Hallucinogens
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Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, LSD-25, or acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family. Probably the best known psychedelic, it has been used mainly as a recreational drug, an entheogen, and a tool to supplement various practices for transcendence, including in meditation, psychonautics, art projects, and illicit (though at one time legal) psychedelic psychotherapy, whether self-administered or not. It is synthesized from lysergic acid derived from ergot, a grain fungus that typically grows on rye and was first synthesized by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann. The short form LSD comes from its early codename LSD-25, which is an abbreviation for the German “LysergsÐure-diethylamid” followed by a sequential number.[1][2]
LSD is sensitive to oxygen, ultraviolet light, and chlorine, especially in solution, though its potency may last for years if it is stored away from light and moisture at low temperature. In pure form it is colorless, odorless and mildly bitter.[2] LSD is typically delivered orally, usually on a substrate such as absorbent blotter paper, a sugar cube, or gelatin. In its liquid form, it can be administered by intramuscular or intravenous injection. The threshold dosage level needed to cause a psychoactive effect on humans is of the order of 20 to 30 µg (micrograms).
Introduced by Sandoz Laboratories as a drug with various psychiatric uses, LSD quickly became a therapeutic agent that appeared to show great promise. However, the extra-medicinal use of the drug in Western society during the mid-twentieth century led to a political firestorm that resulted in the banning of the substance.[3] A number of organizations–including the Beckley Foundation, MAPS, Heffter Research Institute and the Albert Hofmann Foundation–exist to fund, encourage and coordinate research into its medicinal uses.[4]