1. Lysergic Acid Diethylamide

2. Introduction to LSD
• Hallucinogen
• Potent mood-changing chemical
• 20-80 micrograms of LSD per dose
• Odorless, colorless, bitter taste
• Usually taken by mouth
• Tablets, capsules, liquid form, blotter paper
• Given through intramuscular or intravenous injection (liquid)

3. Dependence/
Tolerance
• LSD is not a highly addictive
drug
• Does produce cravings
associated with physical
addiction
• People stop on their own
• May become tolerant, up doses
• Does not cause physical
withdrawal symptoms

4. Short-Term Effects
• Hallucinations, general the user knows they are unreal
• Distorted perception of depth, time, and size of objects
• Synesthesia (hearing colors, seeing sounds)
• Heightened senses
• Works similarly to serotonin (mood,sleep,appetite)

5. Short-Term Physical
Effects

6. Long Term Effects
• No controlled studies
• "Flashbacks" or visual hallucinations
from past acid trips
• Prolonged psychotic states
• Deaths- overdose, suicides,
accidental, murders
• Prolonged anxiety and depression
after use of the drug is stopped
• Hallucinogen persisting perception
disorder (HPPD) severe disorder
which consists of constant
flashbacks

7. Potency/Type
• LSD is a hallucinogen
• Drug that causes profound distortions in
a persons perception of reality
• Very potent
• One of the most potent mood-changing
chemicals
• Manufactured from lysergic acid, which
is found in fungus that grows on certain
grains
• Threshold dose 20ug
• Common 50-150ug
• Lethal Overdose 12,000 ug

8. Neuroscience of LSD
• Unpredictable
• Interferes with the brains
serotonin receptors- inhibit
neuro transmission, stimulate it,
or both
• Affects the way the retinas
process information and the
conduction of that info to the
brain

9. Antagonist or Agonist?
• Both
• Antagonist: blocks the receptors, preventing serotonin
from having its normal effects
• Agonist: LSD causes the same effects as serotonin
therefore LSD acts a s a neurotransmitter because it has
same properties as serotonin

10. Bibliography
http://science.howstuffworks.com/lsd4.htm