LYSERGIC ACID DIETHYLAMIDE POLICY PROPOSAL

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Policy Proposal

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Policy Proposal

Introduction

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide is anAlkaloid synthesized from lysergic acid, which is found in the fungus ergot (Claviceps purpurea). It is a hallucinogenic drug that intensifies sense perceptions and produces hallucinations, mood changes, and changes in the sense of time. It also can cause restlessness, acute anxiety, and, occasionally, depression. Although lysergic acid itself is without hallucinogenic effects, lysergic acid diethylamide, one of the most powerful drugs known, is weight for weight 5,000 times as potent as the hallucinogenic drug mescaline and 200 times as potent as psilocybin. LSD is usually taken orally from little squares of blotter paper, gelatin "windowpanes," or tiny tablets called microdots. The period of its effects, or "trip," is usually 8 to 12 hours. Unexpected reappearances of the hallucinations, called "flashbacks," can occur months after taking the drug (Roe, 2005). The drug does not appear to cause psychological or physical dependence. The danger of LSD is that its effects are unpredictable, even in experienced users.

History

LSD was developed in 1938 by Arthur Stoll and Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemists hoping to create a headache cure. Hofmann accidentally ingested some of the drug and discovered its hallucinogenic effect. In the 1960s and 70s it was used by millions of young people in America; its popularity waned as its reputation for bad trips and resulting accidents and suicides became known. In 1967, the federal government classified it as a Schedule I drug, i.e., having a high abuse potential and no accepted medical use, along with heroin and marijuana. In the early 1990s it again became popular, presumably because of its low cost. It is produced in clandestine laboratories.

Policy Proposal for LSD

LSD was first synthesised from ergot in 1938 by Albert Hofmann at Sandoz laboratories in Basle. Hofmann had researched the chemistry of the ergot fungus and derived valuable medicines used in childbirth and migraine relief. It wasn't until 1943 however that he unwittingly absorbed LSD and experienced the most profound and disturbing effects - "an uninterrupted stream of fantastic images of extraordinary plasticity and vividness and accompanied by an intense kaleidoscopic play of colours" (Hofmann, 1983). The first therapeutic use was undertaken by psychiatrist Werner Stoll, son of Sandoz president Arthur Stoll. His findings were published in 1947 and Sandoz then offered to supply LSD to select researchers under the trade name Delysid. During the 1950s and 1960s, it was used to treat various psychological and psychiatric problems in the US and elsewhere. Although it was certainly no panacea, there were dramatic successes with some patients who had failed to respond to more conventional treatments (Shearer and Gowing, 2004)

Black market 'acid' was one ingredient in the turbulent decade of the 1960s. In the United States it was becoming a popular form of recreation, particularly amongst the young. Sensationalist media reporting led to its prohibition in 1966 and US influence eventually led to a world-wide ban, even for therapeutic use. Meanwhile the Pentagon and CIA continued to research its use ...