NOT FOR PROFIT | REGISTRATION NUMBER: 2009/004578/08 | SARS REFERENCE: 9208/576/17/4
ARTICLES ABOUT DRUGS AND ADDICTION
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (LSD)
LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)
LSD is a synthetic drug that is odourless, colourless and tasteless.
LSD is manufactured from a fungus that grows on rye and other grains and is one of the most potent chemicals and poisonous substances on Earth. It is produced in crystal form in illegal labs. These crystals are converted to a liquid for distribution. Although LSD is sometimes sold on the street in small tablets ("microdots"), capsules or gelatin squares ("window panes"), the most general and popular way of marketing and packaging LSD is still the blotting paper. This blotting paper is dipped in the LSD solution, dried and perforated in blocks of 1cm x 1cm that represents one LSD unit.
LSD is generally used by placing the blotting paper, which contains LSD, under the tongue where the lysergic acid is released by means of saliva. The other popular method is by placing it in a drink or any other liquid that makes the release thereof easier.
The effects of LSD are unpredictable. It can either cause a good or bad trip; therefore people are hesitant to experiment with LSD.
LSD is listed in Part III of Schedule 2 of the South African Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, 1992 (Act No 140 of 1992) as an Undesirable Dependence- Producing Substance. However, from a pharmacological point-of-view it is not considered as being dependence producing.
The dangers of LSD
The most common dangers of LSD result from bad trips, including terrifying thoughts and feelings, despair, fear of losing control, and fear of death. These problems are especially common and severe in people with underlying mental problems like severe depression, schizophrenia, or bipolar disease. Some fatal accidents have also occurred among users who could not perceive the reality of their situation.
Street names:
Acid Battery acid Blotter Boomers Cid Daffy duck Doses Dots Golden Dragon Hippie Loony toons Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds Microdot Pane Window pane Purple Heart Superman Tab Yellow sunshine Zen
Physical effects:
Raised body temperature Increased heart rate and blood pressure Sweating or chills Loss of appetite Sleeplessness Dry mouth Tremors
Mental effects:
Severe, terrifying thoughts and feelings, fear of losing control, fear of insanity and death Visual hallucinations Distortion of one's sense of time and identity Distorted time perception, distorted perception of size, shape, movements, colour, sounds, touch and one's own body image Recurrence of the LSD trip, offen without warning long after the drug was taken (days, weeks, months and even years) Severe depression or psychosis
