What It Is

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) is a synthetic substance discovered by Dr. Albert Hofmann in 1938. It is manufacturered from lysergic acid.

Street Names

LSD Acid, Trips, Blotters, Microdots, Tabs, Doses, Hits, Sugar Cubes

How It Is Taken

Taken orally, licked off of blotter paper. The minute amounts sufficient for a ‘trip’ are usually absorbed onto a small paper square, but are also less commonly available in gelatine sheets, sugar cubes or formed into tablets or capsules. The strength of all these preparations is uncertain and so the effects can be unpredictable

What It Does

Experiences are hard to describe, because they vary, but also because they can differ from the normal way of perceiving things. Effects depend very much on the user’s mood, where they are, who they are with as well as the dose taken. They often include intensified colours and distortion of vision and hearing, although true hallucinations, believing something is there when it’s not, are rare, although they become more common on higher doses. Emotional reactions may include heightened self-awareness and mystical or ecstatic experiences. A feeling of being outside one’s body is commonly reported. Physical effects are generally insignificant.

Unpleasant reactions (‘bad trips’) may include depression, dizziness, disorientation, fear, paranoia and panic. Whether these effects are due to the user being unstable, anxious, depressed or in hostile or unsuitable surroundings is unknown. A bad trip is not predictable and may happen at any time.

Deaths due to suicide, although much publicised, are very rare. Deaths due to overdose are also very rare.

Medical Uses

None

Did you Know?

5.4% of 8th graders have tried LSD.

10.5% of 10th graders have tried LSD.

15.1% of 12th grades have tried LSD.