PSYCHEDELIC GUIDES · GUIDE 02
LSD
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is a synthetic psychedelic active in microgram doses, acting primarily at serotonin 2A receptors. Synthesized by Albert Hofmann in 1938 and famous from both 1950s psychiatry and 1960s counterculture, it produces a long altered state — typically 8 to 12 hours — of perception, thought, and selfhood.
This project examines psychedelic research; it does not recommend psychedelic use. Outside approved medical care and registered clinical trials, these substances are illegal in most places, uncontrolled in content and dose, and genuinely dangerous for some people. Nothing in these guides is a how-to. If you are struggling, established treatments exist — and the medication and treatment sections of this site cover many of them.
EVIDENCE REVIEW
OCTOBER 18, 2026
What the research shows
Early LSD research was methodologically weak, but modern trials are rebuilding the record: LSD has shown promise for anxiety — including an FDA breakthrough therapy designation in 2024 for a pharmaceutical form of LSD (MM120) in generalized anxiety disorder — and older meta-analyses found benefit in alcohol dependence. The evidence remains preliminary: small samples, carefully screened volunteers, and no approval for any medical use.
Risks — and who should not take them
Like the other classic psychedelics, LSD's chief dangers are psychological: panic, dangerous impulsivity during a long and inescapable experience, accidents, and the precipitation of psychosis in vulnerable people — those with a personal or strong family history of psychotic disorders should not take it. It can interact with serotonergic medications and with lithium, and rarely, perceptual disturbances persist long after use (HPPD). Street LSD is unregulated; the dose and even the identity of a street drug are never certain.
Legal status
LSD is a US federal Schedule I substance, illegal outside approved research, with no state-level legal access programs. Possession penalties are significant in many jurisdictions.
