• Delusions and visual hallucinations, if taken in large doses. Delusions are false beliefs, and hallucinations are seeing and hearing things that are not present.
A “bad trip” may contain terrifying thoughts, feelings, and fears. In addition, LSD can cause flashbacks, in which the person suddenly relives certain aspects of the experience without having taken the drug. Flashbacks may occur a few days or more than a year after use of LSD.
Serious psychiatric conditions can develop after even one use of LSD. The cause of these effects is not known. The effects include:
Drug-induced psychosis. Psychosis is a serious condition in which the person has lost the ability to recognize reality, think rationally, or communicate with others. The person may have dramatic mood swings, ranging from being extremely overactive (mania) to severe depression. Psychosis from LSD may last for years.
Hallucinogen-persisting perception disorder (HPPD). With HPPD, the person has flashbacks in which the person experiences recurrences of some of the sensory distortions that occurred while under the influence of the drug. The person may have the same flashback for years after stopping use of LSD.
LSD is not considered an addicting drug. However, it does require increasingly higher amounts to obtain the same effect (tolerance).
LSD is usually out of a person’s system within 24 hours, and standard drug screens (toxicology tests) are not able to detect it. However, special laboratory tests can be used to detect LSD in the blood.
Signs of use
• It is difficult to detect LSD use. Things that point to LSD use may include:
• Dilated pupils, sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, and dry mouth if recently taken.
• Possession of small squares of blotter paper (sometimes stamped with cartoon characters) or other forms of the drug.
What Is LSD? was originally published on blackdoctor.org
