Md. Arafat Rahman :
A new threat has fallen over the youths of Bangladesh known as Lysergic Acid Diethylamide or LSD which is a hallucinogenic drug. Effects typically include altered thoughts, feelings, and awareness of one’s surroundings. Many users have visual or auditory hallucinations. Dilated pupils, increased blood pressure, profuse sweating, and increased body temperature are typical. Effects typically begin within half an hour and can last for up to 20 hours. It is used mainly as a recreational drug.
The effects of LSD are believed to occur as a result of alterations in the serotonin system. As little as 20 micrograms can produce a noticeable effect. In pure form, LSD is clear or white in color, has no smell, and is crystalline. It breaks down with exposure to ultraviolet light. LSD is typically either swallowed or held under the tongue. It is most often sold on blotter paper and less commonly as tablets or in gelatin squares.
Other physical reactions to LSD are highly variable and nonspecific, some of which may be secondary to the psychological effects of LSD. Among the reported symptoms are elevated body temperature, blood sugar, and heart rate, alongside goose bumps, jaw clenching, mouth dryness, and hyperreflexia. In negative experiences, numbness, weakness, nausea, and tremors have also been exhibited.
The most common immediate psychological effects of LSD are visual hallucinations and illusions colloquially known as trips, which vary depending on how much is used and how the dosage interacts with the brain. Trips usually start within 20-30 minutes of taking LSD orally, peak three to four hours after ingestion, and can last up to 20 hours in high doses. Users may also experience an afterglow of improved mood or perceived mental state for days or even weeks after ingestion in some experiences.
LSD causes an animated sensory experience of senses, emotions, memories, time, and awareness for 6 to 20 hours, depending on dosage and tolerance. Generally beginning within 30 to 90 minutes after ingestion, the user may experience anything from subtle changes in perception to overwhelming cognitive shifts. Changes in auditory and visual perception are also typical.
Some sensory effects may include an experience of radiant or more vibrant colors, objects and surfaces appearing to ripple, breathe, or otherwise move, spinning fractals superimposed on one’s vision, colored patterns behind closed eyelids, an altered sense of time, geometric patterns emerging on walls and other textured objects, and morphing objects. Some users also have a strong metallic taste for the duration of the effects. Food’s texture or taste may be different, and users may also have an aversion to foods that they would normally enjoy. Similar effects have also been found in rats.
The auditory effects of LSD may include echo-like distortions of sounds, changes in ability to discern concurrent auditory and visual stimuli, and a general intensification of the experience of music. Higher doses often cause intense and fundamental distortions of sensory perception such as synesthesia, the experience of additional spatial or temporal dimensions, and temporary dissociation. The most significant adverse effect of LSD was impairment of mental functioning while intoxicated.
LSD may trigger panic attacks or feelings of extreme anxiety. Review studies suggest that LSD likely plays a role in precipitating the onset of acute psychosis in previously healthy individuals with an increased likelihood in individuals who have a family history of schizophrenia. There is evidence that people with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia have a higher likelihood of experiencing adverse effects from taking LSD.
Flashbacks are a psychological phenomenon in which an individual experiences an episode of some of LSD’s subjective effects after the drug has worn off, persisting for months or years after hallucinogen use. Individuals with hallucinogen persisting perception disorder experience intermittent or chronic flashbacks that cause distress or impairment in life and work. According to recent reports, several behavioural-related fatalities and suicides have occurred due to LSD.
LSD is rapidly absorbed, so activated charcoal and emptying of the stomach is of little benefit, unless done within 30-60 minutes of ingesting an overdose of LSD. Sedation or physical restraint is rarely required, and excessive restraint may cause complications such as hyperthermia. Exactly how LSD produces its effects is unknown, but it is thought that it works by increasing glutamate release in the cerebral cortex and therefore excitation in this area. The effects of LSD normally last between 6 and 12 hours depending on dosage, tolerance, body weight, and age.
(Mr. Arafat is Career & Professional Development Services Department, Southeast University. E-mail: [email protected])
