WHAT IS LSD? HOW HAS IT BEEN USED?
- LSD is lysergic acid diethylamide, a psychedelic hallucinogen synthesized by Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman in 1938.
- The CIA tested LSD on human subjects during the 1950s to determine its potential in inducing truth and confessions.
- LSD was studied during the 1950s and 60s in psychotherapy and as a treatment for depression and drug addiction.
- In the early 1960s, Harvard professor Timothy Leary promoted the use of LSD as recreational consumption in America started climbing.
- During the all-time high of LSD use in 1967, the drug was federally banned as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States.
- The typical slang term for taking LSD is “dropping acid”. Today, it can be found in pure liquid drops or absorbed into tiny paper blotters, sugar cubes, or pebble-like microdots.
WHAT ARE SOME FALSE MYTHS ABOUT LSD THAT NEED TO BE CLARIFIED FIRST?
- It does NOT transcend cell nuclei to destroy chromosomes inside.
- You can NOT reactivate your experience by cracking your knuckles because it does NOT remain in your knuckle bones after use.
- It does NOT stay in your spinal fluid forever.
- Doing it a certain amount of times does NOT make you legally insane. Legislative protocols do NOT exist to determine one’s psychological status in relation to number of usages.
- Everyone who takes it does NOT automatically turn psychotic or go on a suicidal rampage.
- A Blue Star tattoo does NOT exist. There is no such thing as a tattoo that induces an LSD experience once placed on a person’s skin.
WHAT’S THE NORMAL DOSAGE AND DURATION?
- LSD is the most potent psychedelic known to man. The average dosage is only 100 to 300 micrograms (ug). Mass self-administrations (thousands of ug) by human users have caused hyperthermia, coma, respiratory suppression, and permanent psychological and mental problems.
- The effects of LSD gradually come on 30 to 60 minutes after consumption. The whole experience usually lasts 6 to 12 hours long and is called “tripping” or “frying." Minor aftereffects may persist well into the next day.
WHAT IS AN LSD TRIP LIKE?
.jpg)
- Colors and inanimate objects are more vivid, sharper, brighter, and appear three-dimensional. Designs, geometric patterns, and surfaces look like they’re melting, growing, crawling around slowly, or breathing. Moving things can leave transparent trails. Shapes of smoke or indistinct sounds may come up out of nowhere.
- Visuals and sounds basically become surreal. Sometimes, users describe their surroundings as “coming alive” like a transcendence into a cartoon or another dimension.
- Synaesthesia is also common where senses are mixed and directly influence each other. The presence of a sound can arouse a visual change. Seeing a new color may produce a smell. Licking something can form an itch or touchy feeling. These effects are usually described as “seeing music”, “smelling colors”, “feeling a taste”, etc.
- Many users report an odd force of energy that gives them a sense of telepathic or psychic connection to other people, themselves, and even nonliving surroundings.
- Some side effects can include sleeplessness, reduced appetite, physical numbness, and hilarity.
- The unique mind-altering effects of LSD, as with all psychedelics, can produce completely different experiences for different users, depending on a person’s expectations, personality, tolerance, and perception. A trip can drift like a relaxing and mystical dream. Many users have had life-changing revelations and personal discoveries under the influence of LSD. Others, however, find the experience to be a frightening nightmare and have had severe emotional and psychological problems as a result of use.
WHAT ARE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL RISKS?
.jpg)
- Typical negative reactions against LSD include paranoia, confusion, delusions, anxiety, and panic attacks. Furthermore, any drug, especially a hallucinogen, can trigger underlying emotional problems or exacerbate mental conditions. Anyone with a family history of poor psychological health, especially schizophrenic-type disorders, should be especially cautious about taking hallucinogens.
- A “flashback” is a condition in which a person returns to the state of being under the influence of LSD without actually taking it. This can occur at any time even years after last usage. Theories have bounced around about the cause of this condition, from leftover LSD in the user’s body to simply psychological reactions to past significant memories. While LSD flashbacks can resemble delusional panic attacks by trauma victims such as war veterans, the condition is not always bad. Of the approximate 30% of users or former users who have flashbacks, more than half of them enjoy the re-experience. A possible danger or discomfort, however, is if they occur at unexpected times and settings, such as while making an important public speech or operating a vehicle.
- In rare instances of mass overdosing or mental and psychological triggers, users have suffered a long-lasting and often times permanent condition called Post Hallucinogenic Perceptual Disorder (PHPD).
WHAT ABOUT OTHER RISKS?
.jpg)
- Because LSD alters the senses and can have a huge impact on one’s perception of reality, users can inadvertently place themselves in dangerous situations while under the influence. The depiction of LSD users going psychotic, assuming superhero-like powers, jumping off of building rooftops, or running head on into moving vehicles is not an entirely false exaggeration. It is always safer to take LSD under the supervision of coherent peers in a setting with minimal opportunity to do physical harm to oneself and others.
- LSD also alters judgment and perception of time and space. Activities such as driving, machinery operation, or stunt performances are extremely risky while under the influence.
- As with all illicit substances, the synthesis and distribution of LSD is not inspected or regulated by the FDA or government. Thus, liquid drops, paper blotters, sugar cubes, or microdots being sold as acid may not necessarily contain pure LSD. It is impossible to tell how much (if any) they may contain and what adulterants or contaminants may be in there.
- Because LSD can last for up to 12 hours, with aftereffects even longer, it is safer and more appropriate for users not to take it within a day of needing to perform tasks that require sobriety or coherency.
- LSD is illegal in the United States. Possession, sales, and even distribution without the exchange of money is punishable by law with long prison sentences.
Download PDF file of Bad Trips pamphlet.
WHAT IS A BAD TRIP?
- A bad trip can be broadly defined as simply a scary or uncomfortable drug experience.
- The term is typically used to describe psychedelic and hallucinogenic trips, such as with LSD or psilocybin mushrooms. But bad experiences with other drugs such as MDMA can produce the same symptoms.
- Bad trips can last for hours if proper treatment and company isn’t provided. It also depends on the strength and duration of the drug taken. For example, average dosages of MDMA and psilocybin last about 5 hours. LSD, on the other hand, is one of the most potent psychedelics and can last for more than 12 hours.
WHAT CAUSES A BAD TRIP?
Certain people are more susceptible to bad trips than others. But one or more of the following factors can always contribute to the cause:- Individual’s lack of experience with hallucinogens, psychedelics, or mind-altering substances in general, or the effects just weren’t what the user expected them to be.
- The surrounding people and settings are not right, perhaps because user did not prepare or properly plan for the experience.
- Psychological problems or disorders being exacerbated. Current, ongoing, or returning emotional issues may also be surfacing. Family history of poor mental health also possible.
WHAT DO PEOPLE EXPERIENCE DURING A BAD TRIP?
- Fear, dazed confusion, loneliness, dissociation, delusions, isolation, anxiety, and (in worst-case scenarios) panic attacks & uncontrollable paranoia.
- Loss of touch with reality, where basic perception of oneself & surroundings are distorted.
- The characteristics of a bad trip can resemble symptoms of schizophrenia.
WHAT CAN SUCH AN EXPERIENCE DO TO A PERSON?
- In a rare worst-case scenario, the user may be afflicted with long-term or permanent psychological problems, including Post Hallucinogenic Perceptual Disorder (PHPD).
- Flashbacks are conditions where users return to the state of being on LSD without actually consuming it. The condition is rare, random, can occur years after abstention, and the cause is not known. Some users or former users enjoy flashbacks, but for those who don’t, it may be because their original experiences were bad trips.
- Because positive experiences with MDMA and psychedelics can produce life-changing revelations and personal discoveries for some people, users who have been treated out of a bad trip have long-lasting memories and appreciation for the people and surroundings that alleviated their fear and discomfort.
HOW CAN I PREVENT MYSELF FROM HAVING A BAD TRIP?
- Know what you’re taking before taking it. Doing basic research on the drug can help you prepare for a safe and comfortable experience.
- Take it in a good place and be with close people who are experienced or will at least be coherent enough to help you if need be.
- Prepare and carry with you a good trip packet full of pictures of loved ones, favorite souvenirs, nostalgic memorabilia, or anything that reminds you of positive things and puts you in a comfortable mind state.
- Avoid taking the drug if your family has a history of poor mental health, you have any psychological problems or disorders yourself, or if you’re going through an emotionally traumatic period in your life.
HOW CAN I HELP SOMEONE WHO’S HAVING A BAD TRIP?
- Check to see if the user needs any physical attention first, such as water, clothing, or a place to vomit. If he or she is comfortable with it, you may want to hold the person’s hand or rub his/her shoulders. With bad psychedelic trips, soft bodily contact (as long as it’s consensual and not invasive) can calm a user down and bring the user back to a physical reality.
- Bring the person into a moderate setting where sights, sounds, and other sensations are neither lacking nor too stimulating. For example, if you are at a party or concert, take the person away from loud music, noisy crowds, packed dance floors, and colorfully-lit stages. At the same time, keep them away from completely dark areas with no noise or people present. Stimulating sensations can produce panic or confusion while desolate settings can induce loneliness or isolation. To reduce the fear that either types of places can cause, bring the person to a lounge, hallway, outdoor area, or regular room with normal lighting and temperature, a gentle noise level, and a loose crowd of people around.
- If you do not already know the user personally, try to locate his/her friend. And in the meantime, start up a friendly conversation and initiate a warm chat. Unlike alcohol, sedatives, or stimulants, negative reactions to hallucinogens are almost always mental or emotional, not physical. Therefore, most of what is required to treat a bad trip is simply good social skills. Be sure to say the person’s name repeatedly when talking to the individual. Consistently hearing one’s own name aids in the recall of self-identification, which brings about a closer connection to reality. Most of your conversation should be about whatever the person likes to talk about, including family, friends, hobbies of enjoyment, or life goals. Discuss whatever necessary to get the user thinking about positive things. You may want to find one thing the two of you have in common and chat about it. Maintain a friendly and optimistic tone throughout the talk. Imagine yourself trying to comfort a toddler who’s crying or pouting about something. The same things you’d avoid saying to a sad toddler should also be avoided when comforting someone on a bad trip. The goal is to keep the individual in a positive mood.
- Tell the person that the discomfort and fear is a reaction to the effects of the drug and nothing more. Remind him/her that the experience is not real, that it will go away in a few hours, and that many users have gone through the same thing and survived. Outside of this context, try not to dwell on the drug too much. Again, most of the conversation should be about topics that would make the user calm or happy.
- If the person gets hysterical, violent, or in any way out of your control, seek the closest professional aid and call 911.
© Spring 2003
Feel free to email me at lesliu@gmail.com for questions or feedback. WEB HOSTING GENEROUSLY PROVIDED BY EDDIE CODEL