Hallucinogens are drugs that cause hallucinations. Users see images, hear sounds and feel sensations that seem very real but do not exist. Some hallucinogens also produce sudden and unpredictable changes in the mood of those who use them.
WHAT IS AN HALLUCINOGEN?
Photo credit: DEA
“At the age of 16 I was introduced to a drug that I abused for over three years—LSD. What I was unaware of was the fact that LSD is the most potent hallucinogen known to man.
“The drug came on a small piece of paper no bigger than my index finger, called a blotter. Fifteen minutes after putting the paper on my tongue my entire body got hot and I began to sweat.
“Some other reactions that I experienced while on the drug included dilated pupils, nausea and ‘goose bumps.’ While high on LSD I felt like there was a huge distortion both in my mind and body. The visual changes as well as the extreme changes in mood were like some strange scary trip—one in which I felt like I had no control over my mind and body.” —Edith
STREET NAMES
LSD
Acid
Battery acid
Blotter
Boomers
California Sunshine
Cid
Doses
Dots
Golden Dragon
Heavenly Blue
Hippie
Loony toons
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Microdot
Pane
Purple Heart
Superman
Tab
Window pane
Yellow sunshine
Zen
REFERENCES
- European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction 2007 Annual Report
- United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, report on LSD, 1998
- U.S. Department of Justice, National Drug Intelligence Center report, May 2003
- U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
- "Research Report Series—Hallucinogens and Dissociative Drugs," U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse
- U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy report on Hallucinogens, September 2005
- Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD—The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond, Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain, Grave Press, (revised edition), March 1986
- www.drogues.gouv.fr. (Website of French Government's Interdepartmental Mission for the Fight Against Drugs and Drug Addiction)
- Hopkins Medical News
- U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
- “Situation of Amphetamines, Ecstasy and LSD in Europe,” European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
- “New Study Reveals More than 3 Million Adolescents and Young Adults Have Used Non-Prescription Cough and Cold Medicines to Get High at Least Once in their Lifetimes,” 10 Jan 2008, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
