|
LSD is, by mass, one of the most potent drugs yet discovered. Both subjective reports and pharmacological methods such as receptor binding assays determine LSD to be, per mole, around 100 times more potent than psilocybin and psilocin and around 4,000 times more potent than mescaline. Dosages of LSD are measured in micrograms (µg), or millionths of a gram. By comparison, dosages of almost all other drugs, both recreational and medical, are measured in milligrams (mg), or thousandths of a gram.
The dosage level that will produce a threshold hallucinogenic effect in humans is generally considered to be 20/30 μg, with the drug's effects becoming markedly more evident at higher dosages.
According to Glass and Henderson's
review, black-market LSD is largely
unadulterated though sometimes
contaminated by manufacturing
by-products. Typical doses in the 1960s
ranged from 200 to 1000 µg, while street
samples of the 1970s contained 30 to 300
µg. By the mid-1980s, the average had
reduced to about 100 to 125 µg, lowering
still further in the 1990s to the 2080
µg range. (Lower doses, Glass and
Henderson found, generally produce fewer
bad trips.) Dosages by frequent users can be as high as 1,200 µg (1.2 mg), although such a high dosage may precipitate unpleasant physical and psychological reactions.
Estimates for the lethal dosage (LD50) of LSD range from 200 μg/kg to more than 1 mg/kg of human body mass, though most sources report that there are no known human cases of such an overdose. Other sources note one report of a suspected fatal overdose of LSD in which there were indications that ~1/3 of a gram (320 mg or 320,000 µg) had been injected intravenously, i.e., over 3,000 more typical oral doses of ~100 µg had been injected.[
LSD is not considered addictive, in that its users do not exhibit the medical community's commonly accepted definitions of addiction and physical dependence. Rapid tolerance build-up prevents regular use, and there is cross-tolerance shown between LSD, mescaline and psilocybin. This tolerance diminishes after a few days' abstention from use. As with any psychotropic substance there is a risk of psychological dependence; however, as with most psychedelics, this risk is relatively low. |
Legal Herbal Highs
Royal Blunts
Information Books
Shamanic Psychedelic Books