Lets clear some stuff up.
'THE FACTS.
I don't have this thing referenced, I don't have anywhere near the time...
LSD does not cause any chronic physiological or neurological damage. period.
LSD does not produce a psychotic state. LSD is not a psychotomimetic
drug in the literal use of the word. I've experienced true drug psychosis
before, and LSD just ain't close...
LSD may cause mild 'flashbacks' (IMHO a misuse of the word) which is really
just state-dependent learning. Users sometimes can get themselves into a
slightly shifted perspective when a stimulus is similar to one experienced
while on LSD, or if one is familiar enough with the LSD state they can
sometimes create this mild perspective shift themself.
LSD may produce thick chronic visual 'tracers' which interfere with vision.
This is very rare, and is not 'damage' per se since it is reversible with
drug therapy (probably neuroleptics, but I'm not positive). Most users if
they report anything report the benign type.
LSD may produce a sydrome resembling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This
is due to a massively bad trip... Here is where you get your honest-to-god
flashbacks from. Its also not very common.
LSD may produce a schizophrenic break in someone already suscpetible to
schizophrenia, again due to the psychological trauma of an extraordinarly
bad trip. This, however, is a case of 'if it didn't happen on LSD, it
would've happened at some point'.
The frequency of the above three chronic effects is less than 2:1000 which
is about the same as the *normal* frequency of schizophrenia in the
population. Conclusion: normal people that drop LSD remain normal people,
people with schizophrenic tendencies or other psychological disorders get
more fucked up. And I bet the guy who was distributing that pamphlet on the
evils of LSD probably had a schizophrenic break which is why he was so
damn concerned with it changing your personality...'
http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_info7.shtml
LSD Does Not Stay in your Body Forever
Debunking another LSD Myth
by Erowid
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There is an often circulated myth that once you have taken LSD, it remains in your body forever. The main thing that keeps these rumors circulating the is fact that some people (though very few) experience 'flashbacks' (generally within a few months after a hallucinogenic experience). It is generally accepted, however, that these flashbacks are not the result of lsd remaining in the system.
LSD is almost entirely metabolized within a day after ingestion. Since the half-life of LSD is only a few hours, only a very small amount of LSD remains even at the end of the trip, and this is excreted in the urine. All traces are undetectable after several days and are certainly gone entirely within a couple of weeks.
It has long been reported that LSD is fully metabolized almost immediately after ingestion. This was based on research done in the 50's and 60s which used instruments not sensitive enough to detect the extremely small amounts of the chemical. More recent research shows that LSD's metabolism takes several hours and its peak plasma levels occur at around 3-4 hours after ingestion.
From: 'Measurement of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in human plasma by gas chromatography/negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry.' Papac DL, Folts RL , J.Anal. Toxicol., 14, 189-190 (1990)
In a volunteer given about 70 ug, the apparent plasma half-life of LSD is 5.1 hr. The peak plasma concentration of 1.9 ng/mL occurred 3 hr after administration.
From LSD My Problem Child, by Albert Hofmann, 1969
The concentration of LSD in the various organs attains maximum values 10 to 15 minutes after injection, then falls off swiftly. The small intestine, in which the concentration attains the maximum within two hours, constitutes an exception. The elimination of LSD is conducted for the most part (up to 80%) through the instestine via liver and bile. Only 1 to 10 percent of the elimination product exists as unaltered LSD; the remainder is made up of various transformation products.
From Psychedelics Encyclopedia :
LSD is a very curious chemical. When given by injection, it disappears rapidly from the blood. It can be observed when tagged with Carbon 14 in all the tissues, particularly the liver, spleen, kidnes, and adrenal glands. The concentration found in the brain is lower than in any other organ -- being only about 0.01 percent of the administered dose. ...
LSD is highly active when administered orally, absorbed through mucous membranes r through the skin, and is almost completely absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. Concentrations in the organs reach peak values after only ten to fifteen minutes; then they decrease very rapidly. ... Some 80 percent of injested LSD is excreted via the liver, bile system and intestinal tract, with only about 8 percent appearing in uring. After two hours, only 1 to 10 percent is still present in the form of unchanged LSD; the rest consists of water soluble metabolites -- such as 2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-LSD -- which do not possess any LSD-type influence on the central nervous system.
Psychic effects of LSD reach their peak about one to three hours following ingestion, when much of the substance has disappeared from the body's major organs, including the brain, though measurable amounts persist in the blood and brain for about eight hours.
From the DEA Web Site :
LSD is absorbed easily from the gastrointestinal tract, and rapidly reaches a high concentration in the blood. It is circulated throughout the body and, subsequently, to the brain. LSD is metabolized in the liver and is excreted in the urine in about 24 hours.
From Pharmacotheon :
The drug is almost completely eliminated from the body before the peak effects begin, suggesting that it acts as a sort of catalyst, inducing neurochemical changes which subsequently result in the entheogenic experience. Only about 1-10% of injected LSD is excreted unaltered, the remainder as a variety of degradation products.
From Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered :
The half-life of LSD in blood plasma is about two hours.
References :
Grinspoon, Lester and James B. Bakalar. Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered. 1997. pg 14.
Hofmann, Albert. LSD My Problem Child. 1979. pg 27.
Ott, Jonathon. Pharmacotheon. 1993. pg 128.
Stafford, Peter. Psychedelics Encyclopedia. 1992. pg 69.
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Last Modified - Thu, Jun 7, 2001 Created by Erowid
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