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LSD
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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, less, and has a slightly
bitter taste and is usually taken by mouth. Often LSD is added to absorbent
paper, such as blotter paper, and divided into small decorated squares, with
each square representing one dose.
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
s 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.
Extent of Use
Monitoring the Future Study (MTF)*
Since 1975, MTF researchers have annually surveyed almost 17,000 high school
seniors nationwide to determine trends in drug use and to measure attitudes
and beliefs about drug abuse. Over the past 2 years, the percentage of seniors
who have used LSD has remained relatively stable. Between 1975 and 1997, the
lowest lifetime use of LSD was reported by the class of 1986, when 7.2 percent
of seniors reported using LSD at least once in their lives. In 1997, 13.6
percent of seniors had experimented with LSD at least once in their lifetimes.
The percentage of seniors reporting use of LSD in the past year nearly doubled
from a low of 4.4 percent in 1985 to 8.4 percent in 1997.
In 1997, 34.7 percent of seniors perceived great risk in using LSD once or
twice, and 76.6 percent said they saw great risk in using LSD regularly. More
than 80 percent of seniors disapproved of people trying LSD once or twice,
and almost 93 percent disapproved of people taking LSD regularly.
Almost 51 percent of seniors said it would have been fairly easy or very
easy for them to get LSD if they had wanted it.
LSD Use by Students, 1997:
Monitoring the Future Study
| |
8th Graders |
10th Graders |
12th Graders |
| Ever Used |
4.7% |
9.5% |
13.6% |
| Used in Past Year |
3.2 |
6.7 |
8.4 |
| Used in Past Month |
1.5 |
2.8 |
3.1 |
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA)**
NHSDA reports the nature and extent of drug use among the American
household popula tion aged 12 and older. In the 1996 NHSDA estimates, the
percentage of the population aged 12 and older who had ever used LSD (the
lifetime prevalence rate) had increased to 7.7 percent from 6.0 percent in
1988. Among youths 12 to 17 years old, the 1996 LSD lifetime prevalence rate
was 4.3 percent, and for those aged 18 to 25, the rate was 13.9 percent. The
rate for past-year use of LSD among the population ages 12 and older was 1
percent in 1996. Past-year prevalence was highest among the age groups 12
to 17 (2.8 percent) and 18 to 25 (4.6 percent). The rate of current LSD use
in 1996 for those aged 18 to 25 was 0.9 percent, and it was 0.8 percent for
12- to 17-year-old youths.
*MTF is an annual survey on drug use and related attitudes of America's
adolescents that began in 1975. The survey is conducted by the University
of Michigan's Institute for Social Research and is funded by NIDA. Copies
of the latest survey are available from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol
and Drug Information at 1-800-729-6686.
**NHSDA is an annual survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration. Copies of the latest survey are available
from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-729-6686.
 |
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
· National Institutes of Health. Send comments and questions to NIDA
Infofax, P.O. Box 30652, Bethesda, MD. 20824-0652. This material may
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This page last updated Friday, November 5, 1999.
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