Psychedelics: Are They Addictive? Exploring Side Effects and Potential Hazards
Psychedelics, a class of substances that includes LSD, have both recreational and medical uses. While they can offer potential benefits in reducing depression and anxiety, promoting abstinence from smoking and alcohol, and helping with life-threatening conditions like cancer, they also carry significant risks.
LSD, in particular, can cause tolerance, meaning a person may need to take higher dosages to achieve the same effect. This increased risk of overdose can potentially lead to death. Long-term effects of psychedelic use, particularly LSD, can include persistent psychosis, hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD), cognitive impairments, and mood disturbances.
HPPD is a rare but serious condition characterized by recurrent visual flashbacks and hallucinations long after drug use. It can be debilitating and cause symptoms such as paranoia, visual disturbances, disorganized thinking, mood changes, and distress or impairment.
Chronic hallucinogen use may impair memory, attention, decision-making, and concentration. Impaired cognitive ability has been reported in long-term users. Some users experience ongoing anxiety, paranoia, disordered thinking, and irrational thoughts that may persist for months or years after use.
Although overdose is rare, LSD can increase blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, and cause other mild physical symptoms. Repeated serotonergic psychedelics use has been linked to potential cardiac fibrosis and valvulopathy (heart valve problems) via serotonin receptor effects.
While physical dependence on psychedelics like LSD is uncommon, psychological addiction and tolerance can develop in frequent users, increasing the risk of continued use and adverse effects. People with a history of substance use disorder should not use psychedelics, as repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that make self-control more challenging.
It's important to note that psychedelics do not lead to dependence or addiction, but LSD can cause tolerance to other hallucinogens. The risks are heightened by frequent, high-dose, or unsupervised use, and these substances should be used cautiously even in experimental or medical contexts.
Regarding medical use, LSD remains a Schedule I substance with no FDA-approved medical indications as of now, although some controlled research explores potential therapeutic benefits. Recreational use carries more risks, particularly because street LSD can be adulterated and taken in uncontrolled doses.
In summary, the long-term risks of LSD and psychedelic use mainly center on mental health issues, persistent perceptual disturbances, and cognitive impairments, with physical risks being less common but still present. It's crucial to approach the use of these substances with care and understanding of their potential effects.
[1] Hallucinogens and Psychedelics. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2023, from https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/hallucinogens-dissociatives/hallucinogens-psychedelics [2] Hallucinogens: LSD. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK547598/ [3] LSD. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK547598/table/chapter.T1.html [4] Acute and Long-Term Effects of LSD. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2023, from https://www.healthline.com/health/lsd/effects [5] LSD Effects on the Heart. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK547598/table/chapter.T2.html
- Science has identified potential benefits of psychedelics, such as LSD, in managing medical-conditions like depression, anxiety, smoking cessation, and alcohol abstinence, even offering aid for life-threatening illnesses such as cancer.
- However, the side effects of LSD use, including psychological disturbances, persistent psychosis, hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD), cognitive impairments, and mood disturbances, can be debilitating and long-lasting.
- Scientific research has linked the long-term use of LSD and other psychedelics to adverse effects on mental health, respiratory-conditions, fitness-and-exercise, nutrition, and neurological-disorders.
- Medical-conditions such as HPPD, characterized by recurrent visual flashbacks and hallucinations, can persist long after drug use and cause symptoms like paranoia, visual disturbances, disorganized thinking, and distress or impairment.
- Frequent LSD use can lead to impaired cognitive ability, including memory, attention, decision-making, and concentration, as well as ongoing anxiety, paranoia, disordered thinking, and irrational thoughts.
- The use of psychedelics, including LSD, in experimental or medical contexts should be undertaken cautiously, given the potential risks associated with long-term effects on health-and-wellness, mental-health, and neurological-disorders. Additionally, therapies-and-treatments utilizing these substances should embrace a comprehensive approach, including education on the benefits and risks, supervision, and follow-up care.
