Tuesday, June 30, 2009

LSD

1. Nadja Schmidt

2. Include a picture of yourself: Please do not reveal your real identity but explain why you chose the picture to represent you.






http://www.birdseye.ch/Images/Musicians/Nadja_Stoller_bw.jpg
¡ Guten Morgen (Goodmorning) !

My name is Nadja Schmidt. Welcome to my "ALL ABOUT HALLUCINOGEN BLOG".
I chose this picture to represent me because this image does excellent job illustrating my sense of curiosity on learning about drugs especially hallucinogen-LSD. I will even risk my life if I can get more information on hallucinogen-LSD.



In this blog, I am going to investigate the fascinating facts about hallucinogen-LSD. In general, hallucinogens cause people to experience-you guessed it-hallucinations, imagined experiences that seem real. The word "hallucinate" comes from Latin words meaning, "to wander in the mind." Doesn't this just show how I much I can go in depth when I am studying about topic of my interest?!...No wonder some people refer to hallucinating as tripping. The "trips" caused by hallucinogens can last for hours. Parts of these trips can feel really good, and other parts can feel really terrible. Hallucinogens powerfully affect the brain, distorting the way our five senses work and changing our impressions of time and space. People who use these drugs a lot my have a hard time concentrating, communicating, or telling the difference between reality and illusion.

3.
http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_brain1.php

4. What parts of the brain are affected by drugs? By your drug? (Include a picture of the brain and the areas affected)

Evidence from laboratory studies suggests that LSD, like hallucinogenic plants, acts on certain groups of serotonin receptors designated the 5-HT2 receptors, and that its effects are most prominent in two brain regions: One is the cerebral cortex, an area involved in mood, cognition, and perception; the other is the locus ceruleus, which receives sensory signals from all areas of the body and has been described as the brain's "novelty detector" for important external stimuli.
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/lsd/f/lsd_faq04.htm



http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/headsup/facts/images/5WLSDFINAL.jpg
5. Why do people abuse drugs?
People abuse drugs because natural pleasures in our lives are necessary for survival. In fact, the limbic system creates an appetite that drives you to seek those things.

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_brain1.php

6. What is an addiction? What does this mean? How do people become addicted?
If you have a drug addiction, you have intense cravings for the drug. You want to use it again and again. When you stop taking it, you may have unpleasant physical reactions. Drug addiction involves compulsively seeking to use a substance, regardless of the potentially negative social, psychological and physical consequences. Certain drugs are more likely to cause physical dependence than are others.
http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_brain1.php

7. How many different classes of drugs are there and what are there names? (There are seven. Example: Narcotics)

Narcotics, stimulants, barbiturates, suppressants, hallucinogenic drugs, alcohol & marijuana.

8. What drug are you researching?
I am researching about LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide)

9. What are the street names of the drug?
The street names include acid, blotter, doses, hits, sugar cubes, tabs, trips and microdots.

10. How is the drug taken?
LSD is taken orally. LSD is licked or sucked off small squares of blotting paper. Capsules and liquid forms are swallowed. Paper squares containing acid may be decorated with cute cartoon characters or colorful designs.




http://scienceblogs.com/retrospectacle/lsd%20kid.jpg
http://homepages.wmich.edu/~a4ujlaky/lsd_collage2.jpg

11. Is the drug physically addictive?
LSD is physicaly addictive...these include..
--> A speeding of heart and pulse beats.
--> A rise in blood pressure and body temperature.
--> Cold and sweaty palms; shaking of hands and feet.
--> A flushed face or paleness.
--> Widely dilated eye pupils.
--> Chills with goose pirnples.
--> Nausea, convulsions, vomiting.
-->Loss of appetite.
The effects disappear as the LSD action subsides.



http://media.photobucket.com/image/LSD/kawabongaby/lsd.jpg

12. Is the drug a stimulant or depressant?
LSD is not a stiumulant or depressant but is hallucinogen.
*A hallucinogen is a drug that produces mild hallucinations-psychedelic.

13. Write a brief history of the subject/drug and its classification. I have included an extra piece here to better educate my friends: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_O89VxFYjo&feature=fvst

Classification: Hallucinogenic
The word "hallucinate" comes from Latin words meaning, "to wander in the mind." Hallucinogens powerfully affect the brain, distorting the way our five senses work and changing our impressions of time and space. People who use these drugs a lot may have a hard time concentrating, communicating, or telling the difference between reality and illusion. (People see images, hear sounds, and feel sensations that seem real but do not exist. Some hallucinations also produce rapid, intense emotional swings)

History: LSD


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsb2-8z2VF4
Like penicillin it was created by accident. In 1943, the Swiss scientist, Albert Hoffman absorbed a tiny piece of crystal through his fingertips – after a couple of hours of watching pretty colours behind his eyelids he decided to investigate further. This time he deliberately dosed himself with just 25mg, an amount he didn’t imagine would produce any effect.Hoffman got on his bicycle and rode home and arrived in a state of panic. He felt he was losing his grip on sanity and could only think to ask for milk from the neighbours to counter the poisoning. Even his own home seemed threatening to him:

“Everything in the room spun around, and the familiar objects and pieces of furniture assumed grotesque, threatening forms…The lady next door, whom I scarcely recognized, brought me milk… She was no longer Mrs. R., but rather a malevolent, insidious witch with a coloured mask.”

Once he calmed down a bit he started to rather enjoy his trip and concluded that it might be of use to modern psychology. His reports much interested the academic community in America and was used in psychological trials throughout the 50’s to combat depression. It was especially effective in treatment for alcoholism – curing around 50% as opposed to the 5% that Alcoholics Anonymous wean off the booze.

14. Does the drug have a medical use? If so what is it?
Andrew Sewell and John Halpern, of McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, conducted interviews confirming that LSD was more effective than conventional drugs at stopping a new cycle of headaches. Studies are also under way in Switzerland and the US using LSD as a palliative care agent for patients with anxieties associated with terminal cancer.


15. Please provide a list of and pictures when appropriate and available.

a. Short term effects
The effects of LSD are unpredictable.They depend on the amount taken, the user's personality, mood, and expectations, and the surroundings in which the drug is used. The physical effects include dilated pupils, higher body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors. Sensations and feelings change much more dramatically than the physical signs.The user may feel several different emotions at once or swing rapidly from one emotion to another.If taken in a large enough dose, the drug produces delusions and visual hallucinations.The user's sense of time and self changes. Sensations may seem to "cross over," giving the user the feeling of hearing colors and seeing sounds.These changes can be frightening and can cause panic.

http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/Drug_guide/LSD


http://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/user_files/23630/Image/thumb_LSD1.jpg

b. Long term effects

Some LSD users experience flashbacks, recurrence of certain aspects of a person's experience without the user having taken the drug again.A flashback occurs suddenly, often without warning, and may occur within a few days or more than a year after LSD use. Most users of LSD voluntarily decrease or stop its use over time. LSD is not considered to be an addicting drug because it does not produce compulsive drug-seeking behavior like cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, alcohol, or nicotine.
http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/Drug_guide/LSD


http://justdoyin.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/flashback.jpg

c. Side effects
The side effects of LSD are:
-->dilated pupils
-->higher body temperature
-->increased heart rate and blood pressure
-->sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness
-->dry mouth
-->tremors

Once you go on an acid trip, you can't get off until the drug is finished with you — at times up to about 12 hours or even longer!


Bad trips may cause panic attacks, confusion, depression, and frightening delusions.

Physical risks include sleeplessness, mangled speech, convulsions, increased heart rate, and coma.

d. Withdrawal effects
Users often have flashbacks in which they feel some of the effects of LSD at a later time without having used the drug again.



http://www.detikfinance.com/images/content/2008/10/27/6/rupiah1dalam.jpg

e. Price of the drug if known both locally and from your home country or another country. The price should be in Rupiah after conversion.
U.S.-Rp 20,000~100,000

Check this out! (Keep this in mind: 1 pound = 2 dollar = Rp. 20,000)
http://www.idmu.co.uk/lsd-price-trends-95-08.htm
U.K-Rp. 100,000
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_is_a_British_pound_in_US_dollars

16. Statistics about the drug (How many use it, deaths caused by it, etc). Please include visuals and graphs where available.
LSD is classified as a hallucinogen and according to the 2001 National Drug Household Survey, 8% of the Australian population reported using hallucinogens at some time, with 1% having used them in the last 12 months.

The average age at first use was 19.1 years.

The 1999 Secondary School Survey indicated that hallucinogens were one of the more popular drugs with young people attending high school across Australia. Seven percent of 12-17 year old males had ever experimented with hallucinogens with 6% of females ever reporting use.

• 15% of 17 year old males reported ever using hallucinogens
• 9% of 17 year old females reported ever using hallucinogens
• 3% of 12 year old males reported ever using hallucinogens
• 2% of 12 year old females reported ever using hallucinogens

Information from the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and the Monitoring the Future Survey from 2005 provide the following information.

LSD First Time Users
2002 338,000
2003 200,000
2004 235,000

A marked dropoff in first time users occurred beween 2002 and 2003, with 40% less lifetime use reported in 2003, but there was also an increase again in 2004. Overall, there seem to be short-term downward trends in LSD use, which would have to be followed longer in order to make more definitive statements.
http://www.drugrehab101.com/articles98.html


http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/images/lsd_survey_chart4_positive-.jpg

17. Punishment for having or selling the drug in Indonesia and your own country of origin or Singapore.
LSD
CLASS: A
AMOUNT CONSIDERED 'SUPPLY': 3 tabs
MAX PUNISHMENT (supply): life and an unlimited fine
MAX PUNISHMENT (possession): 7 years and an unlimited fine
AVERAGE PUNISHMENT (in reality): 1 year 8 months and £148fine
CAUTIONED: 92
FOUND GUILTY: 385
IMPRISONED: 72
(source: UK Home Office, 1998)

LSD(less than 400 micrograms)
Up to $2,000 Fine &/or Up to 1 Year in Prison
LSD(over 400 micrograms less than 4000 micrograms)
Felony Up to $25,000 Fine &/or Up to 5 Years in Prison
LSD(over 4000 micrograms less than 40,000 micrograms)
Felony Up to $100,000 Fine &/or Up to 10 Years in Prison

LSD(over 40,000 or more)
Felony Up to $500,000 Fine &/or Up to 20 Years in Prison

(STATE OF VERMONT CRIME AND PUNISHMENT CHART YEAR 2000)

LSD
Up to $2,300Fine &/ or Up to 7 Years in Prison
(source: Korea Law Office)




18. Write a statement of how the drug affects families and communities, the economic costs to individuals, the community and law enforcement.


http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/5031792/200414-main_Full.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_O89VxFYjo&feature=fvst
Lets imagine..I took drug...
It would be a shame to both families and friends because my act of taking drug shows that I couldn't resist drug and therefore decided to take drug and ruin my life.My continous intake of drug would cost a lot because I am not earning any money (no job) but consistenly buying drugs for high price. Furthermore, if I get caught taking LCD, I would either have to pay fines or spend my life in prison!!!

19. Close your eyes and imagine a drug abuser, then describe him or her. Then imagine a drug misuser and describe him or her. Finally imagine a recreational drug user and describe him or her. Create an imaginary character describing the person in detail. Tell us if they are male or female, age, profession, ethnicity(American (be specific: Mexican/American, African American, White man from the South, British, Chinese, East Indian, Japanese, Korean, Latino, Singaporean, Indonesian) likes and dislikes, favorite food, types of friends, popular or not, which hut would they hang out in at school, talk about their self esteem, wealth, genetics (example what their parents are like. Have they used drugs before) and explain what happens to the character in a story like manner. Please include the vocabulary terms euphoria, dysphoria, tolerance, elevated drug doses, withdrawal, and addiction and in your descriptions. How would using this drug affect his or her work. For example, if this person is a doctor, pilot, defense attorney, teacher. Pick a profession and describe this in detail.

Gender: Male
Age: 17
Profession: Student
Ethnicity: United States
Likes: Practicing guitar
Dislikes: Doing homework
Food: Fish and chips
Types of friends: Friends who also take drugs
Popularity: Popular among those students because he is not afraid to experiment with new things.
Huts: Bench
Self Esteem: Has low self esteem -manipulated by others with ease
Wealth: Both parents are working parents (works for Freeport)
Genetics: Though both parents don't abuse drug, they are too busy to take care of their child.

John's introduction to heavy drugs came a very young age. He did LSD for the first time when he was 17. He didn't know a lot about drugs; he thought it was cool to do drugs. He was in a band, and the band members would all take LSD. They all thought it improved thier music. John was really enjoying the hallucinations and the energy, just having fun with it. He had no idea he could have a bad trip. That is, until it actually happened. He suddenly started sweating and felt sick to his stomach. He thought everyone was out to get him and was afraird talk to any of his band members. He just didn't trust them; they seemed scary. They saw that John was freaking out and tried to help, but the more they talked to him, the more frightneing he seemed. John was disoriented. He had lost all concept of time. At one point it seemed to him that things were happening over and over again. The same song seemed to be playing on the radio for hours, when it actually only played once. John wished someone had warned him that LSD use could cause him to have terrifying experiences like the one he had. He promised himself that he would not say yes to drugs again.

20. Is the character physically or psychologically addicted to the drug and explain why?

The character is psychologically addicted to the drug because LSD makes her to feel good, deal with life and handle stress.

21. How would your family be changed if a family member started abusing drugs or was addicted? How would your family deal with the individual. Please include emotions, money, and individual responsibility in your discussion


Lets imagine..I took drug...
It would be a shame to both families and friends because my act of taking drug shows that I couldn't resist drug and therefore decided to take drug and ruin my life. My continous intake of drug would cost a lot because I am not earning any money (no job) but consistenly buying drugs for high price. Furthermore, if I get caught taking LCD, I would either have to pay fines or spend my life in prison!!!

22. Include a visual /photograph/picture/ to help your peers understand what this would mean.



http://www.delawareonline.com/blogs/uploaded_images/lsd-799178.jpg
I chose this picture because this guy is lost in mind and cannot resist his own body from drug. This shows how weak and abject human beings are. They can feel good or bad depending on just one pill that they had. Furthermore, what I like about this image is that though people might enjoy their hallucinations and flashbacks, it is important to remember other consequences as well-such as bad consequences. Moreover, drug users must consider that they are wasting significant amount of their time/life-indeed there is no after life.

23. Define the word empathy and describe what it means to be empathetic. Include a visual that defines the word for you.



http://www.facebook.com/

Empathy is the capability to share and understand another's emtions and feelings. It is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes." I chose this picture to represent the word empathy because though we all have good friends, there is limit of how much we can support each other when somebody abused drug.

24. What is the school policy about drug use?
Any student found to be in the possession of, taking, being under the inluence of, buying or seeling, giving or trafficking, or in any way directly or indirectly aiding or abetting the propagation of any narcotics, stimulatns, barbiturates, suppressants, hallucinogentic drugs or marijuana is subject to expulsion from school. all studnets may be subjected to urine or hair tests, serach of their personal possessions or lockers at any time. If the test or serach indicates drug use or possession, the student may be subject to expulsion. Thes test or serach shall be conducted under the supervision of the Adminstration.

25. Include an article about your drug and culture:
http://www.slate.com/id/2098109/
This article discusses the idea that the use of LCD is slowly decreasing according to University of Michigan.

26. Include a song about your drug and/or alcohol abuse. Is taking drugs shown to be mysterious or cool in the song? List the song title, lyrics, and artist. Or you may create your own song about the drug based on your research and explain the meaning of the song and why you wrote it this way.

Artist : Hallucinogen

Song : Lsd

I believe with the advent of acid we discoverednew way to think and it had to do with piecingtogether new thoughts of mind.

Why is it that people think it's so evil?

What is it about itthat there is scares people so deeply?

Becausethey are afraid that there is more to realitythan they have ever confronted.

That there aredoors that they're afraid to go in and they don'twant us to go in there either because if we go in,there we might learn something that they don'tknow.

And that makes us a little out of their control.

He's losing his mind, and feels it going! Y

You're intoduced to lsd, an' it's not like takingsome other drug for instance like marijuana orsomething, hm, well, you know, it's altogether anew thing, and you actually can have a religiousexperience, and, hm, and it can be even moreimportant than reading the bible six times orbecoming a pope or something like that, youknow... * LSD 25 *

Lyric:
http://www.lyricsfire.com/viewlyrics/hallucinogen/lsd-lyrics.htm

Song:
http://www.dizzler.com/music/Hallucinogen/Lsd

My opinion...
Taking LSD is shown to be cool thing because in this lyric it first persuades the audience that LSD is not like takingsome other durg for instance like marijuana indicating that LSD is not a very harmful drug. Moreover, lyric suggests that with LSD one can have a religious experinece-and does not include that they might be prone to bad flashbacks and other short term and long term effects.

27. Ads about the drug that would help a person not want to use the drug. Example (poster, youtube, commercial, magazine ad vs. and ad that marketers use to try to get people to use drugs.

http://www.padc.com.au/images/00-DropLSD.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5TJApnJ8X8&feature=PlayList&p=1E30F68BD030FD5F&index=5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNoT5ugvcBM&feature=PlayList&p=1E30F68BD030FD5F&index=6

28. What are three of your own stress-free, endorphin releasing activity? Examples might include sports. List at least three ways to stimulate endorphin release in your own mind without drug use.
--> Playing badminton with my neighbors
--> Mastering dance move with friends by learning from youtube videos
--> Playing my favorite piece of music with piano or violin

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Parliament/8131/101things.htm

29. How will you help a person/friend/family member if he or she admitted a drug problem to you and asked for your help. You find out they are addicted to the drug and they want to kick the habit of addiction to this drug? Describe the steps a person would go through to kick the habit. Please provide a list of links to websites for easy access to combat drug addiction. You should write out a script.

1. I will ask my friend to come to private place where there are not many people around.

2. "You are my best friend and one of my favorite people on the planet. But I feel like your drug use is changing the person I know and love."

The Power of Friendship
Did you know that 68 percent of teens said they would turn to a friend or brother/sister about a serious problem related to substance abuse? This means that when you talk, your friends will listen — even if you've tried drugs or alcohol yourself. Don't underestimate your own power to influence your friend and explain to him how you see his drug use getting out of hand. Sure, it may have been his choice to start using drugs in the first place, and you may be scared that your friend or sibling will get mad at you and tell you that his choices are none of your business. But if you really think your friend needs help, you have a responsibility to him — and your friendship — to step up and say something.

http://www.drugfree.org/Intervention/HelpingOthers/TeenTeen/Helping_a_Friend

30. How do you help a drug abuser who does not want to quit or even acknowledge that there is a problem? There is something important the abuser must do!
1) Abusers musn't imagine or think about themselves using drug again. And if they succeed doing this for one month, it will be become much easier for them to quit from drug.

2) Drug addiction therapy is a program of behavior change or modification that slowly retrains the brain. Like people with diabetes or heart disease, people in treatment for drug addiction learn behavioral changes and often take medications as part of their treatment regimen.

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_brain2.php

3) Behavior Therapy
Some peopel seek behavior therapy to eliminate undersirable behaviors such as overeating, smoking, or taking durgs. Others seek behavior therapy to acquire desriable behaviors, such as the skills needed to develp healthy social relationshisp or confront phobias.
The aim of behavior therapy is to teach people more desriable ways of behaving.

Token Economy
When people begin to demostarte appropriate behavior, they are rewarded with a plastic coin or tokens. The tokes can be accumulated and exchanged for real rewards, such as snacks, extra television time, a trip to town.

31. Please share at least 2 movies that someone who is interested in this drug might see. It could be a comedy, drama, or documentary. See this site for help:
Batman Begins
(In the beginning of the move, the guy with scarecrow mask shoots a hallucinogenic gas at people, and those people go insane and hallucinate)

'From Peyote to LSD'
(The documentary dealt largely with indiginous tribes of North and South America and their use of hallucinogenic plants in healing rituals.)

http://crystalartyst.blogspot.com/2008/06/hallucinogens-as-healers.html

32. We may think the following of abusers, “Why don’t they just make themselves give up on drugs? All they need is willpower.” Please think of things in your own life (a favorite video game, friend, favorite food, television program, or comfortable bed) that would be hard to give up if someone asked you to do it? Could someone make you quit your habits if you did really want to quit them? None of these things have the kind of physical or psychological effect on them that a drug could have. Describe your understanding of how this project provides a better understanding of what long road it is to recovery from drug addiction?
I want to stop myself from reading about news that relate to celebrities while studying. And though this does not have the kind of physical or psycholgoical effect on me that a drug could have, I can understand how hard for someone recover from drug addiction. My parents have constantly reminded me to turn off computer (stop reading news about celebrities) and I even wrote a note next to my computer that reading news about celebrities will do nothing postive to my life. However, it is still difficult for me to quit my habit. I think it's mainly because I have not devoted time to really quit the behavior...I might have thought about quitting it but not necessary put that into action. As a result, drug users who want to be recover themselves must have clear goal and set up realistic ways of achiving that goal-avoiding from drug.

33. When was the last time you did something wrong even though you knew at the time that you were doing the wrong thing?Why did you do it?(Most people know that drug abuse is wrong and illegal, some people experiment, and become addicted anyway).
I ate chocolate chip cookies at midnight (June 10th 2009) even though my parents constantly warned me not to eat anything after 8 PM. I knew that if I ate anything at night, this is not only make me gain weight but cause obesity diabetes and heart dieses as long term effects. I did this because I couldn't resist my strong urge to eat. What was interesting to notice was as soon as I ate it, I regreted doing it.


34. What are the local organizations and contact numbers for people to go to for help?What is the cost of the facility?


Yayasan Harapan Permata Hati Kita Addiction Treatment & Recovery Community CenterVilla Pandawa YAKITA Jl. Ciasin No 21 - RT 01 / RW10 Desa Bendungan, Ciawi, Bogor Jawa Barat - IndonesiaTel. (0251) 243 077 – (0251) 243 069Fax (0251) 243 005
Email Office:
yakita@cbn.net.id Men’s Center: Women’s Center: wisma_srikandi@hotmail.comAll National Centers: yakita-managers@yahoogroups.com
Web sites http://www.yakita.or.id
http://user.cbn.net.id/yakita/

It is free!

http://www.expat.or.id/orgs/yayasankita.html

35. Create a small quiz of 10 questions for your peers to take to test their knowledge or a link to one already.You should know all the answers and be able to explain in detail to the answers if needed. You should include at least two questions that they have to respond to in sentence form. Not just True or False answers.


1. Who discovered LSD? (First Name & Last Name)



2. Describe how LSD is taken

3. Name three short term effects

4. What would you say to convince your friend not to take drug

5. Name one long term effect

6. What was average age of LCD first user?

7. Why did John take LSD?

8. How many percentage of teend would turn to friend about a serious problem related to substance abuse?

9. Where was LSD discovered?

10. So...do you still want to take LSD?



36. Bibliography

http://www.birdseye.ch/Images/Musicians/Nadja_Stoller_bw.jp
http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_brain1.php
http://www.expat.or.id/orgs/yayasankita.html
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/
http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/headsup/facts/images/5WLSDFINAL.jpg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsb2-8z2VF4
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/lsd/f/lsd_faq04.htm
http://www.idmu.co.uk/lsd-price-trends-95-08.htm
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_is_a_British_pound_in_US_dollars
http://www.drugrehab101.com/articles98.html
http://www.lyricsfire.com/viewlyrics/hallucinogen/lsd-lyrics.htm
http://www.slate.com/id/2098109/
http://crystalartyst.blogspot.com/2008/06/hallucinogens-as-healers.html
http://www.drugfree.org/Intervention/HelpingOthers/TeenTeen/Helping_a_Friend