Author: Gary Jackson

LSD: Effects and hazards

This overstimulation causes changes in thought, attention, perceptions, and emotions. Additionally, LSD reduces brain activity in several structures, including the right middle temporal gyrus, anterior cingulate cortex, cerebellum, and left superior frontal and postcentral gyrus. A very small amount, equivalent to two grains of salt, is sufficient to produce the drug’s effects.

• The time between taking LSD and testing matters, too, as does the type of drug test being used.
• Under the influence of LSD, the ability to make sensible judgments and see common dangers is impaired, making the user susceptible to personal injury or death.
• But in this form, even the smallest dose can be strong and dangerous.

For reference, a typical tab of acid usually contains 100 to 200 micrograms. Many LSD users experience flashbacks, or a recurrence of the LSD trip, often without warning, long after taking LSD. They depend on the amount taken, the person’s mood and personality, and the surroundings in which the drug is used. It is a roll of the dice—a racing, distorted high or a severe, paranoid1 low.

Read the complete guide to LSD.

LSD produces tolerance, meaning the user needs greater doses of LSD to get the same high. 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. Active doses for LSD between 0.5 and 2 mcg/kg (100–150 mcg per dose).

• However, studies of LSD have been small or poorly controlled, and the research is inconclusive.
• The project was revealed in the US congressional Rockefeller Commission report in 1975.
• In one case, a 14-year-old boy on LSD experienced a bad trip and jumped through a window, cutting his leg.
• Depending on whether you had a good or bad trip, the afterglow can involve feeling energized and happy or anxious and unsettled.

Beginning in the 1950s, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) began a research program code named Project MKUltra. The project was revealed in the US congressional Rockefeller Commission report in 1975. In Australia, an anaesthetic called ketamine – which causes hallucinations – is being trialled to see if it helps people with depression. In 1973, eight people were taken to hospital after snorting several milligrams of a powder they thought was cocaine but was actually LSD. They passed out and were hospitalised with high temperatures, internal bleeding and vomiting; although all recovered within 12 hours. Tripping on a regular basis, and therefore relying on the drug to have a good time, can lead to psychological dependence.