NIDA InfoFacts: LSD
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is one of the major drugs making up the
hallucinogen class of drugs. Hallucinogens cause hallucinations—profound
distortions in a person’s perception of reality. Hallucinogens cause their
effects by disrupting the interaction of nerve cells and the
neurotransmitter serotonin. Distributed throughout the brain and spinal
cord, the serotonin system is involved in the control of behavioral,
perceptual, and regulatory systems, including mood, hunger, body
temperature, sexual behavior, muscle control, and sensory perception.
Under the influence of hallucinogens, people see images, hear sounds, and
feel sensations that seem real but do not exist. Some hallucinogens also
produce rapid, intense emotional swings. One of the most potent
mood-changing chemicals, LSD, was discovered in 1938 and is manufactured
from lysergic acid, which is found in ergot, a fungus that grows on rye and
other grains.
Health Hazards
The effects of LSD are unpredictable. They depend on the amount taken; the
user's personality, mood, and expectations; and the surroundings in which the
drug is used. Usually, the user feels the first effects of the drug 30 to 90
minutes after taking it. The physical effects include dilated pupils, higher
body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, loss of
appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors.
Sensations and feelings change much more dramatically than the physical signs.
The user may feel several different emotions at once or swing rapidly from one
emotion to another. If taken in a large enough dose, the drug produces delusions
and visual hallucinations. The user’s sense of time and self changes. Sensations
may seem to "cross over," giving the user the feeling of hearing colors and
seeing sounds. These changes can be frightening and can cause panic.
Users refer to their experience with LSD as a "trip" and to acute adverse
reactions as a "bad trip." These experiences are long; typically they begin to
clear after about 12 hours.
Some LSD users experience severe, terrifying thoughts and feelings, fear of
losing control, fear of insanity and death, and despair while using LSD. Some
fatal accidents have occurred during states of LSD intoxication.
Many LSD users experience flashbacks, recurrence of certain aspects of a
person's experience, without the user having taken the drug again. A flashback
occurs suddenly, often without warning, and may occur within a few days or more
than a year after LSD use. Flashbacks usually occur in people who use
hallucinogens chronically or have an underlying personality problem; however,
otherwise healthy people who use LSD occasionally may also have flashbacks. Bad
trips and flashbacks are only part of the risks of LSD use. LSD users may
manifest relatively long-lasting psychoses, such as schizophrenia or severe
depression. It is difficult to determine the extent and mechanism of the LSD
involvement in these illnesses.
Most users of LSD voluntarily decrease or stop its use over time. LSD is not
considered an addictive drug since it does not produce compulsive drug-seeking
behavior, as do cocaine, amphetamine, heroin, alcohol, and nicotine. However,
like many of the addictive drugs, LSD produces tolerance, so some users who take
the drug repeatedly must take progressively higher doses to achieve the state of
intoxication that they had previously achieved. This is an extremely dangerous
practice, given the unpredictability of the drug.
Extent of Use
Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey*
Lifetime** use dropped significantly among 12th-graders from 2004 to
2005, while annual and 30-day use remained stable. (Also see the InfoFacts
on High School
and Youth Trends.) Perceived availability of the drug fell among
12th-graders for this same period.
Monitoring the Future Survey
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NSDUH data show decreases in annual use of LSD from 2002 to 2004. In 2004, 9.7 percent of Americans aged 12 and older reported using LSD at least once in their lifetimes, 0.2 percent had used it in the past year, and 0.1 percent used in the past month. Lifetime use declined significantly from 2003 to 2004 among persons aged 12 to 17 and 18 to 25.
* These data are from the 2005 Monitoring the Future survey, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, DHHS, and conducted annually by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. The survey has tracked 12th-graders’ illicit drug use and related attitudes since 1975; in 1991, 8th- and 10th-graders were added to the study. The latest data are online at www.drugabuse.gov.
** "Lifetime" refers to use at least once during a respondent’s lifetime. "Annual" refers to use at least once during the year preceding an individual’s response to the survey. "30-day" refers to use at least once during the 30 days preceding an individual's response to the survey.
*** NSDUH (formerly known as the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) is an annual survey of Americans age 12 and older conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Copies of the latest survey are available at www.samhsa.gov and from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 800-729-6686.
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