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LSD

History and usage  

The derivatives of the lyseric acid diethylamide – LSD - are not so widely spread in nature but people know about them for a long time now. The acid itself cannot be found in a pure state; it is usually a part of the so-called ergo-alkaloids. This name comes from one of the names (ergot) for the parasite mushroom Claviceps Purpurea, which infects mostly the rye. The ergot is used in modern medicine for the flexation of the vagina after the woman has given birth to her child, but this is an insignificant contribution in comparison to the immense suffering that it had caused before. In the antiquity and the Middle Ages the corn, from which people made bread – the main food supply back then, was very often poisoned by the ergot. As for there were not many other alternatives, people had to eat that corn and as a result they got sick from the so-called “ergotism”. Its main property is flexation of the blood vessels in the limbs due to which people feel those limbs hot. From this feeling and from the name of the monk Order of St. Antonius comes the other name for this disease. The monks from this order were trying to fight it with their prayers. Therefore this disease was previously named the “St. Antonius Fire” The "poisoned" used to suffer from such pains in the limbs and spasms that they started a frantic dancing. Despite the efforts of the good monks the infected ones later suffered from gangrene and then they became disabled. The ergotism very often was thought to be a plague. In 994 in France over 40000 people died from it. For the people back then this disaster was sent by the gods. There were also no agricultural means for defense against the mushroom by that time. Nowadays the presence of such disease is unacceptable especially in the developed countries. One very rare effect of the ergot poisoning is confusion, accompanied by delirium and hallucinations. But there is no data that anyone has taken it with that purpose. 

Even the old grandmothers knew that the ergot flexes the vagina and they also used it after the woman bared her child. This and some other potential useful characteristics of the ergot have stimulated chemists to isolate the active substance out of it. During the first half of 20^th century a lot of alkaloids with strange structure were found. Their main part was called lyseric acid. Usually in such cases the pharmaceutics firms start to synthesize new derivatives from the newly found natural product and then explore their properties, hoping to find something they can sell. This was exactly what workers in the Sandoz firm (situated in Bazel, Switzerland) when accidentally Albert Hoffman came across the extraordinary characteristics of one of those derivatives. The abbreviation LSD stands for the German word – Lysergsaurediaethylamid.  

In the beginning of 1996 the father of LSD turned 90. In an interview about the anniversary he said that he is sorry that the today’s active bans on LSD prevent it from taking its place in the psychotherapy practice. 

In 1960 in Mexico two doctors from the Harvard University tried some hallucinogen mushrooms and they were very impressed. When they returned to the USA they gave from those mushrooms to everyone who wanted to try. In 1961 one of the doctors tried LSD and this changed his whole life and his way of thinking forever. As a result he established a new religion – LSD was its relic and the doctor himself was its guru. In 1963 both doctors were expelled from the university but this only increased their popularity. Except those doctors there were many other celebrities that took part of this movement. Most of them were writers. 

In the 60’s the military were interested in using LSD as a chemical weapon, but since its price was pretty high they couldn't afford the research. People from the CIA established a program for using LSD, which purpose was control over the mind. Some experiments were conducted over unsuspecting victims, which had very dangerous consequences. Some of those people, after there had been some unexpected strange symptoms, suffered from long-termed psychosis. This program, named “Mind Control”, fortunately failed to achieve its purpose, because the effects from LSD depended on the particular personality and they could hardly be predicted. Meanwhile there were also some other experiments, in which LSD was supposed to help politicians. One party in the U.K. synthesized LSD in great amounts and then gave it to millions of people, hoping to destabilize the society, which was supposed to lead to revolution. Today this idea looks absurd and ridiculous but its authors received for it sentence of 170 years service in prison.  

The peak of popularity for LSD was at the end of the 60’s, and it overlaps with the hippie movement. From then until now its glory remains unchanged, but its usage has stabilized to a certain lower level. LSD is used mostly by the more educated part of the society, mainly by students. In the 60’s LSD was used as psychedelic, i.e. a way to achieve harmony with yourself, merging with the cosmic space and so on, depending on what the person thinks he has achieved after the experience. Therefore many of the users took it in larger doses which may not always have pleasant effects. For the past few years LSD is taken in small doses simply for pleasure and what the takers value so much is the slight euphoria that it causes. Some say that the more serious effects are even unwanted. 

On the street, LSD (acid, purple haze, sunshine, 25, Lucy in the sky with diamonds, big D) is usually sold in doses of 0,05 to 0,1 mg, which may be capsules, most often dropped on a lump of sugar or on a sheet of blotter. From the amount of the dose we can say that LSD is about 4000 times stronger than mescaline. It is the strongest among all the classical hallucinogens. LSD is effective when it is taken in orally and this is the only known method. In this way the effects come after about 30 to 90 minutes after it has been taken in and those effects may last for several hours. Hoffman says that if a person eating chocolate speeds up and increases the effects of LSD.