Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Is Most Often Sold On A Paper Square

It Is Assumed To Contain What It Is Sold As

Other Drugs Get Printed Onto Identical Paper

Only A Chemist Can Say Which Drug Is On A Square

Testers At A Portuguese Festival Did Exactly That

Researchers Have Also Studied How Drug Use Is Shown On Screen

Analysts Counted The Drug Scenes In Award Nominated Films

Doctors Have Written Up Seizures In A Patient Taking Lithium

THIS NEWSLETTER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NOTHING IN THIS CONTENT CONSTITUTES MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. ALWAYS CONSULT A QUALIFIED HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY HEALTH RELATED DECISIONS.

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LSD Is Most Commonly Swallowed On Blotter Paper

Blotter Is Perforated Paper Decorated With Abstract Artwork

Each Sheet Can Be Subdivided Into Smaller Pieces

The Substance Is Laid Uniformly Across It

Small Pills Called Microdot Are Another Form

A Solution Is Distributed As Well

Chemical Analysis Is How The Content Of A Square Is Established

A Drug Checking Service Ran At A Festival In Portugal

Two Hundred Forty Five Samples Expected To Contain LSD Were Submitted

About 67.3% Of The Alleged LSD Samples Contained Only LSD

0.8% Contained LSD Combined With Adulterants

24.1% Of The Samples Did Not Contain LSD

Those Samples Contained Another Psychoactive Substance

11.4% Were Dimethoxyamphetamine Derivatives

9.8% Belonged To The N-Benzyl Dimethoxyphenethylamine Family

No Psychoactive Substance Was Detected In 7.8%

Researchers Matched One Hundred Ten Questionnaires To Test Results

74.2% Given Unexpected Results Did Not Intend To Consume

The N-Benzyl Compounds Are Known As NBOMes

NBOMes Have Been Sold As A Legal Alternative To LSD

A Report From Colombia Examined 70 Blotters Marked As LSD

25I-NBOMe Was Identified In 21 Of Them

NBOMe Use Is Commonly Sublingual Buccal Or Nasal

How Many People Take LSD Has Been Counted Separately

A National Survey Measured Its Use Across Three Years

Past Year Use Fell From 0.88% In 2021 To 0.58% In 2023

The Final Sample Included 173,808 Respondents With Complete Data

Media Researchers Have Counted Drug Scenes Rather Than Describing Them

One Study Examined Films Nominated For The Academy Awards

Its Films Ran From 2008 To 2011

The Categories Were Best Film Best Actor And Best Actress

437 Scenes Showing Drug Consumption Or Its Effects Were Assessed

Each Drug Identified In A Scene Counted As One Unit

That Gave 515 Units In Total

All The Nominated Films Portrayed At Least One Scene Of Drug Use

Alcohol And Tobacco Predominated In Those Films

Use Of Other Drugs Increased Progressively Across Those Years

Cinema Is Not Where That Picture Is Assembled Now

Another Study Read Self Reports Posted On YouTube

The Final Dataset Included 32 Videos

Those Videos Contained Accounts From 34 Individuals

24 Were Male And 10 Were Female

The Substances Discussed Were Primarily LSD And Psilocybin

Those Reports Were Grouped Into Themes

Enhanced States And Heightened Senses Was One

Insights And Transformation Was Another

Relief And Cure For Health Conditions Also Appeared

Video Makers Most Commonly Described Depression As Cured Or Eased

The Authors Note What Those Accounts Cannot Show

No Way Exists To Discern Reported Outcomes From Placebo

Sentiment Has Been Measured Across A Larger Body Of Text

Researchers Ran Language Processing Over Reddit Discussions

Heroin And Methamphetamine Drew Highly Negative General Sentiments

Psilocybin LSD And Ayahuasca Generally Evoked Different Ones

Those Sentiments Were Neutral To Slightly Positive

The Authors Name Reddit As A Potential Source Of Selection Bias

The Medical Literature Records Effects That Outlast A Dose

Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder Is One Of Them

It Is A Recurrence Of Perceptual Disturbances Without Recent Use

Its Two Subtypes Are Named HPPD I And HPPD II

HPPD I Runs A Short Term Reversible And Benign Course

Impairment In HPPD I Is Mild And The Prognosis Is Usually Good

HPPD II Runs A Long Term Course That May Be Irreversible

Its Impairment Is Severe And The Prognosis Is Worse

Current Prevalence Estimates Are Unknown

A Figure Appears In The Diagnostic Manual Regardless

DSM-5 Suggests 4.2%

It Can Arise After A Single Exposure

That Exposure Is Mostly To LSD

A Different Risk Comes From What Else Someone Is Taking

Researchers Analysed Psychedelic Experience Reports Online

Erowid Shroomery And Reddit Supplied Them

62 Of Them Combined Lithium With A Classic Psychedelic

47% Of Those Involved Seizures

A Further 18% Of Them Resulted In Bad Trips

Another 34 Reports Involved Lamotrigine Instead

None Of Those Produced Either Outcome

Medical Attention Followed In 39% Of The Lithium Reports

The Authors Call Their Conclusion Provisional

A Case Report Describes One Adolescent Patient

Three Generalized Seizures Followed Ingestion Within 30 Minutes

She Had Recently Started Low Dose Lithium Therapy

Her Earlier LSD Use Had Not Produced Seizures

The Literature Also Covers What Clinicians Do About It

Acute Episodes Are Managed Rather Than Reversed

Guidance Recommends A Quiet Environment Free From External Stimuli

One To One Supervision Is Advised

A Low Dose Benzodiazepine May Sometimes Be Indicated For Anxiety

No Deaths Have Been Attributed To The Direct Effects Of LSD

That Is Not The Same As A Record Without Harm