The street names for LSD vary, but the most common are: acid, doses, microdot, hits, sugar cubes, tabs, or trips. LSD is usually swallowed and can take 20 to 60 minutes to take effect, called “tripping”. LSD is illegal, except for scientific experimental research, and is in the same class of drug as heroin and cocaine (class a). LSD is a drug that radically changes a person’s mental state by distorting the Reed 3 perception of reality. In high doses, LSD can produce hallucinations. LSD is often referred to as an illuisionogenic, psychotomimetic, psychedelic, and mind-expanding, depending on who’s talking about them. LSD is usually taken orally, but is sometimes injected or inhaled. Users who inject LSD should take care not to get in the habit of using the same needle over and over, or, sharing needles. These users would be at risk for hepatitis or AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). The physical effects of LSD include, but are not limited to, dilated pupils, higher body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, numbness, muscle weakness and trembling, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, nausea, and occasionally, convulsions and/or seizures. In large doses, LSD can produce delusions and visual hallucinations. A user may experience a decreased awareness of touch and pain that can result in self-inflicted injuries. A person’s sense of time, place, sound and color can be mixed up. Fusion of the senses is often disturbing, music is “seen”, colors are “heard”. Feelings take over a sense of mystical, religious or cosmic nature (generally the most desired effect a user needs). In some instances, coma and heart and lung failure have been reported. Research has found that there is a higher risk of spontaneous abortion and congenital abnormalities in babies born to women who regularly used LSD during pregnancy.

In almost all of these cases the mother had abused other drugs. Therefore, it was almost impossible to determine just which of the drugs caused their problems. LSD tolerance develops rapidly, therefore making larger and larger amounts of the Reed 4 drug needed to produce the user’s desired effects. Eventually, after repeated days of repeated drug use, the user develops a tolerance to the drug and no effect is obtained. This can be reversed if the user abstains from LSD use for a few days. A person who has built up a tolerance for LSD will have a tolerance for other hallucinogenic drugs such as psilocybin and mescaline. Since there are no withdrawal symptoms from stopping LSD, there is no physical dependence after continuous use. However, some LSD users become “psychologically” dependent on LSD and the need to take the drug becomes a compulsion. Other psychological risks associated with using LSD are: a sense of distance and estrangement, paranoia, violent behavior, confusion, suspicion, and loss of control. There is also evidence to indicate that chronic LSD use may result in prolonged depression and anxiety. Some LSD users have been observed having “catatonic syndrome” whereby the user becomes mute, lethargic, disoriented, and makes meaningless repetitive movements. According to researchers, the short-term effects of LSD are unpredictable. They depend on the amount taken at one time, the user’s past drug history, the user’s personality, mood, expectations, and the environment in which the drug is used, the form the drug is in, and the people around the user. Although no deaths resulting exclusively from a LSD overdose has ever been reported, cases of suicide have occurred during or following LSD ingestion. The long- term effects appear after repeated use over a lengthy period of time, or some time after the short-term effects of a single dose have worn off. Pseudo-hallucinations can turn into severe, terrifying, true hallucinations that can Reed 5 result in violence.

Cases of suicide have occurred during or following a LSD “trip”. Some “trips” have turned so violent that results have been accidental homicides, self- mutilations, and other fatalities. “Flashbacks” (unpredictable spontaneous recurrences of the original LSD experience without the user taken the drug again) can happen weeks, months, or even years after the first encounter with the drug. They may only last a few minutes and are usually visual. Since LSD is an illegal drug, an important negative result of involvement in the use and sell or LSD is that if an individual is arrested for use, he may be fined and spend time in jail. If convicted of trafficking and possession for the purposes of trafficking, and individual may spend a lengthy time in prison, possibly up to ten years.

According to researchers, the most serious concern about LSD use has been that it may cause chromosome damage (Cohen, 1967). However, these findings were not often replicated, so the damage cannot be confirmed.

Ecstasy (mthylendioxymethamphetamine, MDA, MDMA) is a synthetic drug which, like amphetamines, is a stimulant to the central nervous system. Ecstasy is most often used by young adults and adolescents at clubs, raves (large, all night dance parties), and rock concerts. Taken in low doses, ecstasy does not produce as many hallucinogens as it does when taken in large amounts. Ecstasy is taken because of its reputation for producing a feeling of “expansive well- being in the user.” It creates a “high” that stops the user from feeling tired and gives the Reed 6 individual the ability to “rave all night.” Often, Ecstasy appears in a tablet form that is often branded with a playboy bunny, a NIKE swoosh or CK. Some street names for Ecstasy are Adam, Bean, E, X, XM, Roll, and XTC. According to some sources, six new designs are manufactured every month. Some include red and black capsules known as “Dennis the Menace”, “White Doves” - white pills with dove imprints, “hamburgers”- white or off-white tablets and “Disco Biscuits”- large, flat white tablets with brown speckles. The effects start after about 20 minutes and can last for hours. Many problems from use of Ecstasy are similar to those found with the use of amphetamines and cocaine. Short-term effects of taking Ecstasy include psychological difficulties such as confusion, depression, sleep problems, drug craving, severe anxiety, and paranoia, during and sometimes weeks after taking Ecstasy. This is substantiated by scientists (from the UK Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs) reporting that Ecstasy users are prone to panic attacks, depression and psychotic illness. Simon Burns, health minister in the UK said, “each week a million youngsters are reported to “pop” an E tab to improve their social lives, believing it to be safe. There is no safe recreational drug and Ecstasy can be very damaging to physical and mental health. The unpredictable harmful effects of Ecstasy can include epileptic fit, panic attacks, paranoid states, episodes of confusion, permanent visual changes, depression and the risk of psychotic illness.” The physical symptoms can be exhibited as muscle tension, involuntary teeth- clenching, nausea, blued vision, rapid eye movement, faintness, and chills or sweating. Increases in heart rate and blood pressure is also a risk for people with circulatory or Reed 7 heart problems. Evidence also exists that some users of Ecstasy have developed a rash that looks like acne. Research has found that Ecstasy may contribute to long-term brain damage, especially to those parts of the brain critical to thought and memory. Chronic use was found to produce long-lasting, maybe even permanent, damage to neurons that release serotonin that may lead to irreversible memory impairment. These neurons regulate aggression, mood, sexual activity, sleep and sensitivity to pain. Since MDMA is related in structure and effects to methamphetamine, which has been shown to cause degeneration of neurons containing the neurotransmitter dopamine, the damage to these neurons is the underlying cause of the motor problems similar to those of persons who have Parkinson’s disease. In addition to these direct effects of Ecstasy on the brain, there are “knock-on effects” to the body which are found in the reported fatalities to users. If an Ecstasy user does not notice he is getting tired and continues to dance, their body temperature will be raised, muscles could become strained, and bones could be impacted. If an Ecstasy user is drinking alcohol (as many do in clubs) and becomes dehydrated, their body will become dehydrated. This, along with the raised body temperature, causes collapse and possible failure of body organs like the kidneys, heart or liver. Studies have also yielded reports of internal hemorrhaging in users. This could be due to Ecstasy having anti-coagulative properties which stops blood from clotting and therefore a person runs the risk of bleeding to death. Young people are into attending dance clubs in very secluded buildings for the Reed 8 purpose of ingesting drugs as they socialize. When Ecstasy is taken in such a hot atmosphere it can lead to heat stroke and/or dehydration. A number of people have died from just one pill. In the UK 60 deaths have occurred. Many of the deaths that occurred were unpredictable and sporadic and were usually brought on by hyperthermia (overheating). To compensate the user consumes excessive amounts of water and complications can occur such as “water intoxication” Abuse of Ecstasy is increasingly reported in the United States.

The 1998 survey of the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) found that an estimated 1.5% (3.4 million) of Americans at least 12 years old had used Ecstasy at least once in their lifetime. By age group, the heaviest use (5% or 1.4 million people) was reported for those between 18 and 25 years old. A very important negative effect of taking just one pill of Ecstasy is that the user can never be sure (unless they chemically analyze the pill) they are getting pure Ecstasy. Some other drugs such as amphetamines, paracetamol, methadone, and any mixture of these have been passed off as Ecstasy. Some reports indicate that some young people have even been given worming pills and oxygenating tablets for use in fish tanks passed off as Ecstasy.

Magic Mushooms - All parts of the mushroom fungi has the poison and the concentration varies with each species. The mushroom species of Conocybe, Panaeolus, Psilocybe and Stropharia have two related alkaloids called psilocybin or psilocin. Both are chemically similar to Reed 9 synthetic lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).

Scientific knowledge of these fungi is still far from complete, therefore, researchers and medical professionals warn that other unknown toxins are likely to be present as well. Several species of mushrooms can produce hallucinations. Distinguishing hallucinogenic mushrooms from poisonous and sometimes deadly ones can be very difficult and sometimes almost impossible. It is not illegal to pick any hallucinogenic mushrooms and eat them raw.