Description
Lysergic acid diethylamide (also known as Lysergide, LSD-25, LSD, L,
Lucy,and Acid) is a widely used semisynthetic psychedelic substance of
the lysergamide class that produces classical, psychedelic effects when
administered. LSD was first synthesized by the Swiss chemist Albert
Hofmann in 1938, butits mind altering properties were not discovered
until 1943. In 1947, itwas introduced as a commercial medication under
the trade-name Delysid foruse in clinical psychiatry and research.
How it Came about
Following its release, LSD had a major impact on scientific research
and psychiatry. Within 15 years, research on LSD and other hallucinogens
generated over 1,000 scientific papers and was prescribed to over
40,000 patients. During this time, it was investigated by the U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a potential mind control agent in a
clandestine project named MK-ULTRA. Its widespread adoption by the
Western counterculture in the 1960s eventually resulted in its global
prohibition in 1971.
Nevertheless, unpredictable adverse reactions such as uncontrollable
anxiety, delusions and psychosis can always occur, particularly among
those who are predisposed to mental disorders. LSD structure contains a
bicyclic hexahydroindole ring fused to a bicyclic quinoline group
(lysergic acid). At carbon 8 of the quinoline anN, generally N-diethyl
carboxamide is bound, LSD is additionally substituted at carbon 6 with a
methyl group. LSD is a chiral compound with two stereocenters at R5 and
R8. LSD, also called (+)-D-LSD, has an absolute configuration of (5R,
8R). The three other stereoisomers of LSD do not have psychoactive
properties.
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