There may be
a sharpening of other senses-taste, smell, hearing, touch. And often various
sensory impressions may appear to merge, so that colors, for example, may seem
to have taste. Users report many other strange experiences, including
simultaneous opposite emotions, being at once happy and sad, elated and
depressed, tense and relaxed.
At different times, there may be different
effects for the same individual. Responses cannot be predicted, which is why
users often describe their experiences as "good trips" and "bad
trips." Some LSD users believe that since LSD heightens their senses, it
makes them more creative. But this is not supported by the paintings, writings,
and other creative efforts of drug users i in fact, in many cases, the works
produced after drug use am poorer than before. How LSD works in the body is not
yet thoroughly understood.
There is
some evidence that it affects the amounts or levels of certain chemicals in the
brain and changes brain electrical activity. Experiments with animals suggest
that the drug may block a normal filtering process in the brain which then
becomes flooded with myriad un screened sights and sounds. The dangerous
effects of LSD are many. Hospitals report that some users, in a panic over
their inability to cut off the effects of the drug, fear they are losing their
minds.
Some become paranoiac, developing in- creasing suspicions that people
are out to harm them and control their thinking. Weeks and even months after
LSD use has been stopped, some people have recurrences of the same experiences
they had while using the drug and fear they are going insane.
Accidental
deaths have been reported-instances of users walking in front of moving cars,
convinced they were impervious to harm, and even leaping out of high windows
because of a conviction they could fly. Medical experts report that the
overwhelming fears and worries that may accompany an LSD experience can
sometimes be disturbing enough to produce acute and even long-lasting mental
illness.
Changes in
chromosomes-the tiny threads in the nucleus of all cells which carry genetic
information and guide reproduction-have raised concern. The changes found are
actual breaks in the chromosomes, and the fear is that this may lead to birth
defects in children of users.
