However, recent police operations, including the latest seizure of the drug, termed the most powerful hallucinogen available globally, indicate that it is fast regaining acceptability among users and the demand is skyrocketing.
Just last month, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) busted an illegal laboratory manufacturing LSD in Anjuna, Goa, and arrested the prime suspect with 2,464 blots, or small squares of paper painted with the drug that people chew and swallow. The drug manufacturer was linked with an Olympic silver medal-winning swimmer and a former Russian policeman who were also part of the same network.
Chemically known as lysergic diethylamide acid, the high induced by LSD is popularly called an acid trip. While its effects can last for 12-16 hours, Ecstasy and MDMA provide shorter 4-6-hour trips, making LSD ideal for consumption at weekend parties. “LSD apparently changes the way one perceives the world around them. One may hear and see bright colours when on an acid trip. The drug causes the senses of space, distance and time to become altered. People experience strange feelings and strong emotions,” revealed an investigator citing disclosures made by the users and sellers.
“LSD is odourless, colourless and tasteless. Besides blots, it is also sold as drops or sugar cubes laced with a drop that people can lick,” added the investigator. LSD usage can, however, lead to ‘bad trips’ as well and make people delusional and leave them susceptible to severe psychological and physical problems. An NCB official said, “Physical changes include increased heart rate and blood pressure, teeth clenching, muscle twitches and shaking, dilated pupils, sweating, sleeplessness and loss of appetite.”
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Many users experience panic, confusion, sadness and see scary images. “Bad reactions can happen with the first use and a user may have flashbacks later and experience the feelings of a bad trip even after the drug wears off,” said the official. Because LSD also affects judgment and behaviour, users might find themselves in dangerous situations.
The use of LSD is known to have been prevalent at rave parties in Goa. The hippie era that began in the late 1960s saw heavy usage of the hallucinogen, which was first synthesised in 1938 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann. The brand Hoffman was popular till as late as 2009. In between, brands like California Sunshine, Sky Angels, Blue Heaven, Orange Haze and Red Dragon were also popular. The latest blots being sold by the network busted by NCB came in the brand name of Gammagoblin and Holy Spirit of Asura, an NCB official disclosed.