An Educational Perspective
By the end of this presentation:
you will have…
(1) Been exposed to general information about LSD.
(2) Learned some basic facts about non-prescription
LSD users in Indiana.
(3) Viewed the potential consequences of LSD use,
both short-term and long-term.
(4) Learned about prevention efforts in Indiana.
Indiana Prevention Resource Center
Stimulating one of the neurotransmitters in the brain,
serotonin, LSD produces hallucinations dissociating the
user from reality.
Users often report having the ability to see and hear
things without stimulus. “Synesthesia” is another effect,
causing the user to hear matter that is only visibly
perceptive such as hearing colors or associating odor to
audible sounds such as “smelling voices.”
•LSD is odorless, colorless and has a slightly bitter
taste.
•It can be taken orally in powder, capsule, tablet, or
sometimes liquid form.
•Some common street names include: Acid, Yellow
sunshine, Boomer, Doses, Dots, Elvis, Loony
Toons, Lucy in the sky with diamonds, Pane,
Superman, Window pane, and Zen
•LSD is often concealed in blotting paper and
cut into designer square pieces, the drug is
absorbed via the
skin or oral tissue.
Each square piece
represents a single
dose which costs
$5-7 each.
• In Indiana, LSD is predominately sold and
consumed by males between ages 18-35.
However, younger cohorts are experimenting
with the drug as access increases.
• According to the National Survey on Drug Use
and Health, 9.7 percent of Americans aged 12
and older reported using LSD once in their
lives.
Indiana Prevention Resource Center
Lifetime use of LSD
12th grade
Although the rate
15
of LSD has
10
declined in the
National
5
Indiana
last six years,
0
Indiana still has a
2002
2003
2004
Significantly
Higher lifetime prevalence rate in comparison
to the nation for most grades.
Indiana Prevention Resource Center
Derived from a chemical
lysergic acid, which is obtained
from a fungus that grows on
rye and grains, LSD is not
manufactured locally in Indiana,
but is obtained by mail and
transportation hubs from the
dominate production market in
San Francisco.
Indiana Prevention Resource Center
LSD use has been associated
with certain touring bands
and annual college functions.
A significant increase in
the arrest of middle and
high school students
selling LSD has been
seen in the last five
years in Indiana.
Indiana Prevention Resource Center
Short-term effects of LSD include:
•Dilated pupils
•Sweating
•Nausea
•Loss of appetite
•Weakness
•Body numbness
•Sleeplessness
•Dry mouth
•Tremors
•Increased heart rate, body temperature, and blood
pressure.
Indiana Prevention Resource Center
The effects of LSD can range from an
extremely pleasurable one to an intense ‘bad
trip’ that can be a frightening nightmare often
requiring hospitalization.
These bad trips which are often a result of
drug overdose can lead to despair, fear of
going insane, and dying.
Indiana Prevention Resource Center
Chronic use of LSD can lead to severe persistent psychosis which
can cause social and occupational incapacitation.
“Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder,” also known as
flashbacks, is another long-term effect of LSD use. In this
disorder, the user suffers from recurrent flashbacks in which
he/she re-lives the effects of LSD without actually using it.
Research suggests that long-term use of LSD can cause organic
brain damage with reduced mental acuity, impaired judgment and
confusion. In this disorder, the user suffers from recurrent reduced
mental acuity, impaired judgment and confusion.
Indiana Prevention Resource Center
LSD is a Schedule I drug, suggesting:
- The drug or other substance has a high potential for
abuse.
- The drug or other substance has no currently
accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
- There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug
or other substance under medical supervision.
Indiana Prevention Resource Center
The Indiana Prevention Resource Center’s Survey on Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Other Drug Use by Indiana Children and
Adolescents; Data from 1996-2005.
http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/survey/atod/index.html
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute
http://www.in.gov/cji/index.html
The National Institute on Drug Abuse
www.nida.nih.gov/
Indiana Prevention Resource Center
Contact us
Indiana Prevention Resource Center
2735 East 10th Street, CA110
Bloomington, IN 47408-2602
Phone: 1-800-346-3077 or 812-855-1237
Fax: 812-855-4940
E-mail: drugprc@indiana.edu
http://www.drugs.indiana.edu
Content in this presentation based, in part, on a Factline produced by Bilesha Perera, Ph.D, MS in 2005 and © The Indiana
Prevention Resource Center.
The Indiana Prevention Resource Center is funded, in part, by a contract with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration,
Division of Mental Health and Addiction, financially supported through HHS/Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration,
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant. The IPRC is operated by the Indiana
University Department of Applied Health Science and School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. It is affiliated with the
Department's Institute of Drug Abuse Prevention. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the
Trustees of Indiana University or the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. Indiana University accepts full responsibility for
the content of this publication. © Copyright, 2005 by the Trustees of Indiana University.
Indiana Prevention Resource Center