LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide is a classic hallucinogen with the potential to alter your mind after usage. Basically, it is not as addictive compared to other substances like cocaine and heroin. However, users can quickly develop tolerance from this drug, so they get an overdose and then dependence later on.
If you are abusing this drug, then you are at a high risk of developing a tolerance, then dependence, and the worst is having an LSD addiction. Let’s talk more about it, so you have a better understanding of its properties and adverse effects.
How Do You Get Addicted to LSD?
When you repeatedly use it, that’s where you build tolerance and later form an addiction. It has a long-lasting effect for any user and the more frequently you use it, the more your body gets accustomed to its presence.
What DEA Drug Class Is LSD?
This drug is under Schedule I Controlled Substance on the DEA’s drug scheduling system. This means that it has no reported medical benefits and has a high risk of being abused. Other substances that are under this schedule are marijuana, ecstasy, heroin, and other hallucinogens.
What are Hallucinogens?
Generally, hallucinogens are substances that distort the perception of reality of a person and their feelings. There are two main types of this substance:
- Classic Hallucinogens: Compared to dissociative drugs, it doesn’t let the user go out of control or be drastically disconnected from their body and the real world. Examples under this classification are LSD, Psilocybin, Peyote, DMT, and 251-NBOMe.
- Dissociative Hallucinogens: These have severe mind alteration properties, yet they have industrial or medical applications in society. Examples of this type are PCP, Ketamine, DXM, and Salvia divinorum.
How Much LSD To Get You High?
The answer usually depends on your tolerance, so if you have been using it for quite some time, then you’ll need a higher dose to reach a euphoric feeling. However, for those first-timers, a dose of 20 micrograms is already enough to feel its effects.
This drug can be in the form of a tablet, capsule, liquid, or blotter paper. Typically, you will need to orally ingest it to feel its effects in a few minutes. However, some users also inject it through their veins or inhale them.
What Are the Common Symptoms of LSD Abuse?
The symptoms of using this drug can be felt in less than an hour, and can usually last for 12 hours. If you use this drug, you can either have a good or bad trip, and that depends on your mood before taking it.
If you are depressed upon taking the drug, then you will surely have a bad trip for the entire twelve hours, which is terrible. Here are some signs that you or a person have used this hallucinogen:
- Visual hallucinations
- Disrupted perception of reality and time
- Uncontrolled mood swings
- Larger pupils
- Uncontrolled body shaking
Who Commonly Gets Addicted to LSD?
The highest abuse of LSD occurs in the age group of 18 to 25, where there are around 209,000 people who are diagnosed with LSD addiction in the U.S.
These abusers usually get their supplies from nightclubs, raves, and music festivals. Also, around 3 percent of those under the influence of this drug are from the 8th, 10th, and 12th-grade students.
Here are some statistics regarding LSD addiction:
- 2% of adolescents aged 15 to 24 have used this drug once in their life
- Around 200,000 individuals in the U.S. were found to use this drug every year
- 7% of the users are 12 years old and they have used this drug once in their life
- Around 4.3% of those victims of sexual harassment were a drug with this substance
What is LSD Overdose?
LSD overdose is not that fatal compared to abusing other illicit compounds like meth and cocaine. However, if you have this, it means you are going to have a bad trip.
During a bad trip, the user experiences drastic changes in their mood, mind, and behavior. The one that can put you or the user at risk is not the drug’s toxicity, but the possible actions you will do during the trip.
This hallucinogen puts you in a dissociative position, meaning you are most likely to do dangerous acts, like suicide or jumping off from the top of the staircase, which can end your life.
In terms of dose, you get an LSD overdose if you take 1000 micrograms or one milligram. Typically, if you overdose with this substance, you are at risk of blacking out due to respiratory failure.
The danger of Using LSD with Other Substances
The number one substance used along with this hallucinogen is alcohol. Several studies have seen that alcohol elevates the hallucinating effect of LSD, which makes it a dangerous combination.
If you abuse this drug on a high dose and then paired with alcohol, there’s a great chance that you’ll instantly be unconscious or die due to heart and lung failure.
Besides that, antidepressants come in second as the top substances used along with LSD. The usual signs of this action include seizures, increased body temperature, increased blood pressure, headache, and coma.
How Can You Manage LSD Addiction?
The best way to manage your LSD abuse is by gradually cutting off from using it. Don’t abruptly stop taking this drug since it can cause painful withdrawal symptoms. In case you have an intense addiction, then better go to a hospital or rehab center so that you can have a medically-assisted detox program.
Besides that, you or any user must be kept in a safe and comfortable room since you are most likely to do dangerous activities that can endanger your life.
If you have a difficult time managing your LSD addiction, then seek medical help from a doctor or addiction specialist. They have the expertise and experience of handling these problems.
They can provide you with a customized treatment program that fits your condition and budget. Afterward, you need to find a reliable rehab facility where you can enroll for treatment.
Seek medical help as early as today, so you can finally recover from your LSD addiction.