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“Will Be Done After Wiki is Completed - Short Summary of Everything”

Your Brain on LSD and Acid:

• Bill Gates (Co-founder of Microsoft): In a 1994 Playboy interview he mentioned his experiences with LSD in from mid-20’s. He described them as mind-boggling experiences that helped him understand who he really was (Smith, 2015).

• Steve Jobs (Co-Founder of Apple): Stated that his LSD usage in late teens was one of the 2 or 3 most important things he ever did in his life. He credits his outside-the-box perspective to LSD. He claims it helped him think of the world in a different way (Smith, 2015).

• The Beatles (Band): In a 2004 interview Paul McCartney stated that their songs “Day Tripper” and “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” are about LSD and that the band wrote several of their songs while on LSD or soon after taking LSD including multiple number one hits (Smith, 2015).

• Francis Crick (Co-Discoverer of the Structure of the DNA Molecule): In a 2004 interview Francis Crick claimed himself as well as many researchers at Cambridge would take LSD in small amounts to aid in their thinking. Crick also stated he would be unsure if the discovery of the structure of the DNA would have happened if he did not use LSD (Smith, 2015).

• Katy Mullis (Refined the Polymerase Chain Reaction Technique (PCR)): A year after winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993 for his biochemical breakthrough in refining the PCR he admitted to binging LSD in the 60’s and 70’s. He went to proclaim that LSD was far more important to his accomplishments than any courses he ever took. He went as far as to claim that his entire legacy probably depended LSD (Smith, 2015).

• Doc Ellis (Former MLB Pitcher): Former Major League pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, once took LCD forgetting he was the planned starting pitcher against the San Diego Padres. He ended up throwing a no-hitter during the game while still under the effects of LCD. He claimed to have not seen any of the batters and was simply trying his best to throw in right direction on the June 12, 1970 night (Smith, 2015).

Others: (Smith, 2015)

• Anthony Bourdain (Chef)
• Phil Jackson (Former NBA Coach/Player)
• Jack Nicholson (Actor)
• Dr. Andrew Weil (American Author and Physician)

LSD is classified as a psychedelic drug which means its primary function is to alter cognition and perception as well as many other psychological issues (Blachford & Krapp, 2010). LSD is also considered an hallucinogenic which means LSD causes hallucinations which is when people see, hear, smell, taste or feel things that do not exist in reality but do so in their own minds (Blachford & Krapp, 2010). LSD has been known to put individuals in a dream like stage where they see rather abstract images. LSD is at this point in time strictly a recreational drug and have no purpose outside of producing an altered state of consciousness by modifying the perceptions, feelings, and emotions all for pleasure (Blachford & Krapp, 2010). LSD's classification as recreational drug may not hold true very long with research going on about potentially having LSD used as a treatment for a variety of causes. LSD has well over 40 street names including popular names such as Acid, California Sunshine, Loony Toons, Lucy and Superman (Blachford & Krapp, 2010). Unlike popular recreational drugs such as Cocaine and Heroin, LSD is a tolerance building drug. In order to produce the same effects, increased quantities of LSD is required after each usage due to the brain obtaining tolerance to the drug (Blachford & Krapp, 2010).

Figure 1 Source: https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs11/12620/odd.htm

Figure 1: The percentages of LSD usage in different groups between 1999 and 2004.

People largest demographic group to use LSD are middle/upper-middle class whites (Krebs & Johansen, 2013). Men use LSD more often than women which is a common with all risk taking behaviors including any drug use (Krebs & Johansen, 2013). LSD is rarely taken by individuals above the age of 28. It is implied that the younger population are willing to have a desire for psychological experiences and to go on such psychological trips (Blachford & Krapp, 2010). As seen in figure 1 the usage of LSD has decreased across all age groups as individuals are afraid of the potential brain damage that can occur which is usually is usually exaggerated as well governments limiting its distribution through strict laws (Blachford & Krapp, 2010). Unlike most recreational drugs most people only take LSD once. In fact about 89% of LSD users only take it once and never again. This occurs simply because LSD is not physically addictive (Krebs & Johansen, 2013).

Figure 2 Source: http://www.themindcentre.com.au/microdosing-lsd-psychedelic-drugs-treatment-future/

Figure 2: The structures of Serotonin HT-5 and LSD

LSD is a tasteless, odorless and colorless crystal in its natural state (Krebs & Johansen, 2013).. It is virtually impossible to identify it without actually be told or having not extracted yourself. For recreation use LSD can be taken in a variety of ways most commonly by a dissolving stamp on the tongue (Krebs & Johansen, 2013).. It can however also be admin-started as a liquid and gas through the mouth, nose, eyes and anus. LSD is water soluble, because this compound has the amine groups (Krebs & Johansen, 2013). The water solubility is enhanced by the hydrogen bonding involving the lone pairs of the amine group (Li & Wang, 1998). Also, this compound can decomposes in light and high temperature. It decomposes in the light condition, because UV light can induce the C-9,10 double bond of LSD undergoes photocatalytic hydration (Li & Wang, 1998). The LSD is molecule is considered unstable and most be stored and cared for appropriately or risk damage or ineffective drug (Li & Wang, 1998). The key biochemical property of LSD is that its structure is very similar to that of serotonin which can be noticed in figure 2. This allows LSD molecules to behave and react in a very similar manner as serotonin in the body such as binding to the same receptors. The additional fictional group son LSD allow the molecule to do the role of serotonin even better than serotonin itself. Such benefits includes binding longer to the receptors and avoiding degradation longer (Li & Wang, 1998).

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) interacts with receptors in the brain known as 5-HT receptors (also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors or serotonin receptors) (Schiff, 2006). Interaction with these receptors results in an agonist (physiological response occurs) or partial antagonist (inhibited physiological responses) on serotonin activity (Schiff, 2006). 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B receptors are the two presynaptic receptors involved in this interaction while 5-HT2 receptors are the postsynaptic receptors (Schiff, 2006). LSD like many other hallucinogens promote the release of glutamate in thalamocortical terminals (Schiff, 2006). Having the release of this neurotransmitter creates a dissociation between sensory relay centers and cortical output (Schiff, 2006). Other than these steps, not much else is known about the mechanism of action for LSD. Figure 3 demonstrates the effectiveness of LSD at mimicking the role of serotonin and the cascade of events that occur post binding that researchers believe occurs (Schiff, 2006).

Figure 3 Source: http://flipper.diff.org/apprulesitems/items/4051

Figure 3: Binding of LSD vs. Serotonin to 5-HT receptors and the potential post cascade.

Brain networks dealing with vision, attention, movement and hearing become far more connected, this creates what looks like a more connected, more unified brain in an individual (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016). Other networks in the brain are broken down/disintegrated, leading to the activity to become more entropic, meaning that more of a state of disorder is created. This comes about due to these networks becoming separated (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016). A scan of a user who took LSD showed that there was a loss of connections between part of the brain called the parahippocampus and another region called the retrosplenial cortex (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016). The retrosplenial complex is on the posterior side of the brain and involves spatial navigation of the body. On the other hand, the parahippocampal region of the brain involves memory retrieval and encoding and is the area that surrounds the hippocampus. An individual will experience a feeling of “ego dissolution”, a feeling that describes an individual who feels less of being a singular entity and has now become one that is blended with the environment or others around them (Cormier, 2016). In other words, this means that an individuals self-identity is becoming lost. Lysergic Acid Diethylamide is not a physically addictive drug, however, the drug may become addicting psychologically to the individual. The user may enjoy the trips that they may have and become addicted to feeling and experiencing these hallucinations (Das et al., 2016).

A dosage of 1–3 µg/kg body weight is enough to produce moderate, behavioral effects (Das, Barnwal, Ramasamy, Sen, & Mondal, 2016). LSD’s effects can be observed within 30-60 minutes of ingesting and can peak over 1-6 hours and dissipates in 8-12 hours (NIDA, 2016). Acute toxicity can upset the gastrointestinal system and cause chills while also stimulating the sympathetic nervous system resulting in hypothermia, palpitation, hypertension, hyperglycemia, tachycardia, and panic (NIDA, 2016; Das et al., 2016). They have dramatic changes in their feelings and sensations such as rapidly changing emotions (NIDA, 2009). LSD can also affect the motor system leading to increased activity of monosynaptic reflexes which result in muscle incoordination, which is considered a symptom of religious ecstasy where the worshipper (user) is displaying the love of God (Aghajanian & Marek, 1999; Das et al., 2016).

Large doses of LSD can cause delusions and visual hallucinations with an altered sense of time and self along with cross-over of senses such as hearing colours and seeing sounds (NIDA, 2009). In some cases, users experience terrifying thoughts and feelings of despair, insanity, death and losing control (NIDA, 2009). Some other mental effects include an impaired perception of depth, time, size, shape of objects, movements, touch, body image as well as an artificial sense of certainty or euphoria(Das et al., 2016; Liester, 2014). They may also experience sudden or delayed flashbacks which may persist, causing distress, impairment in everyday occupational and social functioning (NIDA, 2009). Chronic effects may include flashbacks and worsening latent mental disorders such as schizophrenia and severe depression (Das et al, 2016; NIDA, 2016).

Figure 4 Source: https://www.recovery.org/topics/lsd-facts/

Figure 4: Some of the potential side-effects of LSD usage.

An overdose of LSD leads to “bad trips” which include intense anxiety, combat-behavior, panic, confusion and a simple touch and normal sensations seem strange and bizarre(Das et al, 2016; NIDA, 2016). There are also adverse health effects associated with ingesting LSD and depending on the dosage, it may result in dilation of pupils, high body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure as well as lots of sweating, decreased appetite, tremors and dry mouth (NIDA, 2009).

LSD does not cause overpowering drug-seeking behaviour and it is not classified as an addictive drug however, by producing tolerance to LSD, frequent users must intake higher dosage to achieve same intoxication effects (NIDA, 2016). Although there is no withdrawal syndrome or physical dependence on LSD, there is low psychological dependence, but no deaths have been reported entirely due to LSD use (NIDA, 2016).

LSD is a powerful mood-changing, psychedelic agent which is mainly used for recreational and spiritual purposes and since it is sold on the illicit market, it is not used in medical treatments although scientists now are speculating its usefulness as a therapeutic agent (Das et al, 2016; NIDA, 2016). It can also be used as a component of psychedelic peak therapy for alcohol and drug dependence in terminally ill patients (Das et al., 2016). Some suggest that these psychedelic drugs have great potential for research in psychiatry and psychology while others suggest the usefulness of its effects in psychotherapy (Das et al., 2016).

Hoffman, the inventor of LSD, stated that through this drug allowed access to the spiritual world allowing the user to feel as if their ‘eyes have been cleansed’ and they can ‘see the world as new’ (Das et al, 2016; Grob, 2002; Ruck et al, 1979). LSD also increases user’s appreciation of the surrounding environment and boosts their creativity, while raising their awareness to mystical and religious experiences (Das et al., 2016; Passie, Halpern, Stichtenoth, Emrich, &Hintzen, 2008).

LSD was once legally available for clinical use in experimental treatments until late 1960s (Das et al, 2016; Grinspoon L &Bakalar J, 1997). In the early 1960s, LSD along with counseling reduced anxiety, depression and pain in patients with advanced cancer (Das et al., 2016; Kast & Collins, 1964).They reported the use of LSD; in ventilation of emotions in schizophrenics, as therapy for obsessional neurosis and anxiety and psychoanalytic therapy(Das et al., 2016). Clinicians also explored its therapeutic use in anxiety disorders, addictions, obsessive-compulsive disorders and sever depression among other conditions (Das et al., 2016).However, due to the adverse side effects including harmful behaviour, the Hallucinogenic Drug Regulations was implemented in 1967 to limit the use of such drugs only by qualified practitioners(Das et al., 2016).

Some interesting therapeutic uses of LSD suggest that it can act as an antianxiety agent, enhance; user’s creativity, suggestibility and performance (Das et al., 2016). The use of hallucinogenic agents to enhance creativity in artists began in the 1960s and it could alter the sensory modalities of the user, change emotions and expanded their sense of thought, identity and creativity (Das et al., 2016; Dobkin de Rios &Janiger O, 2003). If LSD is ingested as a controlled, therapeutic agent in a proper setting, its mystical experience can allow the patient to develop a deeper level of self understanding and self-acceptance but the therapist must have an in-depth knowledge of the patient’s psychopathology (Das et al., 2016).

MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) was founded in 1986 (MAPS, 2017). MAPS is a non-profit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the use of psychedelics and marijuana safely (MAPS, 2017). This includes LSD. The site is a great way to obtain information of LCD, look into current research/projects, donate, ask questions and a way to keep up with any news regarding the drugs on hand. MAPS does not push for illegal usage of drugs but rather pushes for safe, legal and beneficial use of drugs such as LSD (MAPS, 2017).

For those using LSD and are abusing its use there are plenty of ways to go about getting help (Hermann, 2016). Most local abuse therapy centres or clinics should cover LSD usage issues and help as much as possible (Hermann, 2016). There are also LSD recovery centers for those in more dire situations. Even though LSD is not addictive many people are unable to stop using LSD and/or are no longer satisfied with life outside LSD (Passie et al., 2008). LSD risks can also occur as a vast majority of users if not under control will start taking far more dangerous drugs or will began experimenting (Passie et al., 2008).. There are also a variety of credible websites that can help someone stop LSD usage by following specific instructions (Hermann, 2016). Example: https://www.recovery.org/topics/quitting-lsd/. LSD rehab can include support groups, behavioral therapy and even family therapy.

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