On LSD, which is often taken in tab form, an intense, altered state transforms into disassociation and despair. Often there is no stopping “bad trips,” which can go on for up to twelve hours.

“I started drinking at the age of 15. Then I progressed to taking Ecstasy, speed, cocaine and LSD.

“I found it difficult to hold down a job and became depressed and thought I would never overcome my obsession with drugs. I attempted suicide twice by overdosing on pills. I was put under psychiatrists who gave me even more drugs, antidepressants and tranquilizers, which just made matters worse.

“As an outlet for my feelings I turned to self-harm—I started cutting and burning myself.” —Justin

Physical Effects

• Dilated pupils
• Higher or lower body temperature
• Sweating or chills (“goose bumps”)
• Loss of appetite
• Sleeplessness
• Dry mouth
• Tremors

Mental Effects

• Delusions
• Visual hallucinations
• An artificial sense of euphoria or certainty
• Distortion of one’s sense of time and identity
• Impaired depth perception
• Impaired time perception, distorted perception of the size and shape of objects, movements, color, sounds, touch and the user’s own body image
• Severe, terrifying thoughts and feelings
• Fear of losing control
• Panic attacks
• Flashbacks, or a recurrence of the LSD trip, often without warning long after taking LSD
• Severe depression or psychosis

"After taking the acid, I imagined that we had driven head-on into an eighteen-wheeler and were killed. I could hear the screeching metal, then a dark and evil quiet. I was terrified at this point, I actually thought we were dead....For a year I wouldn’t go into any cemetery because I was terrified I would find my own grave.” —Jenny