HALLUCINOGENS

Hallucinogens cause hallucinations—profound distortions in a person’s perception of reality. They do this by disrupting the interaction of nerve cells and the neurotransmitter serotonin. Distributed throughout the brain and spinal cord, the serotonin system is involved in the control of behavioral, perceptual, and regulatory systems, including mood, hunger, body temperature, sexual behavior, muscle control, and sensory perception.

Under the influence of hallucinogens, people see images, hear sounds, and feel sensations that seem real but do not exist. Some hallucinogens also produce rapid, intense emotional swings.

Hallucinogens include LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide acid), mescaline and psilocybin or “magic mushrooms.” They each cause altered states of perception and nausea, persisting perception disorders and/or disorienting flashbacks.

LSD, street names “acid”, “Blotter”, “boomers”, “cubes”, “micodot’, “yellow sunshine’ and whatever new name currently in use, are swallowed or ingested through mouth tissues. In short, lick a piece of paper or a stamp impregnated with LSD and you’ll be affected by the drug.

Mescaline, street names “buttons”, “cactus”, “mesc”, or “peyote” or the latest secret name for this mind altering drug can, like LSD, cause increased body temperature, increased heart rate and/or blood pressure, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, numbness, weakness, and tremors.

The most commonly used and most potent hallucinogenic in the United States today is LSD. All LSD, which looks like a white powder when dry, is illegal and has no approved medicinal use in this country.

The use of LSD and other hallucinogens by secondary school students has declined since 1998. However, LSD and Ketamine, a dissociative drug known to be used to facilitate sexual assaults, are becoming more widely used at dance clubs and all-night raves by older teens and young adults.

Youngsters who use LSD hope to have a sense enhancing experience without the harmful effects attached to its use. Drug pushers and peers who do not have the youngster’s best interest in mind wildly encourage this incredibly naïve, unthinking, and “Dumber Than Dumb” trust.

Physical and psychological risks to the user include:

 Decreased awareness of touch and pain that can result in self-inflicted injuries

 Convulsions

 Coma

 Heart and lung failure

 Lack of muscular coordination

 Increased heart rate and blood pressure

 Sleeplessness and tremors

 Depression, anxiety, and paranoia

 Violent behavior

 Confusion, suspicion, and loss of control

Myths and Facts about LSD

Myth: Only first time users have “bad trips.”

Fact: The effects of LSD are unpredictable. Some LSD users experience severe, terrifying thoughts and feelings, fear of losing control, fear of insanity and death, and despair while using LSD. Some fatal accidents, personal harm and violent assaults have occurred during states of LSD intoxication.

Myth: LSD is not addictive.

Fact: LSD does not produce compulsive drug seeking behavior like cocaine, alcohol, or nicotine, but LSD produces tolerance, so that users who take the drug repeatedly must take progressively higher and higher doses in order to achieve the same state of intoxication. This is an extremely dangerous practice, given the unpredictability of the drug, and can result in increased risk of convulsions, coma, heart and lung failure, and even death.

Myth: It’s said that using LSD causes the user to have visions that are beautiful and inspiring. What’s the harm in that?

Fact: There is no way to predict how it will affect the user. Depending on the dose, the drug can produce delusions and visual hallucinations, which can be frightening and cause panic. Terrifying thoughts and feelings, fear of insanity and death, injuries, and fatal accidents have occurred during LSD use.

Myth: Flashbacks, where the experiences while under the influence of LSD are recalled without warning, only happen for another few hours.

Fact: A flashback may occur within a few days or more than a year after LSD use. Flashbacks usually occur in people who use hallucinogens chronically or have an underlying personality problem; however, otherwise healthy people who use LSD occasionally may also have flashbacks.

Myth: If flashbacks are the only risk that comes from using LSD, that doesn’t seem like much, right?

Fact: Other risks include relatively long-lasting psychoses, such as
schizophrenia or severe depression.

“Myths and Facts” compiled from information provided courtesy of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services