I heard that LSD use effects your mood and/or behavior for up to 5 years after using. Are there any other significant long term effects I should be aware of?
2007-02-11 18:20:42 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
LSD is remarkably non-toxic, has no known adverse physical after-effects, other than fatigue and a lingering sensation of mind-expansion.
However, LSD is a powerful mental amplifier. If you are feeling depressed, anxious, sick at the world, at the quality of modern television, at rampant consumerism, at life in general, do not take LSD
LSD's effects and your reaction to them are strongly determined by set and setting. Set is your mindset when taking the drug; setting is where you are.
The LSD effect makes you enormously sensitive to your environment. You should always be in a safe, comfortable environment, preferably with a friend you trust. The higher you fly, the safer must be the landing arrangements. Many users recommend being outside, in a beautiful setting in nature.
We cannot reinforce this enough: this is not a drug to be taken arbitrarily.
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bad trips
The most notorious peril from taking LSD is the 'bad trip' when the experience turns frightening and traumatic. You can find out more about bad trips and how to avoid them on our page here.
Of all psychedelic drugs, LSD probably has the highest potential for creating bad trips, thanks to its sheer power and the impossibility of judging the dose of street LSD. Also, LSD can bring buried and repressed unconscious material into conscious awareness. This can be traumatic and frightening if unexpected.
Most people who have experienced a bad trip do not touch the drug again. Experienced users and 'hard heads' accept that bad trips as part of the territory.
dosage
Street LSD varies massively in quality. Heat, air and light all degrade LSD and there is no way of telling how much you're getting on a single blotter.
On average, today's tabs carry between 40 (low dose) and 150 micrograms of LSD (medium dose).
IMPORTANT: Always wait at least two hours before deciding the LSD is not working. The come-up period can take this long. Do not take another tab. You may well end up in a dimension not of your choosing.
don't do it alone
Tripping alone for the first time is not recommended. An experienced and trusted friend should either be your tripping partner, or should abstain and act as a sober sitter or guide to be around and help you if you get into troubled waters.
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be in a nice place
If you're going to trip, please do it in a pleasant and serene environment. No phone calls. No visitors. Be near to nature or surround yourself with attractive plants, pictures, fruit, and other such décor. Have a selection of beautiful music within reach to enhance the mood and help you relax.
If you are dosing with friends, ensure you all take the same amount, at the same time, in full view of everyone else. This will decrease any chance of paranoia and ensure you are all on the same level.
flashbacks
Flashbacks or the random reliving of aspect of a psychedelic drug experience are often cited as a common side-effect of hallucinogenic drugs, especially LSD. Physicians now refer to this as a condition known as Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD). HPPD only appears to manifest in a small percentage of (perhaps heavy) users.
The main symptoms are persistent 'visuals': trails, geometric shapes, flashes in the peripheral vision, after-images and halos around objects. It can last for weeks even years after the drug.
2007-02-11 18:25:54 · answer #1 · answered by dafauti 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
from the 90 or so people i have seen use it, the people that used it more than 100 times became sort of antisocial.. just a little.. and this result is not arbitrary, they realize things, they see the world a little differently... but certainly not any less "correctly" than anyone else..
there is also an increased perception of other peoples mental states. at times it can be a little annoying to always have such a keen perception of other people.. distractability ... mainly they act like they are on 5-15mcg of it all the time.. which is barely anything.
i would be curious to see studies of it an an antidepressant in very very small doses, like 5mcg .. administered transdermaly perhaps.
2007-02-11 18:31:15 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, supposedly if you trip too many times you go a bit mad. Frankly, I don't think that continually messing with your brain is a good idea, no matter what the substance. Organs aren't really all that elastic after while. People have been known to have vivid flashbacks years afterward. No one really knows I guess as it's an individual thing and the doses are different from person to person as is the effect.
2007-02-11 18:26:16 · answer #3 · answered by slipstreamer 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
judging by some of the people i have known (mostly dead now) i think saying 5 years is a bit off.... maybe if it was used only 1 time but i think most people who use lsd use it more than once.... shouldn't mess with your brain... it is the only one you have. long term effects..... flashbacks, would be a long term effect. if you have never experienced a flashback you don't want to. lsd and other drugs like e just fry your brain. if you are considering doing these drugs PLEASE reconsider!!!
2007-02-11 18:33:08 · answer #4 · answered by elliemay 3 · 0⤊ 5⤋
I know people in disability for using LSD.
2007-02-11 18:24:23 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
What was the Question again?
2007-02-11 18:51:21 · answer #6 · answered by grainy33 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋