LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)
Martina Feichter studied biology with an elective subject pharmacy in Innsbruck and also immersed herself in the world of medicinal plants. From there it was not far to other medical topics that still captivate her to this day. She trained as a journalist at the Axel Springer Academy in Hamburg and has been working for since 2007 - first as an editor and since 2012 as a freelance writer.
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LSD is one of the so-called hallucinogens. This is understood to mean psychoactive substances that cause profound psychological changes in people: thinking, feeling and perception are massively influenced, the experience of space and time changes, there are hallucinations.
LSD is a semi-synthetic drug that is made on the basis of lysergic acid - an ingredient in the toxic ergot fungus. The drug was "invented" by chance in the early 1940s and experienced a tremendous boom with the hippie movement of the 1960s. As a result, LSD was banned in most countries.
In the drug scene today, LSD is offered in the form of tablets, powder capsules or scraps of paper (usually with comic symbols on them). The active ingredient content in the individual preparations can fluctuate widely - as with all illegal drugs. That makes them all the more dangerous!
Effects of LSD
LSD is a powerful hallucinogen. It is typically taken in a dose between 20 and 80 micrograms. The effects come on about 30 to 90 minutes after the drug has been swallowed (earlier with higher doses) and last for 6 to 14 hours. The LSD smoke ("trip") is individually very different. For example:
- intense or distorted perception of colors and shapes
- increased performance (which is often overestimated)
- upscale mood
- changed sense of time
Some people on an LSD trip also "see" stripes of color, fog, colorful shapes, insects and other animals in the dark. The body also reacts to the ingestion of LSD with dilated pupils and sometimes with nausea and a feeling of cold.
Occasionally, LSD gives its users a "horror trip" or "bad trip". This is a hyperactive, paranoid state that is associated with panic attacks, aggressive outbursts, loss of ego control, massive feelings of guilt and suicidal impulses. A "normal" LSD trip can also lead to suicide if, for example, someone believes they can fly and tries it out from the roof of a house. Both the mood and expectations of the respective user and the environment in which he takes the drug can influence how it works.
After consuming LSD, so-called "flashbacks" are often observed (also known as dry intoxication): The hallucinations then come back, although the effects of the drug have actually subsided.
In several cases, LSD users have developed a serious mental disorder. People with previous psychiatric illnesses are particularly susceptible to this type of post-LSD psychosis.
Mental addiction
With prolonged use of LSD, psychological dependence can develop. Those affected may show an increased willingness to be aggressive. In addition, neuroses and psychoses can develop in which the perception remains permanently distorted (“getting stuck” or “sticking”).
Dissemination of hallucinogens
LSD is the best known and most powerful hallucinogen. Apparently, natural hallucinogens are also enjoying increasing popularity - especially among young people. These natural mind-expanding drugs include above all "magic mushrooms", but also mescaline (from the peyote cactus), toadstool and various nightshade plants.
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