LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). LSD is an hallucinogenic drug that comes in tiny squares of paper, often with a picture on one side. Microdots and dots come in the form of very small tablets.

From

Dr Albert Hoffman first synthesized LSD from lysergic acid, a derivative of the fungus ergot, which grows on rye and other grasses, in Switzerland in 1938. Its hallucinogenic effects were not discovered until April 1943 when he accidentally ingested it in his laboratory.

Hoffman wrote*: "Last Friday, April 16, 1943, I was forced to interrupt my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and proceed home, being affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant intoxicated-like condition, characterised by an extremely stimulated condition. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed, I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colours. After some two hours this condition faded away."

Chemistry

It is believed that LSD acts on the serotonin receptor sites in the central nervous system. LSD is chemically very similar to the neurotransmitter serotonin (which is involved in sensory perception, sleep inducement, regulation of body temperature and mood control) and may act as a mimic, disrupting the way it is used in the brain.