Embarking on an Acid Trip: Analysis of the benefits and dangers of LSD

Embarking on an Acid Trip: Analysis of the benefits and dangers of LSD

Embarking on an Acid Trip: Analysis of the benefits and dangers of LSD

HP200

Abstract

A thorough analysis of the hallucinogenic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25) and its effect on humans are given. The various uses of the drug are also examined throughout several decades, beginning with its first synthesis in 1938 as well as first use by humans five years later to its current usage today by young adolescents. Various myths have also surrounded the capacity of the drug. For example early users believed that it could alter your personality and way of thinking or pave the way toward spiritual enlightenment, while in later decades, anti-drug campaigns led people to believe that the drug could cause insanity or genetic damage. The realities associated with the drug are that it can be used for psychoanalysis and other studies of the mind.

Yet there is always the possibility the user may undergo panic attacks and hysteria from the inability to cope with the intense cortical overload. In the end it seems that our understanding of the properties of LSD are still very limited and it would be hard to proclaim judgment over whether or not the drug would be more harmful or beneficial in our current applications of it in scientific research.

Embarking on an Acid Trip: Analysis of the benefits and dangers of LSD

Drug use has been an undeniable factor in human life. From Aspirin and Caffeine to Cannabis Sativa and Opium, its uses vary widely from medical purposes to substance abuse. History has also forced our society to cope with the reality that the problem will always exist as long as people can find ways to synthesize and obtain them. Even so, an effective way of combating this problem is to have a thorough understanding of how these drugs work, and how they affect the user. One type of drug that has created much controversy over its possible benefits and/or dangers would be the psychoactive drug Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD).

The Psychoactive Drug Lysergic Acid Diethylamide

The drugs that have won the greatest attention in today’s drug abuse problems fall under the category of psychoactive drugs, or drugs that can alter ones perception, way of thinking, and behavior. Of these, hallucinogens have the ability to “alter [the] consciousness in profound ways.” (Williams & Knight, 1994) They have also been labeled illusionogenic, psychedelic, and mind-expanding, depending on whether scientists or users are talking about them.