First time- unsure, have questions

Hey guys. I found this forum because I'm interested in taking acid but have no experience in the matter and have a few questions. I've had weed quite regularly and am more than familiar with it but never a psychedelic. I was planning on getting some acid from a friend who knows a guy and, for the first time, trying 1/4 of a tab just to see how it all goes. I've read up about it and understand the importance of set, setting and having only good friends around whom you trust.

Which brings me to my statement/question- a lady from work who I was talking to about it told me back when she was young and doing it one of her friends had taken some, freaked the hell out and ended up in the hospital. She claims from that point forward it messed him up, that he shakes all the time now and has a hard time talking. We were discussing it and she said she's not sure whether it was the acid itself of whether he was given something that he was told was acid but was something else instead. Obviously hearing this concerns me a lot because I don't mind facing a bad trip with good friends around but I don't want to take something that's going to completely render me braindead or mess me up after.

So I guess what I'd like to know is...safe practices. How do you go about making sure what you're getting is actually LSD? What the hell do you think happened to that guy? Is there other stuff going around that's claimed to be acid but can totally screw with your brain? What do you recommend for a beginner with no experience obtaining this stuff? I'm relying on a friend who is in turn relying on his friend to get some from I guess someone else. What essentially should I look out for from your experiences?

 

LSD would not do that to you. Pretty sure that even the things passed off as LSD would not either, (except MAYBE the 20mg DOM pills handed out by Hells Angels in the 60s-70s?) never heard of permanent shaking and hard time talking, it sounds like he has some mental issues.

Starting with 1/4 of a tab is GREAT. This way you can test for any strong taste, numbness or tingling in the mouth, indications that it's not LSD.

Unfortunately the majority of "acid" going around is now actually a type of chemical called NBOME, which can be dangerous, has led to many hospitalizations and a few deaths. It appears safe and fun in small doses but people take too much thinking it's non-toxic LSD. You can tell it's this chemical because it will make the inside of your mouth tingle/go numb. Tell your friend to ask his dealer, "I know its acid, but is it LSD?"

You sound like you're ready otherwise, good on you for doing research. Take care of that set and setting and lucy will take care of you

 

it seems like everybody above a certain age "knows someone who went crazy from acid back in the day." things like that seem to get blown out of proportion. maybe that dude DID take a lot of acid and go crazy, but he was probably prone to mental illness and if it was acid that did it...he probably did A LOT.

starting with a low dose is a great idea.

and ask your friend to ask his friend..."is this LSD?"
"does it have a taste?"

 

Thanks for all the help guys- I've passed those questions onto my friend and expect to get a reply shortly. If it all checks out then I'll probably be taking it sometime around the Easter break or a bit after when I have the house to myself and can spare two or three good friends over for a night, and no work commitments the next day! Hahaha.

My only follow up question is: say I do get a tab that I put on my tongue and just tastes bitter as hell- obviously I'm not going to swallow it, I'd spit it out. But should I expect the effects of that particular drug to kick in at all (after all it's 1/4 of a tab, if they did I'd expect them to be fairly mild)?

Also, when is the best time to take LSD? I've read some places they recommend taking it at midday in the daytime so that you're relatively back to normal by midnight. However I've read in other places that you're not likely to get any sleep after taking it and therefore people say you can just take it at night. Any recommendations based on people's own experience?

Thanks once again for the advice being given!

 

Hey man,

Taking 1/4 of a tab is fine if you just want to check the taste, but I should warn you that you won't get much of an effect, if any at all.

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_dose.shtml

Threshold level for LSD is around 20 ug. Strength of tabs does vary a lot, but the majority are around 80 ug or lower.

You have to judge the risk and decide for yourself, just weighing in. Other drugs which pose as LSD are only dangerous in high amounts - if everybody who had one tab from this guy dropped dead, he would have been out of business a while ago.

Whatever you decide to do, I strongly recommend that you do it with a friend if possible. LSD is an amazing drug, but it can also be confronting if not outright terrifying. The risk of that happening is reduced massively if you have company.

On time of day... personally I can't sleep for at least 18 hours after taking it, so I like to start really early. Most people can sleep fine after 12 hours though. I don't recommend doing it at night unless you're in a weird sleep cycle - you can't sleep, but you still feel tired.

 

Ok, I'm going to be a dick here and go for honesty/accuracy.

Both of you guys know/should know that yes, there are cases in the literature/history of LSD that indicate that even one exposure can elicit a full blown, life long mental illness, specifically schizophrenia. A person does not have to take A LOT, at once or over time, it has happened with one average dose.
About the physical manifestation, we all know that schizophrenia can manifest in myriad ways/behaviors. From absolute mania and constant activity to complete catatonic states. I'm willing to bet that his tremors are more psychologically based rather than physiologically, like with Parkinson's Disease.

Now having said that the actual odds of that happening to any one individual are rather astronomical, if I recall something I read written around late 1990's said that it amounts to about 0.01% (or is it 0.001%) of people who have used LSD. Infinitesimal chance of it happening to you, BUT it does bring up one other important preparatory thing not considered as often by potential psychonauts.

Is there any history of mental illness in your family, especially schizophrenia, and if so how genetically close are you to that person.
Schizophrenia, as near as we can determine, is genetically linked, or at least the pre-disposition to it is. The vast number of cases such as the one mentioned in the OP have happened to individuals who were already most likely going to develop the disease anyway, LSD just precipitated a rapid onset.


Bottom line Sketch33 is that real LSD is safer than caffeine or white sugar in respect to the physiological harm induced.

Psychologically, preperation is the best offense/defense to any uncomfortable experiences, although those are often the most rewarding ultimately.

Even the majority of those few who did have lasting problems, it is actually a rare physiological reaction to the drug, they didn't just "lose their shit".
Important distinction to bear in mind.

We just haven't yet deciphered schizophrenia or LSD completely, or any connection between the two.


So if you have no immediate family with mental health issues and you have done you homework, you should be fine.:sunny:


I guess I should also add that yes, there are the "acid casualties" out there. People who have pretty well fucked their minds & view of reality by abusing psychedelics, but from my personal experience, most of those people were fucked in the head in some fashion to start with or would have screwed their lives up with some other substance if psychedelics were not available.

Oh, and of course there are the ultra-rare, mister absolutely healthy in every way, perfect mind/body who went ape-shit crazy after taking psychedelics.
The exceptions that proves the rule.

 

if you spit out a bitter blotter immediately, you PROBABLY won't get any effects. it's possible though that some of the drug absorbed through your mouth, but most likely not enough to make you trip or have ill effects.

i like to dose my LSD in the afternoon, so that i'm not up all night. often, i am still up til 5 or 6 AM, so it doesn't always work. but that way you get to trip for some of the day and some of the night. but i've also dosed a 9 or 10 an night too.

 

My best guess about the guy that went psycho is that he had an underlying illness like NoxiousGas had said (Good post btw). I'm no expert on schizophrenia, and I can neither deny or agree that he had schizophrenia, but the point is mental illness. The CIA dd many experiments and the biggest correlation I'm aware of is that between taking LSD unknowingly and having a bad trip.

There were many cases that proved the difference between knowingly taking LSD and being hit with LSD. The CIA used to be interested in testing LSD to see if it could be like a truth syrom (sp?) or something, get enemies to expose secrets or whatever, and often times they would test this by spiking a persons coffee or food with LSD without the "patient" knowing. All that bad propaganda about people jumping out of windows, trying to fly, is from the governments own experiments.

Kind of ironic huh? The governments more irresponsible with drugs than we are!

It can't be denied that there is some danger to LSD though, but it's as strange as it sounds, somewhat predictable. Does your family have any sign of mental illness? If yes, I suggest you don't take the risk. Set and setting are always important, and are rather easy to control before you drop, just be sensible.

A 1/4 tab sounds like so little to me, not to brag, but I hope it provides a great trip. I sense a breakthrough level that can completely change the aspect of the experience, but always safe than sorry. You can always do more, you can never do less

I'd love to hear your experience, read up on it a bit though, ya?

PS. There is no "right" time to take LSD, but a sunrise or sunset is a nice gift

 

either that or the hospital gave him neuroleptics which can induce parkinsonism and (possibly the speech thing too, but that's less likely than the tremors)

you made good points, though, and everything's pretty much been covered too i think... just wanted to throw that in

 

Nice to see you posting again Cherokee Mist. Hope you're well.

 

I second that.

 

:love:

Ya. Kinda cool you're reading up on things too. So then next, look up the case of Frank Olsen and the US Gov't, drove him insane and committed suicide and then covered it all up.

Then you'll see exactly how far the 'war on some drugs' has gone.

 

Thanks guys and sorry for the late reply- I've been busy with university and have managed to tack down a dealer who I got some weed from and spoke to about getting LSD. IN Australia they're fairly costly, him quoting me $25 bucks for a tab.

As far as I'm aware none of my immediate family on either side suffers from any mental health problems except for an uncle who has ADHD but that's about as big as it gets. Further than both sets of grandparents I have no idea but sense that it's not necessary to go that far back.

I'm planning on doing it this coming weekend, with two friends coming over to look after me and stay with me. None of my friends are really looking to try it with me because they're a bit apprehensive but I'll have two of my best ones coming just to look out for me at my place. I plan on doing it in the afternoon around midday and that gives me some time to spend outside and then once night hits, stay inside and just relax and maybe watch something cool or listen to music (if I so feel compelled).

My only other questions would be:
1. Does it really matter that I haven't got anyone else to get high with (i.e. someone who is going to take LSD with me) for my first time, or will I be fine on a low dose on my own with a few friends watching over me?
2. Say I take 1/4, wait a few hours and get nothing... and I decide to then take a half, is it a cumulative thing where I've then in actual fact taken 3/4 of a tab or is it that the 1/4 has just gone through and not affected me and the extra 1/2 doesn't add on?
3. I very much understand the importance of surrendering to the trip and allowing it to take you where it wants you to go- in practice, with a good attitude how easy is this? For example, I am going into the trip with the mindset that I will need to surrender and not fight whatever comes up in it and I intend to actively practice that in the environment I find myself in i.e. breathe, relax, let go, focus on where it's taking you, ..etc..(That is, should anything surface that requires this approach).

Once again thanks for all your help, it is much appreciated!

 

You should be fine, I took 2 hits on my own my first time with trip sitters and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Unless it's really potent acid you may even want to smoke weed with your sitters or something at such a low dose.

I've never taken such a low dose but if you had say 3 tabs and took 1 and then the other 2 hours later you'll likely feel a boost in effects but it's not as powerful as taking all 3 at once due to tolerance.

Surrendering tends to be more important on higher doses, at lower doses you can still function fairly well and usually still maintain a substantial grasp on consensual reality. But surrendering can mean some time away from your trip sitters to explore the contents of your mind or relying on their assistance if need be, you'll almost certainly have enough awareness to feel the trip out and flow with it.

 

It is necessary, but if you can't then you can't. If it turns out one of your grandparents had schizophrenia then that is clinically significant.

It's good that you'll have your friends there. It would be better if they were high with you, so you could be on the same page, and having the same first experience together. Just make sure they don't do things to "trip you out", try and trick you into believing something, etc. Respect the substance, you will be very open and vulnerable to suggestion in some ways. You will be surprised at how different your state of mind is from your sober friends

Tolerance builds fast with LSD, taking another dose a few hours into your first dose will dramatically reduce the strength of the redose. Taking 1/4 and then a few hours later taking a half, would be like taking a half total i'd imagine. I would just take one whole hit to start and not redose, even if its lsd you're not going to get any psychedelic effects from 1/4 of a tab. the strongest lsd i've ever had, when I took 1/4 of a tab it was like having a cup of coffee and that's it.

You won't know how to specifically handle the letting go aspect until it's time to let go. In the moment you will have to decide, do you fight this and hang on to yourself, or do you trust it and let go, ride the waves. Again this will not be an issue on 1/4 of a tab, and often not even on 1 tab.

 

:2thumbsup:

 

1. that's a fine set up. it'd be better if you had a friend that wanted to trip with you, but i wouldn't try to convince your friends either. tripping by yourself on a low dose might be great too, but i'd be hesitant to do that on a first trip.

2. the only reason to take less than one whole hit, is if you're worried that it might not be real LSD. nowadays, this seems to be a legitimate concern. so maybe start with 1/2 and check for a strong taste, if no taste you could eat the other half within an hour and not have too much tolerance to affect the 2nd dose.

3. i think you have good intentions on what it means to let go. that's pretty much what i do on my trips if things get a little uncomfortably intense. sit back and relax, take deep breaths, maybe close my eyes, and "watch" it all unfold.
things are not likely to get super intense on one hit, but if it's a potent one it sure can! and on your first trip too. but you will be fine, you can reassure yourself if you feel the need.

 

Hey guys sorry to resurrect an old thread. I asked all these questions back when I thought I had a good source for LSD but turns out that it was the RC you warned me about called NBOMe.

In the meantime I've finally found a reliable source of clean acid that people have vouched for and now have some tabs. The tabs are 150 mic, I'm thinking for my first trip of having half a tab which would make it anecdotally around 75 mic that I'm taking.

I've never done psychedelics before and don't exactly want to throw myself out into the deep end. So does this seem like a reasonable dose for a beginner? As mentioned before I'll be tripping on my own but might possibly have another friend who would join me. I'll have a friend or maybe friends looking after me (...or us) and it'll be in the comfort of my own place while the house is completely free as my parents will be away.

I don't want a dosage which is too overwhelming, I'd like to get my feet planted on the floor and then slowly move up the ladder so to speak.

Thanks once again for all your help!

 

so you didn't eat any of the NBOMe? sounds like you got word that it wasn't acid (LSD) before you got any. that's good.

a half of a hit is a reasonable dose for a first time. one hit would also be perfectly reasonable. it's not uncommon for the microgram dosage to get exaggerated along the way, so even if your friends truly think it's 150 ug, it could be 100 ug or less.

you sound like you have a pretty good setting for your trip. starting low is smart, so i'd say you're most likely good with half a hit. but you'd probably be great with one hit as well. taking one hit isn't that crazy.

i know it's just semantics, but don't expect to have your "feet planted on the floor" when you take LSD. just go with the flow. that might mean laying down, or going for a leisurely walk.
and if you meant that more metaphorically, like getting a good feel for LSD, and then taking a higher dose...that's great. but you won't have a really good feel for what LSD is all about after just one low dose. of course you have to start somewhere. not to say that i understand it all after 100s of trips either.

i just mean to say that each trip can be very different from the last, even on the same dose.



enjoy!

 

so after reading, i'm assuming acid is supposed to be tasteless?
another question: if you're starting to feel uncomfortable,, what's the best way to approach it? just tell someone so they can reassure you?