Okay yes, this is a strange topic. You would think the reasons are obvious, right? That’s what I thought but what I was unaware of is that LSD was used for medical purposes in the past. This sounded completely absurd to me so I was impelled to do more research. And here we are. Let me enlighten you.
Link: http://thefreethoughtproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/lsd-alcohol-anonymous.jpg
LSD is a pschaedelic drug that changes your mood and causes you to hallucinate. You hallucinate because LSD actually copies the functions of a neurotransmitter called serotonin. Serotonin controls your mood and maintains it. When someone takes LSD, it attacks a specific serotonin receptor called 5HT-2A. This causes your senses to basically freak out and make you see things that you normally wouldn’t see. This does not sound like it would be the safest thing to ingest. The effects of it and overall risk overwhelmingly outweigh any positive functions the drug serves. When it comes to taking LSD, you’re basically taking a chance every time because you could have a great experience or not be able to recover from a bad trip and stay that way forever. According to this article I read, you don’t feel the effects until after 30-90 minutes after ingesting the drug. After doing so, your body temperature can either rise or drop and you can experience extreme mood changes. Often times users lose their appetite, become tired, and start to shake. There is an extreme disconnect from reality and that is a reason why users continue to use because they want to experience that feeling again. The risks of taking LSD can be subtle but most of the time they can be severe and long lasting. I don’t think it’s worth the risk because for someone that lacks self control, they may not be able to stop themselves from reusing. This can lead to even worse long lasting effects that commonly affect long term users.
According to the same article as before, long term users of LSD can experience flashbacks of a “trip” they experienced while being on the drug. This can reoccur constantly throughout their life. Also, users can become stuck in a long term psychosis and severe depression. When someone is on LSD, they can experience terrifying images and develop irrational fears of images that do not even exist. I feel the long term effects are what to worry about more because you may end up feeling really good in the moment, but you may not be able to get ride of the feeling if it is bad.
The history of LSD is interesting because many people felt it was a beneficial drug and were unaware of its dangers.LSD was first synthesized in 1938 by Dr. Albert Hoffman. He did not know of its capabilities until early 1940’s. The drug was actually used experimentally from the 40’s through the 60’s by doctors because it mimic’d similar functions as the brain. There weren’t any practical medical uses but it became poplar in the field of psychology. Psychologist were giving it to their clients as an escape and this spread rapidly.
Knowing everything that I know now about LSD, I can safely say I won’t being doing it any time soon. The risks are too high to outweigh the benefits I would get.
http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/lsd/a-short-history.html
http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/lsd/the-harmful-effects-of-lsd.html
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2006/feb/25/drugs.thisweekssciencequestions
This post is interesting. It is a text of LSD introduction. From my perspective, I totally agree that LSD should be illegal. The high tension LSD brings makes people addict it. So it leads our body to a strenuous physical exertion. The hallucination that LSD cause is very dangerous. Because it makes people out of control. In the hallucination, we have no clear sense that what we may do. It is possible that users would hurt others. Although LSD may have some benefits, it is too risky to use it.
While, I have never tried LSD I know a few that have. Most said the experience was well worth it. Some did it again, for some once was enough. But not because it was a bad experience, but they explained to me that things in their life was clearer. Obviously I cant comment on any of their long term effects or if there are any. But I wish you would have touched on how LSD has helped people such as innovators like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or artist like A$AP Rocky. Steve Jobs said taking LSD was top three thing he had done in his life. Here is a great article by the Washington Post on how LSD can make you healthier, happier, and smarter. Research into LSD was only started back up in the early 2000 ‘s, but have showed promise when dealing with anxiety and addiction even after a single trip. I don’t feel the need to use any drugs so I cant see myself taking it but I can see why others do.
This was an informative blog and had some new facts about the basics of LSD. However, I think the order of the information could’ve been rearranged (put the synthesized date at the beginning of he blog). I also would’ve wanted to know more about some people’s particular stories (maybe including some statistics). However, I did learn a lot from this blog. Here is a link about other hallucinogenic drugs http://psychedelics.com/psychedelic-facts/hallucinogenic-drugs-list/
I think you chose a very interesting topic, however you did not use a sufficient amount of evidence. You referred to the same article twice, which isn’t bad, but I would have liked more sources. I think you had strong organizational skills, but it was not enough to convince me either way. I liked the background that you provided, but I also would have liked to see more pictures included. Here is another article that you could have used to help back up your claim.
I also wish that you would have included some scientific research in your post. I feel like it could have benefited your argument that the risks of using LSD out weigh the rewards. Had their been a statistic of how often bad trips occur and how often good trips occur, it would be easier to analyze how great the risk is. I think it was important to include the serious potential dangers of the drug but there are serious potential dangers of driving a car but I still choose to drive a car because the frequency of the dangers are low.
This is a very interesting topic! However I wish you would have picked something with more scientific research and or included it within your actual post. You are right when you say the long term effects aren’t worth it. In fact it is kind of terrifying to think that this drug could perhaps effect you later on in life through flashbacks etc. To find out more about LSD I did some research and came across this cool article that I think would be worth your while to read.