LSD

D-lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called acid, LSD, or LSD-25, is a powerful semisynthetic psychedelic drug. A typical dose of LSD is only 100 to 150 micrograms, a tiny amount roughly equal to one-tenth the weight of a grain of sand. Threshold effects can be felt with as little as 20 micrograms. LSD causes a powerful intensification and alteration of senses, feelings, memories, and self-awareness for 6 to 14 hours. In addition, LSD usually produces visual effects such as moving geometric patterns, "trails" behind moving objects, and brilliant colors. LSD usually does not produce hallucinations in the strict sense, but instead illusions and vivid daydream-like fantasies. At higher concentrations it can cause synaesthesia.

LSD in the United States

Prior to 1967, LSD was available legally in the United States as a prescription psychiatric drug. LSD 'apostle' Al Hubbard actively promoted the drug between the 1950s and the 1970s and introduced thousands of people to it.

Related Topics:
Psychiatric - Al Hubbard

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LSD has been manufactured illegally since the 1960s. A limited number of chemists, probably less than a dozen, are believed to have manufactured nearly all of the illicit LSD available in the United States. The best known of these is undoubtedly Augustus Owsley Stanley III, usually known simply as Owsley. The former chemistry student set up a private LSD lab in the mid-Sixties in San Francisco and supplied the LSD consumed at the famous Acid Test parties held by Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, and other major events such as the Gathering of the Tribes in San Francisco in January 1967. He also had close social connections to leading San Francisco bands the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother and The Holding Company, regularly supplied them with his LSD and also worked as their live sound engineer and made many tapes of these groups in concert. Owsley's LSD activities—immortalized by Steely Dan in their song "Kid Charlemagne"—ended with his arrest at the end of 1967, but some other manufacturers probably operated continuously for 30 years or more.

Related Topics:
Augustus Owsley Stanley III - Acid Test - Ken Kesey - Merry Pranksters - Gathering of the Tribes - Grateful Dead - Jefferson Airplane - Big Brother and The Holding Company - Steely Dan

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American LSD usage declined in the 1970s and 1980s — this is often attributed to a large anti-drug program targeted at young people in the U.S. LSD then experienced a mild resurgence in popularity in the 1990s. Although there were many distribution channels during this decade, the U.S. DEA identified continued tours by the psychedelic rock band The Grateful Dead and the then-burgeoning rave scene as primary venues for LSD trafficking and consumption. American LSD usage fell sharply circa 2000. The decline is attributed to the arrest of two chemists who, the DEA claims, were manufacturing 95% of the LSD sold in America and much of the European supply. The arrests were a result of the largest LSD manufacturing raid in DEA history.

Related Topics:
DEA - Psychedelic rock - The Grateful Dead - Rave - 2000

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LSD manufacturers and traffickers can be separated into two groups. The first group was based in northern California and later identified by the DEA as run by chemists (referred to as cooks) William Leonard Pickard and Clyde Apperson. Initial distribution points for this group's LSD were usually in the San Francisco area, or coordinated elsewhere through informal meetings at Grateful Dead concerts. These men worked in close association with trusted traffickers. The government claims that these two men were responsible for the vast majority of LSD sold illegally in the United States and a significant amount of the LSD sold in Europe, and that black market LSD availability dropped by 95% after the two were arrested in 2000. http://washingtontimes.com/national/20031126-110958-8471r.htm

Related Topics:
California - William Leonard Pickard - Clyde Apperson - San Francisco - Grateful Dead - Europe - 2000

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In November of 2003, Pickard and Apperson were sentenced to two life sentences and two 30 year sentences, respectively, after being convicted in Federal Court of running a large scale LSD manufacturing operation out of several clandestine laboratories, including a former missile silo near Wamego, Kansas.

Related Topics:
November - 2003 - Missile silo - Wamego - Kansas

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The second group of cooks consists of small independent producers who, operating on a comparatively limited scale, can be found throughout the country. As a group, independent producers are of less concern to the Drug Enforcement Agency than the northern California group, as their production is intended for local consumption only.

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