What is LSD?

LSD (Lysergic acid diethyl amide), commonly called "acid," is the most powerful known hallucinogen - a drug that radically changes a person's mental state by distorting the perception of reality to the point where, at high doses, hallucinations occur. Although it is derived from a fungus that grows on rye and other grains, LSD is semi-synthetic. It is chemically manufactured in illicit laboratories, except
for a small amount which is produced legally for research. Even in very minute doses (for example, 50 to 100 micrograms - a microgram is 1/1000 of a milligram), LSD can significantly alter one's perceptions to the point of hallucination - that is,
one sees or hears things that don't, in reality, exist. Hence LSD's classification as a hallucinogen. Hallucinogens have also been labelled illusion genic,
psychotomimetic, psychedelic, and mind-expanding, depending on whether scientists or users are talking about them. They include mescaline, psilocybin
("magic mushrooms"), and MDA (methylenedioxyamphetamine). Of this group, however, LSD is by far the most potent; it is approximately 100 times stronger than psilocybin and 4,000 times stronger than mescaline. Pure LSD is a white, odourless crystalline powder that is soluble in water. Because an effective dose of the pure drug is almost invisible, it is mixed with other substances, such as sugar, and packaged in capsules, tablets, or solutions, or spotted on to gelatine sheets or
pieces of blotting paper. LSD is usually taken orally, but is sometimes inhaled or injected. Using unsterile needles may cause infections, and sharing needles with others is risking hepatitis or AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)