Download Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) - Samantha Reyes

LYSERGIC ACID
DIETHYLAMIDE (LSD)
SAMANTHA REYES
HLTH 1050
ABOUT
• LSD is one of the worlds
most widely known and
used hallucinogens
• Its also one of the most
common mood-changing
drugs.
WHAT ITS MADE FROM
• LSD is made of lysergic acid, which is found on ergot.
• Ergot is a fungus that grows on rye and other grains
HISTORY
• It was found in 1938 by a Swiss
scientist Albert Hofmann.
• The original purpose was to create a
drug that would improve respiration.
• On April 19, 1943 while working on
the drug, Hofmann unintentionally
absorbed some of it through the tips
of his fingers.
First ever commentary
“At home I lay down and sank into a
unpleasant intoxicated-like condition
characterized by an extremely stimulated
imagination. With eyes closed I perceived
an uninterrupted stream of fantastic
pictures, extraordinary shapes with some
intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors”
–Hoffman
SOLD
Tablets
Capsules
Liquid form
LIQUID FORM
When it’s in liquid form it’s added to absorbent paper,
then divided into colorful, decorated pieces. They’re
often colored with pictures of mystical symbols and
signs, or cartoon characters. Each piece is equivalent
to one dose.
HOW IT AFFECTS THE BRAIN
• Research have said
that LSD resembles
the structure of
Serotonin.
• Serotonin is used to
signal a variety of
things in the brain.
SEROTONIN
• Visual processing (or what you see) uses a lot of serotonin.
Almost all of the senses have some serotonin input as well.
Emotional processing (sad, happy, excited) is also heavily
serotonin influenced. The user may feel a lot of different
emotions at once or swing from one to another.
CROSS-OVERS
• It’s possible for users to experience “cross-overs” of different
•
senses, so they can hear colors and see sounds.
Those kinds of experiences can cause panic, severe terrifying
thoughts, fear of losing control, and fear of insanity.
DOSAGE
The effects of LSD are
referred to as “trips”
The trips often last from
6-12 hours
BAD TRIPS
• One danger LSD has it that
users never know if they are
going to have a good or bad
“trip”
• A bad trip tricks the mind
into thinking the experience
is anything but amazing. It
can cause the user to feel
feelings of sheer horror,
suicidal depression,
alienation, anger,
overwhelming jealousy,
hatred, etc…
LONG TERM EFFECTS
• Long-lasting psychoses like
schizophrenia or severe
depression.
• Anxiety
• Panic attacks
FLASHBACKS
LSD users often have
flashbacks, during which
certain aspects of their
experience reoccur even
though they have stopped
taking the drug.
Most users of LSD voluntarily
decrease the amount they use
or completely stop. It’s not
considered an addictive drug
because it doesn’t produce
compulsive drug-seeking
behavior.
TOLERANCE
However it does produce tolerance, so
many users repeatedly must take
higher doses to achieve a higher state
of intoxication than they previously
achieved.
STATISTICS
• In 2013 The National Survey on Drug Use and
Health (NHSDA) estimated the percentage of
people who have used LSD in their lifetime
based on age.
CONTINUED
Ages 12 to 17
• 15.1%
Ages 18 to 25
• 17.6%
Ages 26 or older
• 16.2%
THE GOVERNMENT AND LSD
In the early 1960’s some members of the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) were running an operation
called MK-ULTRA, which was an illegal program that
would use LSD to experiment on humans including
innocent Canadian and US citizens.
MK-ULTRA CONTINUED
•
Its intention was to identify
and develop drugs and
procedures to be used in
interrogations and torture,
in order to weaken the
individual and force
confessions out of them
through mind control.
THE END OF MK-ULTRA
•
The program began in
the early 1950s, was
officially authorized in
1953, was investigated
in 1963, and officially
halted in 1973.
• John K. Vance,
a
member of the CIA was
the one to discover the
project, and took action
to bring it to a stop
INTERESTING FACTS
• Blind people can experience visual hallucinations
when they take LSD.
• It is virtually impossible to “come down” from LSD at
will. The LSD experience is unpredictable.
• A scientist in the 60s gave LSD to dolphins in an
attempt to teach them English.
•
Urine tests for drugs cannot detect LSD but it can be
detected through hair follicle testing for up to three days
after use.
•
In 1997 a 13 year old boy put LSD in his teachers iced tea,
the student claimed that he was very angry at the teacher
for giving him a low grade.
•
LSD has been shown to treat alcoholism five times more
effectively than Alcoholics Anonymous.
THE END!