LSD Addiction: Physical and Psychological Effects
All drugs are said to influence mood because they alter chemical activity in the brain. Some drugs are so potent they can disrupt crucial brain functions, damage the other vital organs of the body, and cause death. These exactly are what psychedelic drugs can do.
The lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD for short, is an example of a psychedelic drug. Known as "acid" in the streets, LSD can produce terrifying hallucinations that may lead to attempts at suicide. Victims of LSD addiction, especially those coming off an intense visionary experience (called a "trip") can find themselves afflicted by mental illnesses that may last for weeks.
Some parents are asking if LSD is still around. Unfortunately, it still is. LSD is a mind-altering drug and is extremely potent. An LSD "trip" can last for a day and may overload the user's brain with sensory information. Long after this psychological effect, the user may suffer from flashbacks of things experienced when under the influence. In certain cases, LSD addiction can lead to emotional breakdown.
Physical effects of LSD are not specific. But a psychotic state may result from its use and persist even after the drug is withdrawn.
Some of the reported physical effects of LSD are as follows:
* fever
* subnormal body temperature (hypothermia)
* uterine contractions
* rapid heartbeat
* elevated levels of blood sugar
* dilation of the pupils of the eyes
* profuse sweating
* tremors
* overactive or overresponsive reflexes (hyperreflexia).
Psychological effects, on the other hand, may include any or all of the following:
* hallucinations
* paranoia
* panic
* blank stare
* possible attempts at suicide.
Treatment calls for reassuring the patient that symptoms are drug-related, not signs of a breakdown. Phenothiazines (tranquilizing drugs) are used to combat the effects of LSD.
It is also important that the patient is placed in a comfortable environment. He has to be kept relaxed as much as is possible. Remember that the psychological effects of LSD last rather long, and it is necessary that the patient remains mentally prepared for the powerful mind-altering effects the drug continues to exert through the early stages of treatment.
Unlike many other illicit drugs, however, LSD seems to appear in weaker doses. At the height of the drug's abuse in the 1960s, for instance, street dose was anywhere between 15 and 200 micrograms. Compare this to the average dose today, which is about 50 micrograms. Hopefully, use of LSD will continue to decline. Somehow, this is expected because of the frequency of "bad trips" associated with it.