LSD is lysergic acid diethylamide.
LSD was discovered in 1938. It is manufactured from ergot, a fungus that grows on rye. LSD dissolves in water and is odorless, colorless, and tasteless.
A dose the size of a grain of salt can cause effects.
LSD inhibits the movement of serotonin in the brain, which influences mood.
LSD seems to work in the cerebral cortexof the brain, which is involved in mood, thought, and perception, and in the locus ceruleus of the brain, which coordinates sensory perceptions.
The LSD experience is usually called a "trip."
A frightening or sickening experience is called a "bad trip." Most LSD trips last between six and twelve hours.
LSD users may feel several different emotions at once or have dramatic mood swings. The drug produces delusions and visual hallucinations, often including images like bleeding or melting walls, or shimmering effects.
Users lose track of time.
They often perceive their bodies as being altered – larger, smaller, a different shape. Users may "hear" colors or "see" sounds.
LSD-related hallucinations and changes in perception have caused some users to panic or feel they are losing their minds.
Some users have done dangerous or self-injuring things in response to their LSD hallucinations.
LSD frequently causes flashbacks, which are recurrences of some aspects of the LSD experience without taking the drug again.
Flashbacks are sudden, and may occur within a few days or more than a year after LSD use.