THE TRUTH ABOUT

Acid LSDLysergic Acid Diethylamide Tabs Microdot Blotter drugfreeworld.org

US-LSD.indd 1 4/14/15 7:20 PM WHY THIS BOOKLET WAS PRODUCED

here is a lot of talk about in the world—on Tthe streets, at school, on the Internet and TV. Some of it is true, some not. Much of what you hear about drugs actually comes from those selling them. Reformed dealers have confessed they would have said anything to get others to buy drugs. Don’t be fooled. You need facts to avoid becoming hooked on drugs and to help your friends stay off them. That is why we have prepared this booklet—for you. Your feedback is important to us, so we look forward to hearing from you. You can visit us on the web at drugfreeworld.org and e‑mail us at [email protected]. 2

US-LSD.indd 2 4/14/15 7:20 PM What is LSD? LSD is one of the most potent, decorated with designs or mood‑changing chemicals. It is cartoon characters (“loony manufactured from , which is toons”). Occasionally it is found in the fungus that grows on sold in liquid form. But no rye and other grains. matter what form it comes in, LSD leads the user to It is produced in crystal form in illegal the same place—a serious laboratories, mainly in the . disconnection from reality. These crystals are converted to a liquid for distribution. It is odorless, colorless, and LSD users call an LSD has a slightly bitter taste. experience a “trip,” typically lasting 12 hours Known as “acid” and by many other or so. When things go names, LSD is sold on the street in wrong, which often small tablets (“microdots”), capsules or happens, it is called gelatin squares (“window panes”). It is a “,” another sometimes added to absorbent paper, name for a living hell. which is then divided into small squares 3

US-LSD.indd 3 4/14/15 7:20 PM Street Names for LSD • Acid • Loony toons • Window pane • Battery acid • Lucy in the sky • Yellow • Boomers with diamonds sunshine • Doses • Microdot • Zen • Dots • Pane and many others • Golden Dragon • Superman • • Tab

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US-LSD.indd 4 4/14/15 7:20 PM t the age of 16 I was introduced to Aa drug that I abused for over three years—LSD. What I was unaware of was the fact that LSD is the most potent known to man. “The drug came on a small piece of paper no bigger than my index finger, called a blotter. Fifteen minutes after putting the paper on my tongue my entire body got hot and I began to sweat. “Some other reactions that I experienced while on the drug included dilated pupils, nausea and ‘.’ While high on LSD I felt like there was a huge distortion both in my mind and What is a Hallucinogen? body. The visual changes as well as the are drugs that cause extreme changes in mood were like some hallucinations. Users see images, hear sounds strange scary trip—one in which I felt and feel sensations that seem very real but do like I had no control over my mind and not exist. Some hallucinogens also produce body.” — Edith sudden and unpredictable changes in the mood of those who use them. 5

US-LSD.indd 5 4/14/15 7:20 PM What are the risks of LSD? he effects of LSD are unpredictable. They Extreme changes in mood, anywhere from a Tdepend on the amount taken, the person’s spaced‑out “bliss” to intense terror, are also mood and personality, and the surroundings in experienced. The worst part is that the LSD user which the drug is used. It is a roll of the dice—a is unable to tell which sensations are created by racing, distorted high or a severe, paranoid* low. the drug and which are part of reality. Normally, the first effects of LSD are experienced Some LSD users experience an intense bliss they 30 to 90 minutes after taking the drug. Often, the mistake for “enlightenment.” pupils become dilated. The body temperature can Not only do they disassociate from their usual become higher or lower, while the blood pressure activities in life, but they also feel the urge to keep and heart rate either increase or decrease. taking more of the drug in order to re‑experience Sweating or are not uncommon. the same sensation. Others experience severe, LSD users often experience loss of appetite, terrifying thoughts and feelings, of losing sleeplessness, dry mouth and tremors. control, fear of insanity and death, and despair Visual changes are among the more common while using LSD. Once it starts, there is often no effects—the user can become fixated on the stopping a “bad trip,” which can go on for up to intensity of certain colors. 12 hours. In fact, some people never recover from an acid‑induced . * paranoid: suspicious, distrustful or afraid of other people. 6

US-LSD.indd 6 4/14/15 7:20 PM Taken in a large enough dose, LSD produces Many LSD users experience flashbacks, or delusions and visual hallucinations. The a recurrence of the LSD trip, often without user’s sense of time and self changes. Sizes warning, long after taking LSD. and shapes of objects become distorted, Bad trips and flashbacks are only part of the as do movements, colors and sounds. Even risks of LSD use. LSD users may manifest one’s sense of touch and the normal bodily relatively long‑lasting psychoses or severe sensations turn into something strange and depression. ­bizarre. Sensations may seem to “cross over,” giving the user the feeling of hearing colors Because LSD accumulates in the body, users and . These changes can be develop a tolerance for the drug. In other frightening and can cause panic. words, some repeat users have to take it in increasingly higher doses to achieve a The ability to make sensible judgments and “high.” This increases the physical effects and see common dangers is impaired. An LSD user also the risk of a bad trip that could cause might try to step out a window to get a “closer psychosis. look” at the ground. He might consider it fun to admire the sunset, blissfully ­unaware that he is standing in the middle of a busy intersection.

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US-LSD.indd 7 4/14/15 7:20 PM fter taking the acid, AI imagined that we had driven head-on into an 18-wheeler and were killed. I could hear the On LSD, which is often screeching metal, then taken in tab form a dark and evil quiet. (below), an intense, I was terrified at this altered state transforms into disassociation and point, I actually thought despair. Often there is we were dead . . . For no stopping “bad trips,” which can go on for up to a year I wouldn’t go 12 hours. into any cemetery because I was terrified I would find my own grave.” — Jenny

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US-LSD.indd 8 4/14/15 7:20 PM t 13 years of age I took my Afirst drink and soon after was introduced to marijuana. Then LSD quickly fell into my hands and I became addicted, eating it like candy. “One night during one of my binges I blacked out and awoke with blood all over my face and vomit coming out of my mouth. By some miracle I pulled myself awake and cleaned myself up. I got into the car, shaking, drove to my parent’s house. I climbed into bed with my mom and cried. “By the age of 21, I checked into my first rehab.” — Donna

US-LSD.indd 9 4/14/15 7:20 PM The Harmful EFFECTS OF LSD

Physical effects Mental Effects • Dilated pupils • Delusions and the user’s own • Higher or lower body • Visual hallucinations body image temperature • An artificial sense of • Severe, terrifying • Sweating or chills or certainty thoughts and feelings (“goose bumps”) • Distortion of one’s sense • Fear of losing control • Loss of appetite of time and identity • Panic attacks • Sleeplessness • Impaired depth • Flashbacks, or a • Dry mouth perception recurrence of the LSD • Tremors • Impaired time perception, trip, often without distorted perception of warning long after the size and shape of taking LSD objects, movements, • Severe depression or 10 color, sounds, touch psychosis

US-LSD.indd 10 4/14/15 7:20 PM started drinking at the age of I 15. Then I progressed to taking Ecstasy, speed, and LSD. “I found it difficult to hold down a job and became depressed and thought I would never and the user’s own overcome my obsession with body image drugs. I attempted suicide twice • Severe, terrifying by overdosing on pills. I was put thoughts and feelings under psychiatrists who gave me • Fear of losing control even more drugs, antidepressants • Panic attacks and tranquilizers, which just made • Flashbacks, or a matters worse. recurrence of the LSD “As an outlet for my feelings trip, often without I turned to self-harm—I started warning long after cutting and burning myself.” — Justin taking LSD • Severe depression or psychosis 11

US-LSD.indd 11 4/14/15 7:20 PM International statistics n Europe, as many as 4.2% of those Between 1975 and 1997, the lowest Iaged 15 to 24 have taken LSD at least period of LSD use was reported by the once. When surveyed, the percentage class of 1986, when 7.2% of high school of people in this age group who had seniors reported using LSD at least once used LSD in the past year exceeded 1% in their lives. in seven countries (Bulgaria, the Czech The percentage of seniors reporting LSD Republic, Estonia, , Latvia, Hungary use at least once over the course of the and Poland). prior year nearly doubled from a low of In America, since 1975, researchers 4.4% in 1985 to 8.4% in 1997. In 1997, funded by the National Institute on 13.6% of seniors had experimented with Drug Abuse have annually surveyed LSD at least once in their lives. nearly 17,000 high school seniors A study released in January 2008 found nationwide to determine trends in that about 3.1 million people in the US drug use and to measure the students’ aged 12 to 25 said they had used LSD. attitudes and beliefs about drug abuse.

Hallucinogenic

US-LSD.indd 12 4/14/15 7:20 PM started hanging out at strip LSD POTENCY clubs, casinos and became very International statistics LSD: Most powerful hallucinogenic I (mind-altering) drug promiscuous, visiting brothel after brothel and soon to be introduced to LSD is 100 LSD is 4000 other drugs. times more times stronger “I had now lost all my inheritance potent than than and had to move into a crack-house hallucinogenic LSD mushrooms where I stayed for a year watching 4000X people die, losing my business and becoming a thief. “I was arrested in November 2003 LSD for attempted hijacking and went to 100X prison. “I had hurt and lost everyone that loved me and I was disowned. “I ended up homeless and on the streets living and sleeping in a

Hallucinogenic cardboard box by the [train] station, Mushrooms begging and struggling to find ways to get my next meal.” — Fred Mescaline 13

US-LSD.indd 13 4/14/15 7:20 PM LSD: A short history lbert Hofmann, a chemist working for . However, its hallucinogenic ASandoz Pharmaceutical, synthesized* effects were unknown until 1943 when LSD for the first time in 1938, in , Hofmann accidentally consumed some , while looking for a blood LSD. It was later found that an oral dose of as little as 25 micrograms (equal in weight to a few grains of salt) is capable of producing vivid hallucinations. Because of its similarity to a chemical present in the brain and its similarity in effects to certain aspects of psychosis, LSD was used in experiments by psychiatrists through the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. While the researchers failed to discover any medical use for the drug, the free samples supplied by Sandoz Pharmaceuticals for the experiments were distributed broadly, leading to wide use of this substance.

14 * synthesize: to make (a drug) by combining chemicals.

US-LSD.indd 14 4/14/15 7:20 PM LSD was popularized in the 1960s by individuals such as psychologist , who encouraged American students to “turn on, tune in, and drop out.” This created an entire of drug abuse and spread the drug from America to the and the rest of Europe. Even today, use of LSD in the United Kingdom is significantly higher than in other parts of the world. Harvard psychologist Timothy Leary, who promoted LSD and other mind-bending psychiatric drugs, was arrested and imprisoned for drug-related crimes.

US-LSD.indd 15 4/14/15 7:20 PM Psychiatric mind-control programs focusing on LSD and other hallucinogens created a generation of acidheads.

US-LSD.indd 16 4/14/15 7:20 PM While the ‘60s counterculture used the drug to escape the problems of society, the Western intelligence community and the military saw it he days following my as a potential chemical weapon. In 1951, these TLSD use, I was filled organizations began a series of experiments. with and extreme US researchers noted that LSD “is capable of rendering whole groups of people, including depression. Following military forces, indifferent to their surroundings my first ‘trip’ on LSD, I and situations, interfering with planning and would eat it frequently, judgment, and even creating apprehension, sometimes up to four uncontrollable confusion and terror.” or five times per week Experiments in the possible use of LSD to for an extended period. change the personalities of intelligence Each time I would take targets, and to control whole populations, the drug, mentally I was continued until the United States officially drifting more and more banned the drug in 1967. out of reality. The eventual Use of LSD declined in the 1980s, but picked effect was the inability up again in the 1990s. For a few years after to feel normal in my own 1998 LSD had become more widely used at .” — Andrea dance clubs and all‑night by older teens and young adults. Use dropped significantly in 2000 or so. 17

US-LSD.indd 17 4/14/15 7:20 PM What Dealers Will Tell You When teens were surveyed to find out Drug dealers, motivated by the profits why they started using drugs in the they make, will say anything to get you first place, 55% replied that it was due to buy their drugs. They will tell you that to pressure from their friends. They taking LSD will “expand your mind.” wanted to be cool and popular. Dealers They don’t care if the drugs ruin your know this. life as long as they are getting They will approach paid. All they care about is you as a friend and money. Former dealers have offer to “help you out” admitted they saw their buyers with “something to bring as “pawns in a chess game.” you up.” The drug will “help Get the facts about drugs. Make you fit in” or “make you cool.” your own decisions.

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US-LSD.indd 18 4/14/15 7:20 PM ithin my own little trip world I started to get wparanoid, feeling my friends were conspiring to do something, maybe even kill me. I thought to myself, I have to get out of here. “I ran into my friend’s bedroom, opened the window as wide as it would go and jumped out. Luckily for me my friend lived on the ground floor. I ran across a wooded area toward a bridge. I could feel my heart starting to beat faster and faster. I heard voices telling me I was going to have a heart attack and die. “This was not the end. Years later, I was running and all of a sudden, bam, I was having flashbacks of the time I was running in my trip. I started to have a bad panic attack and heard voices telling me I was going to have a heart attack and die. “I would tell anyone even thinking of taking LSD to reconsider.” — Brian

US-LSD.indd 19 4/14/15 7:20 PM The Truth About Drugs rugs are essentially poisons. The amount Drugs block off all sensations, the desirable Dtaken determines the effect. ones with the unwanted. So, while providing short‑term help in the relief of pain, they also A small amount acts as a stimulant (speeds you wipe out ability and and muddy one’s up). A greater amount acts as a (slows thinking. you down). An even larger amount poisons and can kill. Medicines are drugs that are intended to speed up or slow down or change something about the This is true of any drug. Only the amount needed way your body is working, to try to make it work to achieve the effect differs. better. Sometimes they are necessary. But they But many drugs have another liability: they are still drugs: they act as or , directly affect the mind. They can distort the user’s and too much can kill you. So if you do not use perception of what is happening around him or medicines as they are supposed to be used, they her. As a result, the person’s actions may be odd, can be as dangerous as illegal drugs. irrational, inappropriate and even destructive. 20

US-LSD.indd 20 4/14/15 7:20 PM The real answer is to get the facts and not to take drugs in the first place.

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US-LSD.indd 21 4/14/15 7:20 PM WHY DO PEOPLE TAKE DRUGS?

People take drugs because they want to They think drugs are a solution. But change something in their lives. eventually, the drugs become the problem. Here are some of the reasons young people have given for taking drugs: Difficult as it may be to face one’s problems, the consequences of drug use • To fit in are always worse than the problem one • To escape or relax is trying to solve with them. The real answer is to get the facts and not to • To relieve boredom take drugs in the first place. • To seem grown up • To rebel • To experiment

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US-LSD.indd 22 4/14/15 7:20 PM REFERENCES www.drogues.gouv.fr. (Website of the Millions of copies of booklets such as European Monitoring Centre for French Government’s this have been distributed to people Drugs and Drug 2007 Interdepartmental Mission for Annual Report the Fight Against Drugs and around the world in 22 languages. As Drug Addiction) Office of Drugs new drugs appear on the streets and more and Crime, report on LSD, 1998 Hopkins Medical News information about their effects becomes U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. and known, existing booklets are updated and National Drug Intelligence Mental Health Services Center report, May 2003 Administration new ones created. U.S. Drug Enforcement “Situation of , Administration Ecstasy and LSD in Europe,” The booklets are published by the European Monitoring Centre for “Research Report Series— Foundation for a Drug‑Free World, a Drugs and Drug Addiction Hallucinogens and nonprofit public benefit organization Drugs,” U.S. National Institute “New Study Reveals More on Drug Abuse than 3 Million Adolescents headquartered in , . and Young Adults Have Used U.S. Office of National Drug Non‑Prescription Cough and Control Policy report on The Foundation provides educational Cold Medicines to Get High at Hallucinogens, September 2005 Least Once in their Lifetimes,” materials, advice and coordination for its : The Complete 10 Jan 2008, Substance Abuse international drug prevention network. Social History of LSD—The and Mental Health Services CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond, Administration It works with youth, parents, educators, Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain, PHOTO CREDITS: Page 5: DEA; volunteer organizations and government Grove Press, (revised edition), Page 14: The March 1986 agencies—anyone with an interest in Foundation; Page 15: DEA/ Timothy Leary arrest. helping people lead lives free from drug abuse.

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US-LSD.indd 23 4/14/15 7:20 PM FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW

This booklet is one in a series of publications that cover the facts about marijuana, , Ecstasy, cocaine, crack cocaine, crystal meth and , , , LSD and prescription drug abuse. Armed with this information, the reader can make the decision to live a drug‑free life.

For more information or to obtain more copies of this or other booklets in this series, contact:

Foundation for a Drug‑Free World 1626 N. Wilcox Avenue, #1297 Los Angeles, CA 90028 USA drugfreeworld.org • e-mail: [email protected]

TM Phone: 1‑888 NO TO DRUGS (1‑888‑668‑6378)

© 2015 Foundation for a Drug‑Free World. All Rights Reserved. The Foundation logo is a trademark owned by the Foundation for a Drug-Free World. Item #C7141 US-ENG

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