LSD is a hallucinogen, a drug that causes a person to hallucinate (“LSD”). It was first made by Albert Hofmann in 1938, a chemist working for Sandoz Pharmaceutical in Basel, Switzerland (Barter 39). It is made from lysergic acid, which is found in ergot fungus(39). It hallucinogenic effects weren’t known until 1943 when Hofmann accidentally consumed some when he got it on his finger (40). Between 1956 and 1967, the CIA and the U.S army managed to do LSD experiments on more than fifteen hundred people, many of them had it slipped in their drink without knowing (46). Doctors have looked into LSD being a cure for patients with mental disorders such as alcoholism, drug addicts, sociopaths, depression, and anxiety (49).
The technical name for LSD is Lysergic acid diethylamide. LSD is one of the most …show more content…
The common physical effects are high blood pressure and heart rate, dizziness, loss of appetite, dry mouth, sweating, nausea, numbness, and sometimes tremors (Barter 45). Dilated pupils is the most common physical effect (Hyde 92). Hofmann and others who experimented with LSD compare its mental effects with mental disorders such as schizophrenia (Barter 45). LSD is not physically addictive, which means no withdrawals (Hyde 92). The drug may be mentally addicting, since a mental need to keep using it may develop (92). Users build up a tolerance to LSD very quick (“L.S.D Dangers”). The five senses are more sensitive, colors seem brighter and sounds seem to sound better