The purpose of this report is to examine the effects of the psychedelic drug, lysergic acid diethylamide on the brain and therefore effects on mental health problems. Sold illegally in small tablets (microdots), capsules, gelatin squares (window panes) or most commonly added to absorbent paper and divided squares with designs or cartoons, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, commonly known as LSD or acid, is a non-toxic, non-addictive psychedelic drug first produced by Albert Hofmann in 1938 from ergot, a grain fungus found on rye. Hofmann and his team at Sandoz Pharmaceutical Company were searching for a cure for migraine headaches when Hofmann discovered the hallucinogenic. From 1953 to 1964, the U.S government and CIA ran the MK-ULTRA program, a project committed to finding a way to use LSD for the purpose of aiding in hypnosis and mind control. After finding no useful benefits, the government decided to make LSD illegal in 1966, making it difficult for scientists and researchers to study the hallucinogen.

Mental health is an essential foundation for a functioning society. It heavily impacts on everyday lives socially, emotionally and physically. Mental health strengthens and supports people’s ability to have healthy relationships, reach potential, make appreciable life choices, maintain physical health and well-being and to simply handle the ups and downs of life.

This paper will first investigate the production of the drug and will then move on to discuss its notable chemical properties. It will then outline how LSD enters the bloodstream provided with an explanation of the brain’s and neuron’s response to the chemical. The essay will continue to state how the psychedelic impacts on mental health problems. 


Background

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, commonly known as LSD or acid, is a non-toxic, non-addictive psychedelic drug first produced by Albert Hofmann in 1938 from ergot, a grain fungus found on rye. LSD is a very dangerous drug to produce, so the chemist wishing to make it must be extremely skilled in organic chemistry, have access to a darkroom and several restricted chemicals. After obtaining the ergot, one must carefully extract the ergot alkaloids, which can prove to be difficult as the fungus will decompose under a bright light. The solvents and reagents, Anhydrous Hydrazine and Chloroform, are also incredibly dangerous; they are known to explode when heated and be a cause for cancer. One must then synthesise the ergot alkaloid into a lysergic acid compound called iso-lysergic acid hydrazide through the addition of chemicals and a heating process. A product called iso-lysergic diethylamide is then produced by isomerizing the iso-lysergic acid hydrazide which is then isomerized once again to produce an active form of LSD. 

This active form of LSD is then purified, crystallized and then converted to liquid for distribution. It is colourless, odorless and has a slight bitter taste. At 323.43 g/mol, the drug is water soluble and will decompose after prolonged exposure to direct sunlight and temperatures over 28℃. LSD is made up of 20 carbon, 25 hydrogen, 3 nitrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Its reactive groups include amides and imides; amines, phosphines. The molecular structure of LSD is ring-like.

Figure 1

LSD is most usually taken orally. It is then absorbed through the mucous membranes and gastrointestinal tract by the lining of the stomach and small intestines before entering the bloodstream. In some cases, a small amount of its liquid form is absorbed through the skin, resulting in the drug entering the bloodstream faster. When injected, it disappears quickly from the blood. The Psychedelic Encyclopedia notes that when tagged with Carbon 14, LSD can be distinctly found it the small intestines, liver, spleen, kidneys and adrenal glands. It is then said to be metabolized in the liver and then excreted through urine in approximately 24 hours. 

This psychedelic drug effects the 5-HT2A receptor system by mimicking Serotonin and binding to the receptors in the brain. As LSD has a higher affinity than Serotonin, it therefore takes priority over the neurotransmitter and as a result prevents Serotonin from sending neurotransmissions. Scientists believe this to be the cause of the hallucinations and bodily effects, although the exact brain reactions is currently fairly unknown. A UK study has found that when under the influence of LSD, the frontal lobe, the section of the brain responsible for controlling consciousness, mood, high-level cognitive function, perception and sensory signals, is shut off, giving birth to a free flow of thought. LSD ‘trips’ are very similar to that of an ecstasy (MDMA) trip, which blocks the reuptake of Serotonin and as a result leaving more of the neurotransmitter in the synapse and extending activation, therefore suggesting that the two drugs activate in a comparable pathway. 

Discussion

Although there are not specific links to LSD and mental health, some rare cases have emerged of users of the drug experiencing what is referred to as ‘LSD psychosis’, a schizophrenia-like disorder that appears to be triggered by the psychodelic. However, with in-depth analyzation of these patients, it has been discovered that there was a common link of Psychosis and Schizophrenia in the family history. It has been found that ‘bad trips’, where the user enters a nightmarish world for hours without an escape, are linked to already existing mental health problems and uncomfortable and/or unsafe settings. 

When the user is in a safe environment with a healthy, happy state of mind and is either around friends or alone, they will experience a sense of euphoria, altered perceptions (visual and auditory hallucinations), an altered sense of time, spiritual experiences, feelings of detachment from his/her ego and mixed senses where the user may feel as though they can see sounds and hear colours. 

From the 1950’s to the early 1970’s, LSD was utilized as a treatment for alcoholism, anxiety and depression for those with advanced stage cancer. Recent studies suggest that LSD has no damaging long-term effects, and that the psychodelic can be used for the intended result of a number of beneficial outcomes, such as a decrease of anxiety associated with death, treatment for post traumatic stress disorders, treatment for addictions, heightened creativity and an increase in problem solving abilities. In fact, a large number of technological and scientific advances are due to discoveries made whilst under the influence of LSD. The DNA helix was found by Francis Click on an LSD trip and technological innovators such as Steve Jobs have spoken about the drug “...forever changing…” their lives. 

Figure 2

A major step into the research of the benefits of LSD was made by Harvard Medical School suggesting that the psychedelic could potentially be utilized to relieve cluster headaches. The only known and legal relief for the suffers of these chronic and excruciating migraines was a tank of pure oxygen, which would only benefit the patient for a small amount of time. Dr John Halpern found that for 53 sufferers, psychedelics prevented or stopped cluster headaches more reliably than prescription drugs. Halpern and his colleges had created a non-psychedelic form of LSD labelled 2-bromo lysergic acid diethylamide. The subjects of the study were administered the drug three times over a fifteen day period and found that for five of the six patients, the headaches were gone with no hallucinogenic effects.

Conclusion

Thus, this report has investigated LSD’s effect on the brain and in result mental health problems. It has outlined the chemical properties, the production process from its raw materials and provided an explanation of how the hallucinogen enters the bloodstream along with the brain and neuron's response to the drug and any neurotransmitters involved in the process. This essay has also discussed how LSD impacts on mental health problems through looking at a number of scientific studies. 

The physical effects of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide on the brain include having a sense of euphoria, altered auditory and visual perceptions, mixed senses, feelings of detachment from the ego, spiritual experiences and an altered sense of time. Although conducting scientific research on an illegal drug has proven to be a difficult task for researchers, there is a number of possibilities of how this happens. Essentially, LSD has a very similar atomic appearance to that of Serotonin resulting in its ability to mimic serotonin and bind to its receptors in the brain. New research has suggested that LSD could be both a treatment and a cure for several health issues in our society, especially for mental health illnesses.

Public education piece

My public education piece is an artwork to advise the general public of the information learned during this research assignment.

‘A Tripping Chance’
This visual representation describes the random chance of someone affected by LSD. It seeks to show the lack of choice of a good trip compared to that of a terrifying one once the psychedelic has entered the system. Essentially the trip acts as a kaleidoscope transforming the true visuals of the world as represented by the trip on the left; the ideal outcome when taking the drug as opposed to the dreaded ‘bad trip’ on the right. The spin board in the center illustrates the two possible outcomes with the spinner acting as a representation of the user taking the drug and essentially becoming a bystander in the fate of the trip.

References

Matteo Favero, LSD: Effects and Symptoms, http://flipper.diff.org/app/items/info/4051, 07.10.15

University of Utah, Beyond the Reward Pathway, http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/beyond/ , 08.10.15

Rhode Island Psychological Association, Importance of Mental Health, http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/beyond/ , 08.10.15

National Centre for Biotechnology Information U.S, http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Lysergide, 13.10.15

Samantha Olsen via Medical Daily, This is Your Brain on Drugs: The Truth About Where LSD Trips Take Your Mind and Body, http://www.medicaldaily.com/your-brain-drugs-truth-about-where-lsd-trips-take-your-mind-and-body-287852, 19.10.15

Teddy Poh, Part of Brain Which Controls Consciousness, Medical Interest, https://teddybrain.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/a-brief-review-on-consciousness-from-medical-interest/, 19.10.15

Anne Frederickson, Mechanisms of LSD: a Glimpse Into the Serotonergic System, http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper3/Frederickson3.html, 28.10.15

Suzanne LeVert, The Facts about LSD, Book, 30.10.15

Erowid, LSD Does Not Stay in Your Body Forever, https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_myth1.shtml, 30.10.15

M. Foster Olive, LSD, Book, 02.11.15

Mark Anderson via Erowid, The Psychological Effects of LSD, https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_effects1.shtml, 02.11.15

Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, Psychedelic Bibliography, http://www.maps.org/resources/psychedelic-bibliography/ , 03.11.15

Erowid, John Halpern, https://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/halpern_john/halpern_john.shtml, 03.11.15