Abuse of LSD Acid

Head | Psychiatry | Abuse of LSD Acid (Disease)


Description

Lysergic acid diethylamide, also known as LSD is a drug that is being abused for its hallucinogenic properties. It’s a synthetic drug, which means it’s man-made.

Causes and Risk factors

Consumed in a sufficiently large dose, LSD can produce visual hallucinations and delusions that distort the users sense of time and identity. LSD typically is sold as a liquid (often packaged in small bottles designed to hold breath freshening drops) or applied to blotter paper, sugar cubes, gelatin squares, and tablets. LSD generally is taken by mouth. The drug is colorless and odorless but has a slightly bitter taste.

LSD can cause pupil dilation, reduced appetite (for some, it increases), and wakefulness. Other symptoms that can occur after consuming LSD are: numbness, weakness, nausea, hypothermia or hyperthermia (decreased or increased body temperature), elevated blood sugar, goose bumps, increase in heart rate, jaw clenching, perspiration, saliva production, mucus production, dry mouth, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, hyperreflexia, and tremors. LSD users may manifest relatively long-lasting psychosis, such as schizophrenia or severe depression.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Tolerance for LSD is short-lived it is lost if the user stops taking the drug for several days. There is no evidence that LSD produces physical withdrawal symptoms when chronic use is stopped. The effects of LSD are unpredictable. They depend on the amount taken; the users personality, mood, and expectations; and the surroundings in which the drug is used. Usually, the user feels the first effects of the drug 30 to 90 minutes after taking it.

Because LSD isnt addictive and doesnt have any official withdrawal symptoms, LSD drug treatment is based more on psychological treatment than on physical.

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