LSD: What to Know

A bad trip can happen to anyone, especially if you take LSD in high doses. Within the first hour after taking LSD, you might start seeing things and experience mood swings with extreme highs and lows. Your sense of time, space, color, and even your own body can get twisted.

After administration, LSD can be absorbed readily from any mucosal surface—even the ear—and acts within 30 to 60 minutes. Its effects usually last for 8 to 10 hours, and occasionally some effects persist for several days. Two serious side effects are the prolongation and transient reappearance of the psychotic reaction. In most cases, while a bad trip may make you feel anxious or frightened, the effects of the LSD are typically not life-threatening and will wear off over time. Still others describe experiences with illegal LSD, obtained for philosophic, artistic, therapeutic, spiritual, or recreational purposes.

• In a recent study, Gonzalez‐Maeso et al. 156 compared 2‐HT2A agonists with and without hallucinogenic activity in mice.
• LSD is probably best called a mixed 5‐HT2/5‐HT1 receptor partial agonist.
• But if you or your loved one plans to, there are steps you can take to lower your odds of an overdose.
• This means the more you take, the higher the doses you’ll need in order to feel the same level of high.
• The most complete cross‐tolerance is to mescaline in LSD‐tolerant subjects.
• See Wyatt et al. 174 and Hintzen 50 for a complete review of tolerance and cross‐tolerance studies with LSD.

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The highest concentration was found in the hippocampus and, in decreasing order, in the basal ganglia, periventricular gray matter, and the frontoparietal cortex. No data about the binding of LSD to human plasma proteins are available. At plasma concentrations of 0.1 and 20 mg/L, in vitro experimentation on guinea pigs showed that 65–90% of LSD is bound to nondiffusible plasma constituents 97. Upshall and Wailling 89 demonstrated that with a large meal, plasma concentrations of orally ingested LSD were half as much as on an empty stomach.

Acute Neurocognitive Effects

• In the United States, manufacture, possession, sale, transfer, and use of LSD came under the restrictions of the Drug Abuse Control Amendment of 1965.
• The combo of effects varies from person to person, and even from one trip to another.
• These data suggest an interaction between dopamine and serotonin receptors and might be a possible explanation for the enormous range of effects LSD engenders in humans.

Tolerance is defined as a decrease in responsiveness to a drug after repeated administration. Tolerance to autonomic and psychological effects of LSD occurs in humans after a few moderate daily doses of LSD 42, 163, 164. After 2–3 days, a solid tolerance developed as demonstrated in psychological and physiological tests.

Neurometabolic Effects

When a smaller meal was eaten, plasma levels were somewhere between. It was concluded that the amount of the meal, as well as the pH of the stomach and duodenum, will influence the absorption of LSD. The “optimum” dosage for a typical fully unfolded LSD reaction is estimated to be in the range of 100–200 μg 18, 29, 31. A moderate dose (75–150 μg p.o.) of LSD will significantly alter state of consciousness.

LSD’s effects on the brain are salient and complex, disrupting serotonin signaling and altering functional connectivity, which changes perception, cognition, and self-awareness. Potent effects that contribute to LSD’s reputation as a powerful psychedelic also come with psychological risks, particularly for individuals predisposed to mental health conditions. Another potential long-term effect of LSD is a condition called hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD). People with HPPD experience recurring hallucinations and other effects of LSD for weeks or even years. Traumatic experiences (called “bad trips”) can have long‐lasting effects on LSD users, including mood swings and rarely flashback phenomena 15.

A single dose of LSD can treat anxiety and depression for months, study shows

Effects of LSD on 5‐HT2C, 5‐HT5A, 5‐HT6, and 5‐HT7 receptors e.g., 147, 148, 149 are described, but their significance remains uncertain. A strong correlation was described between psychoactive doses of these hallucinogens and their respective potency at the 5‐HT2 receptor 150, 151. Most data indicate a specific 5‐HT2A mechanism, although a 5‐HT2C effect cannot be ruled out.

LSD is probably best called a mixed 5‐HT2/5‐HT1 receptor partial lsd what to know agonist. Today it is believed that LSD is a partial agonist at 5‐HT2A receptors e.g.,152, 153, especially those expressed on neocortical pyramidal cells. Activation of 5‐HT2A also leads to increased cortical glutamate levels 154, 155 probably mediated by thalamic afferents 25. However, this increase in glutamate release can lead to an alteration in corticocortical and corticosubcortical transmission. LSD’s dual effect on 5‐HT2 (stimulatory) and 5‐HT1 (inhibitory) can explain how it may appear as an antagonist because it can modulate its own effect.

The Impact of LSD on Brain Function and Neurochemistry

After 100–250 μg LSD p.o., psychological and sympathomimetic effects persist for 30–45 min, reaching their peak after 1.5–2.5 h (see Figure 2) 18, 88. A growing body of clinical research indicates that LSD does have therapeutic value; this, however, requires further studies, particularly for depression, anxiety, and addiction. However, its legal status and issues around long-term safety make advances in these areas challenging. Using LSD can trigger or worsen mental health conditions such as anxiety, schizophrenia or psychosis.3,6 Anyone with a history of these issues should avoid using LSD. Some people find it hard to shake off a bad trip and have trouble adjusting to reality, even long after the LSD’s effects have worn off. LSD can produce a range of short-term psychedelic and physical effects, but guessing which ones you’ll experience is a bit of a crapshoot.

Medical

The combo of effects varies from person to person, and even from one trip to another. During the 1960s LSD (“acid”) became popular within the hippie subculture that emerged in the United States and western Europe. One critical pioneer in that movement was Augustus Owsley Stanley III, a California-based underground chemist who manufactured several million doses of the drug. Stanley’s efforts supplied the drug to several figures who would become advocates for LSD, including novelist Ken Kesey. Stanley also was a personal supplier of LSD to the Grateful Dead (for whom he also provided early financial support and served as sound engineer).

One study suggested that one‐way cross‐tolerance from LSD to DMT does not occur 171. Studies with Δ‐9‐tetrahydrocannabiol (THC) in subjects tolerant to LSD did not demonstrate a cross‐tolerance between these drugs 172, 173. See Wyatt et al. 174 and Hintzen 50 for a complete review of tolerance and cross‐tolerance studies with LSD. The average time for determination of LSD in blood specimens is estimated to be 6–12 h and 2–4 days in urine specimens 109, 111, 115. In most LSD‐positive urine samples the metabolite, 2‐oxo‐3‐hydroxy‐LSD, is present at higher concentrations than LSD and can be detected after LSD ingestion for a longer time than LSD itself 116. Determination of LSD in hair specimens is now available even for low and single time dosing but not for LSD metabolites 117, 118.

While this liquid can be injected, it’s not a very common way to use it. You place the tab under your tongue, where it’s absorbed into your bloodstream via mucous membranes. An LSD high is referred to as a “trip.” Anyone who’s done it will tell you that it takes your mind on a wild ride, though not always a good one.