Can LSD Kill You? LSD Overdose Symptoms & Treatment

Can you overdose from LSD? Recent media reports have unfortunately implicated “LSD toxicity” in five cases of sudden LSD deaths. On close examination, however, two of these LSD deaths were associated with ingestion of massive LSD overdoses, two were evidently in individuals with psychological agitation after taking standard doses of LSD who were then placed in maximal physical restraint positions (hogtied) by police, following which they suffered fatal cardiovascular collapse, and one case of extreme hyperthermia leading to death that was likely caused by a drug substituted for LSD with strong effects on central nervous system temperature regulation.

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a semi-synthetic natural product derived in nature from the rye fungus, Claviceps purpurea. It was first synthesized in 1938 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann. Although LSD is now classified as a Schedule 1 drug with no safe or recognized therapeutic use, its informal use by the public has continued over the past 50+ years.

What happens if you overdose on LSD? Death from LSD use can occur when the intoxication leads the user to carry out dangerous activities such as walking across a busy highway, attempting to swim, rock climbing, etc. As of this writing, there are two documented cases where LSD presumably directly led to a LSD deaths. In both cases, post-mortem analysis indicated that the decedents had ingested massive doses of LSD.

Can You Overdose on LSD?

Can you OD from LSD? LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), commonly referred to as “acid,” is a powerful, mind-altering substance that can produce hallucinations and mood alterations. When someone takes too much LSD, they may experience terrifying hallucinations. It is encountered on the street as tablets or capsules, as a liquid in alcohol or water, in gelatin squares, or dissolved on a piece of paper known as a “blotter,” which is the most popular form.

Is it possible to overdose on LSD? When someone experiences an LSD overdose, likely they have experienced what is more commonly known as a “bad trip.” This is not to say that LSD use is without its dose-dependent dangers, however. Severe injury and death have occurred as an indirect result of using LSD, in that accidents, self-mutilation, and suicide have occurred during these trips when people are largely unaware of what they are doing.

How Much LSD Does it Take to Overdose?

How much LSD to overdose? Researchers estimated that the lethal oral dose of LSD in men is 14 mg, based on the reported LD50 in rabbits and one elephant. It was later revised to an estimate of the lethal blood concentration based on mouse and rat studies as 4.8mg/mL, and revised the lethal oral dose of LSD in humans to be 100 mg. How much LSD can kill you? They extrapolate, based on a study in cats, that the decedent, in this case, may have received an LSD dose equivalent to about 320 mg intravenously, or “23 times the previously calculated lethal human dose.” 

Deaths from LSD

Can LSD cause death? A 25-year-old male died 16 hours after being admitted to the hospital, but it is not reported how much earlier his LSD ingestion occurred. Analysis of ante-mortem serum gave 14.4 ng/mL, but if analysis of his plasma had been carried out more proximal to his ingestion of the drug, this concentration would have been much higher.

A report on massive LSD overdose in eight patients who nasally insufflated pure LSD tartrate powder, believing it to be cocaine. They were admitted to the emergency room within 15 min after insufflation. Five patients were comatose, and most were extremely hyperactive with severe visual and auditory hallucinations. All had sinus tachycardia, widely dilated pupils, emesis, flushing, and sweating. Fever developed in four and diarrhea in two.

Transient hypertension was present in three patients, but no patient had convulsions. Specimens of blood were obtained on admission. Blood concentrations of LSD were measured for four patients as high as 26 ng/mL. Gastric concentrations of LSD were as high as 7.0 mg/100 mL (or 70,000 ng/mL). After supportive therapy, all eight patients fully recovered within 2–3 days.

Learn More:

• How Long Does LSD Stay in Your System?
• Microdosing LSD
• Hallucinogens
• Mushrooms Drug
• Can You Smoke Shrooms?
• Shrooms and Alcohol
• How Long Do Shrooms Stay in Your System?
• How Long Do Shrooms Last?
• What are Shrooms?
• Psychotic Disorders

5.5+ million people

An estimated 5.5+ million people in the U.S. used hallucinogens in the past year, in 2019

Source: NIDA

56.4%

LSD use in the US jumped 56.4% from 2015 to 2018

Source: NCBI

LSD Overdose Symptoms

Acid trip symptoms can begin within a few hours after use. LSD side effects can range from mild to highly uncomfortable and even scary. Because this drug produces a lot of hallucinations, users often experience anxiety when high.

Some commonly experienced side effects of LSD can include:

• Sweating
• Nausea
• Dilated pupils
• Rapid heartbeat
• Dry mouth
• Tremors
• Insomnia
• Blurred vision
• Raised body temperature
• Weakness
• A distorted sense of time
• Visual hallucinations
• Mixed senses (for example, “seeing” sounds)
• Intensified sense of smells and noises
• A sense of a mystical experience

• Increased heart rate and blood pressure
• Dilated pupils
• Elevated body temperature
• Profuse sweating and/or chills
• Loss of appetite

• Sleeplessness
• Dry mouth
• Tremors
• Long-term psychosis or depression

What are the Risks of LSD?

The effects of LSD are unpredictable. They depend on the amount taken, the person’s mood and personality, and the surroundings in which the drug is used. It is a roll of the dice—a racing, distorted high or a severe, paranoid low.

Normally, the first effects of LSD are experienced thirty to ninety minutes after taking the drug. Often, the pupils become dilated. The body temperature can become higher or lower, while the blood pressure and heart rate either increase or decrease. Sweating or chills are not uncommon.

LSD users often experience loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors. Visual changes are among the more common effects—the user can become fixated on the intensity of certain colors.

Extreme changes in mood, anywhere from a spaced-out “bliss” to intense terror, are also experienced. The worst part is that the LSD user is unable to tell which sensations are created by the drug and which are part of reality.

Mixing LSD and Alcohol

Combining LSD and alcohol tends to reduce the effect of both substances. Many people think this is an indication that it is a safe practice, but it actually creates a false sense of security and can result in overdosing on the drug or drinking too much, resulting in unpleasant experiences and total loss of control. This is largely because LSD reduces your ability to properly perceive the effect of the alcohol.

As is typical with mind-altering substances, the results can also be somewhat unpredictable. Sometimes the mixture of these two substances results in intense vomiting, and other times it may simply be a long state of hallucination followed by an extreme hangover. Needless to say, LSD and alcohol are both potent substances and should not be combined.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment Centers New Jersey

Substance abuse and mental health disorders often co-occur. In many cases, traumatic experiences can result in a mental health disorders and substance abuse. Dual diagnosis programs in New Jersey treat both of these issues together. The best approach for the treatment of dual diagnosis is an integrated system. This strategy treats both the substance abuse problem and the mental disorder simultaneously. Regardless of which diagnosis (mental health or substance abuse problem) came first, long-term recovery will depend mainly on the treatment for both disorders done by the same team or provider.

LSD Addiction Rehab Near Me

Please, do not try to detox on your own. The detox process can be painful and difficult without medical assistance. However, getting through the detox process is crucial for continued treatment. We Level Up provide proper care with round-the-clock medical staff to assist your recovery through our opioid addiction treatment program medically. So, reclaim your life, and call us to speak with one of our treatment specialists. Our counselors know what you are going through and will answer any of your questions.

LSD addiction is a condition that can cause major health problems, such as overdosing on LSD. We Level Up NJ rehab treatment & detox center can provide you, or someone you love, the tools to recover from this with professional and safe treatment. Feel free to call us to speak with one of our counselors. We can inform you about this condition and clarify issues like withdrawal symptoms. Our specialists know what you are going through. Please know that each call is private and confidential.