Lysergic acid diethylamide
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
| Lysergic acid diethylamide | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||
| General | ||||||||||||||
| Systematic name | Lysergic acid diethylamide | |||||||||||||
| Other names | LSD,LSD25 | |||||||||||||
| Molecular formula | C20H25N3O | |||||||||||||
| Molar mass | 323.43 g/mol323.43 amu | |||||||||||||
| Appearance | A yellowish liquid | |||||||||||||
| CAS number | 50-37-3 | |||||||||||||
Contents |
Properties
The physical effects of LSD usually last for between six and twelve hours depending on the dosage, tolerance, body weight, and age. Despite many rumors, LSD does not last longer than the time that there is a substantial amount of the drug in the blood. Physical reactions to LSD include but are not limited to hypothermia, fever, blood sugar elevation, decrease in heart rate, or dilated pupils. LSD was studied to be a painkiller for cancer and proved to be just as effective as commonly used opiates. However, LSD has been used to treat cluster headaches, an very uncommon but extremely painful disorder. Peter Goadsby described this disorder as being "worse than natural childbirth or even amputation without anesthetic." LSD has shown the ability to interrupt the cluster headache process thus helping to prevent future headaches.[3]
The psychological effects of the drug have proven to be much more potent than the physical effects. The effects are usually referred to as a "trip". These "trips" can have effects on the persons personality. Users have been known to claim that the "trip" changed their perspective and the way they live. The main thing the user will hallucinate include an array of colorful geometric shapes.[4]
Government Research
During the Cold War the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was very interested in the possibilities of using LSD for interrogation and mind control.[5]. They opened a program to research the effectiveness of LSD in mind control called Project MKULTRA. They would administer the drug to a test subject without their knowledge and study the effectiveness of the drug as a agent of mind control. However, they found the drug to be of little to no help with controlling a subjects mind.
The CIA's idea was not very popular when word reached the public ears. Often times the subjects wouldn't even know that they were being tested on. For instance, an actor named Paul Robeson attempted to commit suicide in his hotel in Moscow. His son claimed that this was due to a synthetic hallucinogen that a CIA agent placed in his drink.[6] There has been at least one occurrence of a test subject committing suicide due to being give a dosage of LSD without knowing it. in 1973 most of the MKULTRA files were destroyed and the government ended research of drugs for military purposes.
Uses & Occurrences
the main use of LSD is in the form on a hallucinogenic drug. it currently one of the strongest hallucinogenic drugs available. Dosages of LSD are measured in micrograms.[7] Hofmann determined that a ideal dosage to experience the psychotropic effects of the drug was between 20 and 30 micrograms. During the 1960s it was not uncommon to see dosages of LSD between 200 and 1000 micrograms.[8] It was found that the lower the dosage the better the experience. People who took lower dosages were less likely to have "bad trips". The estimated lethal dosage of LSD is 200 micrograms for every kilogram of body mass.[9] There has never been any report of an overdose like this. LSD is not considered in medical terms to be addictive. A user begins to build up a tolerance for the drug, this prevents regular use.
History
A Swiss chemist named Albert Hofmann created LSD on November 16, 1938 at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland. He discovered this particular compound during his experiments with other derivatives of lysergic acid. This was the 25th compound he had developed (hence the name LSD-25).[10] It was first intended to be a stimulant of the analytical and circulatory systems. During the animal tests there were no apparent physical benefits of the of the compound; it only made the animals restless. After this Hofmann stopped working with the compound. Five years later the compound's psychedelic effects were discovered. This encouraged Hofmann to return to his work.[11]
On April 16, 1943, Hofmann was working with the compound when he suddenly became extremely dizzy. He went home and described that he was in a dreamlike state. He described seeing a kaleidoscope-like vision of colors. This lasted about two hours. This discovery would lead to what is now called Bicycle Day. On April 19,1943, three days after Hofmann's discovery of the psychedelic effects of LSD, He intentionally ingested 250 micrograms of LSD. He had decided that this would be a good starting dosage.[12] He was surprised to find that the compound was much more potent than anything available at the time. He was unable to speak clearly but managed to ask his lab assistant to take him home. He said that during the bicycle ride home he felt as if he was stationary the entire time when in actuality he was moving quite rapidly.
The most interesting part of His experiment was how he felt the next day. After taking the compound he felt like he had gone insane. But, the next day he could not have felt better. He claimed that his breakfast tasted exceptionally good and that his senses were enhanced. The continued throughout the entire day.[13]
References
- LSD
- US Department Of Justice Drug Information-LSD
- OHS Health and Safety Services.inc
- Erowid-Albert Hoffmann
| ||||||||||||||
