The Truth About LSD
(lysergic acid diethylamide)
By Alix Templeman, Taylor
Raphael, and Ben Overzat
What is LSD?
• LSD is the most potent
hallucinogen known to
man. It comes on a little
piece of paper called a
blotter and can be taken
in tab form. The
consumer puts the
piece of paper on their
tongue and lets it
dissolve. When under
the influence of LSD,
you have no control
over your body.
History
• Albert Hoffman was a chemist for Sandoz
Pharmaceutical. He created LSD for the first time
in 1938 in Basel, Switzerland. He was trying to
create a blood stimulant.
• LSD’s hallucinogenic effects were unknown until
1943 when Hoffman accidentally consumed the
drug.
• 1940s-1960s: LSD was used in
experiments by psychiatrists; failed to
discover any medical use for the drug
• Free samples were given out by Sandoz
Pharmaceutical for the experiments. The
broad distribution lead to a wide use of the
substance.
History: How it spread
• In the 1960s, LSD was popularized by a
psychologist, Timothy Leary. He encouraged
American students to “turn on, tune in, and drop
out.” This created an entire counterculture of
drug abuse.
•The drug spread from America to
the United Kingdom and the rest of
Europe. The use of LSD in the UK
is significantly higher than any
other part of the world.
• The Western Intelligence Community and
military saw LSD as a potential chemical
weapon.
• 1951: These organization began experiments.
• They noted that the drug “is capable of
rendering whole groups of people, including
military forces, indifferent to their surroundings
and situations, interfering with planning and
judgment, and even creating apprehension,
uncontrollable confusion and terror.”
• This continued until the US banned the drug in
1967.
• The use of the drug declined in the 1980s,
but picked up again in the 1990s. For a
few years after 1998, LSD was used at
dance clubs and all night raves by teens
and young adults.
• Then in 2000, LSD usage dropped
significantly.
Street Names
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Acid
Battery Acid
Boomers
Doses
Dots
Golden Dragon
Hippie
Loony Toons
Microdot
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Pane
Superman
Tab
Window Pane
Yellow Sunshine
Zen
Effects
• You feel the effects of LSD 30 to 90
minutes after taking it.
•Dilated pupils
•Dry mouth
•Body temp. higher/lower
•Fixated on intensity of
colors
•Blood pressure/heart
rate increase & decrease
•Spaced out bliss/ terror
•Sweating and chills
•“enlightenment feeling”
•Loss of appetite
•Terrifying thoughts
•Sleeplessness
•Despair
•Tremors
•Change of sense of time
and self
•Visual changes
•Sensations “cross-over”
Risks
• Depends on amount taken
• Bad trips can go on up to 12 hrs – some
people never recover
• Can fall into psychosis
• Can get flashbacks of previous LSD trips
• Can fall into deep depression
• People get addicted because they want to
recreate previous experiences
Facts!
• Europe – 4.2% of 15yr – 24yr have taken
LSD at least once
• The percent of people in this age group
have exceeded 1% in Bulgaria, Czech
Republic, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Hungary,
and Poland
• Since 1975, the National Institute on
Drugs Abuse annually surveys highscool
seniors on drug usage
• Between 1975 and 1997, the lowest period
of LSD usage was in 1986 at 7.2% of hs
seniors using LSD
• It went from 4.4% in 1985 to 8.4% in 1997.
• It was recorded that in January of 2008,
3.1 million people in the US from 12yrs to
25 yrs said they’ve used LSD.