LSD)AND MUSHROOMS

WHAT TYPE OF DRUG ARE THEY?

• They are hallucinogens
• Hallucinogen - a drug that causes hallucinations (a misleading perception of reality)
• During a hallucination, a person may: see images, hear sounds, and feel unreal sensations

STREET NAMES OF LSD

• Some popular street names of LSD include:
• Acid
• Blotter
• Heavenly Blue
• Lucy in the sky with Diamonds
• Purple Heart
• Yellow Sunshine

HOW IS LSD TAKEN?

• It is taken orally
• It has four "forms":
• - Tablets
• - Capsules
• - Liquid- sometimes injected into sugar cubes
• - Blotter (decorative slips of paper that have LSD absorbed into them)

SHORT TERM EFFECTS(OF LSD

• Dry mouth
• Severe sweating
• Dilated pupils
• Fear of losing control and insanity
• Severe terrifying thoughts and feelings
• Hallucinations
• Short term effects can last up to 12 hours.

WHAT PART OF THE BRAIN DOES LSD AFFECT?

• It effects the serotonin receptors of the brain
• The brain regions that are responsible for consciousness are turned off
• The most prominent effects occur in the prefrontal cortex—an area of the brain involved in mood, cognition, and perception

LONG TERM EFFECTS OF LSD

• Visual hallucinations
• Distortion of one's senses of time and identity
• Fear of losing control
• Panic attacks
• A recurrence of the LSD trip, can happen several days after the drug is taken
• Severe depression or psychosis

INTERESTING FACTS

• Albert Hofmann accidentally created LSD in 1938
• It became illegal in 1967
• The army tried to make a weapon with it
• It has been known to cure PTSD

DIFFERENCE FROM FOOD WE EAT

• The mushrooms we eat come from 2 species :
• - button mushrooms
• - truffle mushrooms
• Psilocybin mushrooms have over 200 species
• "Shrooms" affect our body in different ways than the mushrooms we eat

STREET NAMES OF MUSHROOMS

• Mushrooms are best known as:
• Boomers
• Magic Mushrooms
• Shrooms
• Sherm

SHORT TERM EFFECTS OF MUSHROOMS

• Some effects include:
• Fear and Paranoia
• Anxiety
• Uncontrollable Laughter
• Lack of Coordination
• Strong Visual Hallucuinations
• These effects can last for 4-6 hours

HOW IS IT TAKEN? WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

• Consumed orally- fresh or dry
• Usually chewed on or brewed into tea
• Have slender white stems topped with brown caps.
• Usually white or grayish color if fresh
• Caps are rusty brown with off-white dots when dry

HOW MUSHROOMS AFFECT THE BRAIN

• Shrooms affect the serotonin of the brain
• Causes the behavioral, perceptual, and regulatory system shut off
• This allows the body to have the different reactions
• Causes brain to have over reactive imagination- due to the serotonin receptors

LONG TERM EFFECTS OF MUSHROOMS

• Some effects after repeated use include:
• Recurring Flashbacks
• Feelings or Thoughts as if you were in the drug
• Psychiatric illness or mental illness
• Impaired Memory
• These effects can last form 12 hours to 2 days

Interesting FACTS

• Shrooms are sometimes used to kill the fear within a person
• Wild animals have accidentally consumed Shrooms in Europe
• Shrooms are said to go back to before the Europeans landed in the Americas

REFERENCES

• SoberRecovery www.soberrecovery.com
• Foundation for a Drug-Free World www.drugfreeworld.org
• National Institute on Drug Abuse www.drugabuse.gov
• The Guide to Everything About Drugs www.thegooddrugsguide.com
• www.english-online.at/biology
• www.drugs-forum.com
• Drug Enforcment Administration www.dea.gov