Street Name / Slang Terms
LSD is sold under more than 80 street names including acid, blotter, cid, doses, and trips, as well as names that reflect the designs on the sheets of blotter paper.
What is it ?
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is the most potent hallucinogen known to man. It is manufactured from lysergic acid, which is found in ergot, a fungus that grows on rye and other grains.
What does it look like ?
LSD is produced in crystalline form and then mixed with excipients or diluted as a liquid for production in ingestible forms. Often, LSD is sold in tablet form (usually small tablets known as microdots), on sugar cubes, in thin squares of gelatin (commonly referred to as window panes), and most commonly, as blotter paper (sheets of paper soaked in or impregnated with LSD, covered with colorful designs or artwork, and perforated into one-quarter inch square, individual dosage units).
How is it used ?
LSD is taken orally and licked off blotter paper. Gelatin and liquid can be put in the eyes.
Short Term Effects
The effects of LSD are unpredictable. They depend on the amount taken, the user’s personality, mood, and expectations, and the surroundings in which the drug is used.
The physical effects include dilated pupils, higher body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors. Sensations and feelings change much more dramatically than the physical signs. The user may feel several different emotions at once or swing rapidly from one emotion to another. If taken in a large enough dose, the drug produces delusions and visual hallucinations. The user’s sense of time and self changes. Sensations may seem to cross over, giving the user the feeling of hearing colors and seeing sounds. These changes can be frightening and can cause panic.
Long Term Effects
Some LSD users experience flashbacks, recurrence of certain aspects of a person’s experience without the user having taken the drug again. A flashback occurs suddenly, often without warning, and may occur within a few days or more than a year after LSD use.
Most users of LSD voluntarily decrease or stop its use over time. LSD is not considered to be an addicting drug because it does not produce compulsive drug-seeking behavior like cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, alcohol, or nicotine.
Federal Classification
Schedule I