LSD----AcidLSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)
LSD is one of the major drugs making up the hallucinogen
class. LSD was discovered in 1938 by
Dr. Albert Hofmann 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 is
classified under Schedule I of the Controlled
Substances Act, which includes drugs with no medical
use and/or high
potential for abuse.
Effects of LSD
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.
Users refer to their experience with LSD as a "trip" and to
acute adverse reactions as a "bad trip."
These experiences are long
and typically they begin to clear after about 12 hours.
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. (LSD may not be an addictive drug, but it is EXTREMELY dangerous. Stay very far and clear from this drug!) However, in common with 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.
LSD
Rates of lifetime, annual, and current use
of LSD among 8th-, 10th- and 12th-graders have
gradually
increased each year since 1992. In 1996, 12.6 percent of
seniors had
used LSD at
least once in their lifetimes, and their
annual use
of LSD was 8.8 percent, surpassing the
corresponding levels
of
use during the peak years of the mid-1970s.
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