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.

Origin

"LSD" is an abbreviation of the German chemical name of the compound, Lysergsäure-diäthylamid. It was first synthesized in 1938 by Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel as part of a large research program searching for medically useful ergot alkaloid derivatives. Its psychedelic properties were unknown until 5 years later, when Hofmann, acting on a hunch, returned to work on the chemical. He attributed the discovery of the compound's psychoactive effects to the accidental absorption of a tiny amount through his skin on April 16, which led to him testing a larger amount on himself for psychoactivity (full story).

Related Topics:
German - 1938 - Swiss - Chemist - Albert Hofmann - Sandoz Laboratories - Basel - Ergot alkaloid - April 16 - Psychoactivity

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Until 1966, LSD and psilocybin were provided by Sandoz Laboratories free of charge to interested scientists. The use of these compounds by psychiatrists to gain a better subjective understanding of the schizophrenic experience was an accepted practice. Many clinical trials were conducted on the potential use of LSD in psychedelic psychotherapy, generally with very positive results.

Related Topics:
Psilocybin - Sandoz Laboratories - Psychiatrist - Schizophrenic - Psychedelic psychotherapy

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LSD first became popular recreationally among a small group of mental health professionals such as psychiatrists and psychologists during the 1950s, as well as by socially prominent and politically powerful individuals such as Henry and Clare Boothe Luce to whom the early LSD researchers were connected socially.

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Recreationally - Psychiatrist - Psychologists - Henry - Clare Boothe Luce

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Cold War era intelligence services were keenly interested in the possibilities of using LSD for interrogation and mind control (see MK-ULTRA), and also for large-scale social engineering (see counterculture). The CIA conducted extensive research on LSD, which was mostly destroyed.http://www.eh.doe.gov/ohre/roadmap/achre/chap3_4.html

Related Topics:
Cold War - Era - Intelligence service - Interrogation - Mind control - MK-ULTRA - Social engineering - Counterculture - CIA

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Several mental health professionals involved in LSD research, most notably Harvard psychology professors Drs. Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (later known as Ram Dass), became convinced of LSD's potential as a tool for spiritual growth. Their research became more esoteric and controversial, alleging links between the LSD experience and the state of enlightenment sought after in many mystical traditions. They were dismissed from the traditional academic psychology community, and as such cut off from legal scientific acquisition of the drug. Dr. Leary was then (allegedly unbeknownst to himself) approached by agents of the CIA, who supplied him with such quantity of purified LSD-25 that he and Dr. Alpert/Ram Dass made available to a much wider portion of the public. His experiments lost their scientific pretense, and the pair evolved into countercultural spiritual gurus, making LSD a household brand among the hippies of the 1960s. The drug was banned in the United States in 1967, for scientific therapeutic research as well as individual research and recreation. Many other countries quickly followed suit.

Related Topics:
Harvard - Timothy Leary - Ram Dass - Spiritual - Enlightenment - Mystical - Guru - Hippie - United States

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Since 1967, underground recreational and therapeutic LSD use has continued in many countries, supported by a black market and popular demand for the drug. Legal, academic research experiments on the effects and mechanisms of LSD are also conducted on occasion, but rarely involve human subjects.

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