LSD
“Taking LSD was a profound experience,
one of the most important things in my life. LSD shows you that there’s another side to the coin, and you can’t remember it when it wears off, but you know it. It reinforced my What is LSD? sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putLysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, is a hallucinting things back into the stream of history ogen which is a drug that causes hallucinations. It is and of human consciousness as much as I manufactured from lysergic acid that can be found in a could.” fungus called ergot, rye, and other grains. It was discovered in 1938. LSD can be taken as small tablets (microdots), capsules or gelatin squares (known as window panes), liquid form, or an absorbent paper with cartoon characters on the squares (known as blotters or loony tunes). Thirty to ninety minutes after taking the drug, the effects will kick in. The user can hear sounds, images, and feel sensations that feel like reality but are just a hallusion. Commonly, the pupils will dilate, body temperature will change, and heart rate will change. The effects will then last up to 12 hours. In 2013, there was a National Drug Strategy Household Survey that found that 9.4% of Australians ages 14 and above had ever tried hallucinogens, while 1.3% has used hallucinogens in the year before the survey. Also an estimated 20.2 million U.S. residents aged 12 and older used LSD at least once in their
liftime. Also, 742,000 people 12 to 17 years old and 4.5 18 to 25 years old used it at least once. But what is the great appeal of this drug?
-Steve Jobs
Pros of LSD The actual LSD experience, or trip, can vary by the amount of drug taken, the user’s personality, mood, and surroundings. The effects can be described as drug-induced psychosis, which is a distortion of a person’s capacity to recognize reality, think rationally, or communicate with others. Some trips, a sense of heightened understanding can be produced. Also enjoyable, mentally stimulating, and peaceful sensations can be felt. Some famous people have claimed their creativity has been inspired by LSD. These people include Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc., Kary Banks Mullis, the winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Douglas Engelbart, the inventor of the computer mouse and the copy and paste method, and other well known people.
“It [LSD] was certainly much more important than any courses I ever took.” -Kary Banks Mullis
Cons of LSD However, since there are plus sides to LSD, but there are an equal amount of down sides, if not more. The unpleasant experiences are called “bad trips.” These trips cause terrifying thoughts, anxiety, despair, and heightened fears of losing control, insanity, or death. Also, loss of appetite, sleepiness, dry mouth, tremors, and sweating or chills will be experienced. With the experience of bad trips already being a problem, there is the question about how addictive it is. It is not considered a highly addictive drug because it does not produce physical addiction. However, it does typically cause psychological dependence. Some individuals will make a habit of using the drugs whenever in a social situation. This may require the user to stop associating with friends who use LSD to break the habit of using it during social situations. This makes quitting difficult. Also, the user can become depressed or unhappy after quitting.
What is the history of LSD? In 1938, LSD was discovered by Albert Hofmann. He was a chemist working for Sandoz Pharmaceutical that was trying to find a blood stimulant. However the effects of an oral dosage was unknown for 5 more years. On April 19, 1943, Hofmann accidentally consumed 25 micrograms of LSD, which is the weight of a few grains of salt. Less than an hour after that small dosage, his perception changed intensly and suddenly changed. His laboratory assistant escorted him home on a bicycle. On the way home his condition rapidly changed again and he began thinking that he had gone insane and the LSD was poisoning him. When he got home his fear and anxiety slowly went away. He later wrote: "... little by little I could begin to enjoy the unprecedented colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind my closed eyes. Kaleidoscopic, fantastic images surged in on me, alternating, variegated, opening and then closing themselves in circles and spirals, exploding in colored fountains, rearranging and hybridizing themselves in constant flux ..." The experiences felt that day were those of the first LSD trip. That day is now known as “Bicycle Day.� There are even blots celebrating Bicycle Day. LSD became more popular in the 1960s. People saw it as a way to escape their problems with society. However, the use of the drug was banned in the US in 1967. The popularity of it declined in Work Cited: "Dapanji - LSD 25." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015. "History of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Dec. 2014. Web. 06 Nov. 2015. "How Do Hallucinogens (LSD, Psilocybin, Peyote, DMT, and Ayahuasca) Affect the Brain and Body?" How Do Hallucinog ens (LSD, Psilocybin, Peyote, DMT, and Ayahuasca) Affect the Brain and Body? N.p., Feb. 2015. Web. 06 Nov. 2 015. "LSD." Drugs Info. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2015. "LSD Dependence- Signs of LSD Use vs. Abuse, Tolerance." Dependency. N.p., 2015. Web. 6 Nov. 2015.
White, Shelly M. "8 Famous People Whose Creativity & Innovation Was Inspired By LSD." CollectiveEvolution RSS. Coll ective Evolution, 11 Jan. 2015. Web. 04 Nov. 2015.