying thoughts and feelings, fear of losing control, fear of insanity and death, and
despair while using LSD. Some fatal accidents have occurred during states of LSD
intoxication.
Many LSD users experience flashbacks,
recurrence of certain aspects of a person's experience, without the user having taken the
drug again. A flashback occurs suddenly, often without warning, and may occur within a few
days or more than a year after LSD use. Flashbacks usually occur in people who use
hallucinogens chronically or have an underlying personality problem; however, otherwise
healthy people who use LSD occasionally may also have flashbacks. Bad trips and flashbacks
are only part of the risks of LSD use. LSD users may manifest relatively long-lasting
psychoses, such as schizophrenia or severe depression. It is difficult to determine the
extent and mechanism of the LSD involvement in these illnesses.
Most users of LSD voluntarily
decrease or stop its use over time. LSD is not considered an addictive drug since it does
not produce compulsive drug-seeking behavior as do cocaine, amphetamine, heroin, alcohol,
and nicotine. However, like many of the addictive drugs, LSD produces tolerance, so some
users who take the drug repeatedly must take progressively higher doses to achieve the
state of intoxication that they had previously achieved. This is an extremely dangerous
practice, given the unpredictability of the drug. NIDA is funding studies that focus on
the neurochemical and behavioral properties of LSD. This research will provide a greater
understanding of the mechanisms of action of the drug.
Psilocybin &
Psilocyn and other Tryptamines
| A number
of Schedule I hallucinogenic substances are classified chemically as tryptamines. Most of
these are found in nature but many, if not all, can be produced synthetically. |
| Psilocybin
(O-phosphoryl-4-hydroxy-N, N-ethyltryptamine) and psilocyn (4-hydroxy-N,
N-dimethyltryptamine) are obtained from certain mushrooms indigenous to tropical and
subtropical regions of South America, Mexico, and the United States. |
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| As pure
chemicals at doses of 10 to 20 mg, these hallucinogens produce muscle relaxation, dilation
of pupils, vivid visual and auditory distortions, and emotional disturbances. |
However, the effects
produced by consuming preparations of dried or brewed mushrooms are far less predictable
and largely depend on the particular mushrooms used and the age and preservation of the
extract. There are many species of "magic" mushrooms that contain varying
amounts of these tryptamines, as well as uncertain amounts of other chemicals. As a
consequence, the hallucinogenic activity, as well as the extent of toxicity produced by
various plant samples, are often unknown.
Dimethyltryptamin (DMT) has a long
history of use and is found in a variety of plants and seeds. It can also be produced
synthetically. It is ineffective when taken orally, unless combined with another drug that
inhibits its metabolism. Generally it is sniffed, smoked, or injected. The effective
hallucinogenic dose in humans is about 50 to 100 mg and lasts for about 45 to 60 minutes.
Because the effects last only about an hour; the experience has been referred to as a
"businessmans trip."
A number of other hallucinogens
have very similar structures and properties to those of DMT. Diethyltryptamine (DET), for
example, is an analogue of DMT and produces the same pharmacological effects but is
somewhat less potent than DMT. Alpha-ethyltryptamine (AET) is another tryptamine
hallucinogen added to the list of Schedule I hallucinogens in 1994. Bufotenine
(5-hydroxy-N-N-dimethyltryptamine) is a Schedule I substance found in certain mushrooms,
seeds, and skin glands of Bufo toads. In general, most bufotenine preparations from
natural sources are extremely toxic. N,N-Diisopropyl-5-methoxytryptamine (referred to as
Foxy-Methoxy) is an orally active tryptamine recently encountered in the United States.
Peyote & Mescaline
| Peyote is
a small, spineless cactus, Lophophora williamsii, whose principal active ingredient is the
hallucinogen mescaline |
| (3, 4,
5-trimethoxyphenethylamine). From earliest recorded time, peyote has been used by natives
in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States as a part of their religious rites. |
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The top of the
cactus above ground--also referred to as the crown--consists of disc-shaped buttons that
are cut from the roots and dried. These buttons are generally chewed or soaked in water to
produce an intoxicating liquid. The hallucinogenic dose of mescaline is about 0.3 to 0.5
grams and lasts about 12 hours.
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While peyote produced
rich visual hallucinations that were important to the native peyote cults, the full
spectrum of effects served as a chemically induced model of mental illness. |
| Mescaline
can be extracted from peyote or produced synthetically. Both peyote and mescaline are
listed in the CSA as Schedule I hallucinogens. |
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