LSD was first sythesized back in 1938 from a chemical known as ergotamine, a chemical derived from the Ergot grain fungus. It saw widespread use in 1947 when it was marketed as a theraputic agent. It was studied by the CIA as a possible truth serum and an aid to mind control.
LSD can be sold and ingested in a couple of different ways; Blotter paper, as seen above, are tiny squares (about half the size of a postage stamp) that have been saturated in acid. Other forms include acid soaked sugar cubes, or just acid in its liquid form.
so before I go into detail about it, lets address some concerns:
Toxicity: Oddly enough, LSD has an incredibly low toxicity. You would have to drink a gallon of the stuff before any kind of physical harm would happen. PLEASE don't take this as "go ahead and do as much acid as you want, you'll be fine." I'll get into more detail with this later, but lets just say you'll probably kill yourself before the acid kills you.
Addictiveness: Acid is widely considered as not addictive, mostly because of the rapid tolerance buildup one experiences after taking it. The high tolerance is short lived however (a day or two at the most).
Legal status: So you might be wondering "If this stuff is so harmless, why is it illegal?" Well....that's a very good question! As far as I know, the drug is only illegal to synthesize and sell, it's not illegal to ingest. However, why its considered illegal is kinda fuzzy. To put it in the words of Terence McKenna: "psychedelics are not illegal because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out the first story window, Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve phonic structures and culturally laid down novels of behavior and information processing, they open you up to the possibility that everything you know is wrong."
So now to the fun part, what exactly does acid do to you?
As with shrooms, this is kind of difficult to explain to someone who has never experienced it. However, its different from a shroom trip. There are some similarities, but for the most part, a shroom trip and an LSD trip are two completely different things. Explaining the differences between them is actually harder to describe than the trip itself. All I can suggest is, if you wanna see the difference for yourself, try both. (...not at the same time.)
We'll start with the physical effects. About 30 minutes after taking it, your pupils will dialate, your appetite will go away, and you might start to experience minor tremors. These effects last almost the entire length of the trip.
Psychological: Now the trip with acid can vary greatly from person to person. It is heavily dependent on factors such as previous experiences, state of mind, the people you're with, the environment. If you're in a safe environment with people you know very well, then you're trip will be a good one. However, if you've been under stress, or are with people you dont know, you could experience a "bad trip" which I'll cover later.
You'll start to see things shift and move. If you're in a room, you may experience the walls "breathing." Colors will shift and stationary things will seem to move or morph.
A little bit of a digression: When I took acid about 2 months ago, me and my friend stared at this album cover for a good 15-20 minutes
Now as with shrooms, you're mind is bombarded my sensory information, and at times, it can be a little overwhelming. You start to think and analyze things in ways you can't even imagine (like with the album cover above). It can seem a bit scary at first, but if you're with someone you trust, it's one of the most fantastic sensations in the world. It almost feels as if you've entered into another plane of existence or reality. (As weird as that sounds, it really does happen.)
You'll start to enter these advanced states of awareness. You'll start to compare yourself to everything in the universe, and you may even experience something known as "Ego Death." Ego Death is essentially the feeling of "Who am I?" This leads to many emotional breakthroughs and life changes. Many people (myself included) have cited that LSD caused significant changes in personality and perception. For some people, it can be an almost life changing experience. Steve Jobs himself stated that taking LSD was one of the most important desicions he ever made. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs#Early_career).
The intesity of visuals is directly related to the amount of LSD consumed; The more you consume, the longer and more intense the trip will be. Going back to what I said earlier, if for some odd reason you wanted to test the physical harm of LSD, you would have to consume...well, a lot. So much that you would probably be tripping for a good month or so. Your brain would be dead long before your body would.
So how does LSD work? Well, to put it simply, LSD is not what makes you trip. LSD causes your brain to release the same chemical that gets release when you enter REM sleep, but in greater abundance, and while you're awake. This is what generates the visuals associated with tripping.
Bad Trip: If a person tripping is in a hostile or unsettling environment, this can trigger panic attacks, known as a "bad trip." In times like this, a person will be filled with fear and may become immune to any kind of reason. They might start to think that the trip is reality and it will never end. The best thing to do in this kind of situation is to reassure the person that they are completely safe and that the trip will end soon. Constant reassurence is the key to stopping a bad trip.
When the trip is over, you may still feel residual effects of the acid for a few hours. Be prepared to spend the next day doing nothing as you will be physically and mentally exahusted. Microscopic amounts of LSD may reside in your spine for a while after you've taken it, and can result in the feeling of tripping, or "Flashbacks" for a short amount of time (like a minute) if it becomes dislodged.
Taking acid is truly a wonderful thing if the trip goes well. I never really advocate anything, but I believe everyone should try it at least once. It's a very spiritual experience and opens you up to who you really are.
So that's it! Keep your questions coming! Also, sorry for the hiatus, I know you all missed me.
