Hi Everyone,
I'm a Student at the University of Cologne, and I'm currently working on a project about LSD.
For that, I have a few Questions about LSD.

First, what are your reasons for using LSD?
How did you get introduced to it?
What changed in your Social environment after taking it?
Did you have any other changes, like the curing of a Sickness or addiction?

I would really appreciate it if you could take some time and answer the questions.
Greetings Spnal

hey there spnal!! welcome too the nexus!

i dont post often enough as im not as adept as the rest of the nexus but here i thought id chime in

First, what are your reasons for using LSD? : me personally lsd isnt just a casual encounter you really have too be prepared for it as its going to alter your perception for the next 6-8hrs, i would use it sparingly as i dont have that sort of time too trip anymore. maybe once of twice a year!. i see it as a sort of reset for the brain where you can de-press from all the societal norms, (escape reality) and relieve any built up depression.

How did you get introduced to it?: ok so i did most of the psychedelics in a weird order when i was younger maybe teens i was introduced too salvia only trying it maybe once or twice, i have used canabis almost religiously up until maybe the last year or so me being in 30s now.. it wasn't until my 21st birthday that i then got a hold of some lsd and tried it with a friend had a great night full of laughs and cheers just sat back and observed as the lsd took its form in my consciousness bringing forth a child like worry-free mentality.

What changed in your Social environment after taking it?: i suppose the stigma around psychedelics changed as i had a good experience and a afterglow which lasted a day or 2. this changed how i perceived most drugs as the government would put it as there take on it was you touch it and your mind will melt for all eternity and damnation.

Did you have any other changes, like the curing of a Sickness or addiction?: me personally no it did not but then again i have not tried too do so with this substance. I did however manage too shift a 17 year long smoking addiction too tobacco from using mushrooms on 2 different occasions to shift my mentality out of a depressive state and too help lead me astray from my addictive personality.

sorry i wont be able too give you the answers you are looking for but im glad too be a service none the less, take care and take it easy!

spnal,

Welcome to the Nexus. I hope you will stay for more than survey results whether or not you personally work with entheogens.

My first reasons for using LSD was a cat like curiosity. I had been reading up on the topic in library books (this was the mid 1980s) and knew I wanted to try it. I tried my best to source it but had no luck. LOL. Then I went to college. That and I started going to Grateful Dead concerts.

My first exposure was with a bunch of hippies at a Grateful Dead show. It was a gentle and fun trip.

Not a lot changed in my social environment other than it became more than it was. I started going to more Dead shows and hanging out with hippie type people more. I went to protests to try to stop nuclear weapon proliferation. Things like that.

I had no profound changes from LSD (the way I have from DMT) like curing an affliction.

I hope this helps and again, welcome to the Nexus.

Welcome to the Nexus.

So I have been fascinated by altered states 'forever', and when in university I had a chance to try LSD via a friend's friends, I jumped on it. We spent a day doing a psychedelic house party, playing goa trance and being high as heck.

That first time was very fascinating, but also not particularly pleasant. The people and the music quickly got overwhelming, and I also became far too introspective, which on LSD tends to invite more negative thoughts and associations.

On my later tries, in different social contexts, like at psytrance festivals, I had much nicer experiences. I learned how to handle the high, how set and setting affect my experience, and what dosage is best for what kind of activity.

Personally, at the moment I would say that LSD is my 'desert island drug' - ie. if I was stranded on a desert island having access to only one drug, I'd want it to be LSD. In high doses it is a deep and spiritual entheogen that I have on many occasions used for my own spiritual / mystical practice, in low to medium doses it is a fun party drug (I don't even use amphetamines anymore in favor of low dose LSD), and in very low doses it's a nice morning supplement with coffee for some creativity in a workday.

Welcome to the Nexus, spnal! I'd be delighted to help you with your project, as LSD has been my favorite entheogen for the past decade. I'll do my best to answer each of your questions directly.

First, what are your reasons for using LSD?

Well, those reasons have changed over the years. Maybe it would have been better to answer your question of how I was introduced first. Initially, when I was first experimenting, I was mostly curious. I had been smoking weed for a couple years and drinking with my friends, and we were generally into alternative ideas and art and so forth, and were kind of naturally drawn towards LSD and psychedelics in general (really, drugs in general) because of the artists we looked up to and ideas we shared. The first few trips there was no goal beyond exploration and fun. And it definitely was FUN! SOO FUN! Oh my god!!! The sensory expansion and deepening could keep anyone entertained for limitless time.
After you take acid a few times, the desire to go deeper arises. It's not that the sensory elements become less pleasant or interesting, it's that you tune in to the heart-space and mental transformation that occurs when you dose. It evolves your worldview, to put it in as few words as possible. It levels up your consciousness if you are receptive to it. Timothy Leary lived his entire life on the idea (and reality) that LSD in a naturalistic setting can (and does) elicit mystic experience. For me it quickly became much more about deepening and understanding that expanded state of consciousness.
After a little more than a decade of use, I find I take small to moderate doses of LSD in situations where I would have taken other (party) substances. I find it helps me socialize authentically and keeps me awake and active on small doses, and therefore prefer it for party scenarios. It also doesn't inhibit sexual function like other party drugs do for some.

How did you get introduced to it?

Like I mentioned above, LSD was always intriguing to my friends and I, from as early as 15 or 16. It was obvious that these artists we admired and appreciated were drinking from a tap we hadn't tasted yet, and we did NOT want to remain ignorant. At first it was very hard for us to find real LSD, so we settled for other substances, usually Shulgin chemicals such as 2c-b, 25i/25c-nbome, and MDMA. Each experience was it's own journey and own report, but obviously, each time tried something else, our hankering for LSD only increased. It was about 2 years of experimenting and searching until we found what we were looking for.

What changed in your Social environment after taking it? Did you have any other changes, like the curing of a Sickness or addiction?

The first handful of acid trips I enjoyed took years to digest and integrate; not because they were difficult or intensely enlightening in the moment, but mostly because when I took them I felt genuinely happy to be alive. From early adolescence through much of my young adult life, even after beginning my entheogenic journey, I struggled with heavy depression. The wrong-doings and ills of the world seemed unbearable and not worth working with most days. I never took LSD looking to cure my sadness, but when I did take it, I had fun, REAL fun, and felt glad to be alive. I felt protected by the entire cosmos. I would (and still do) laugh to tears, til my collar is soaking wet. Over time, through effort, self-work, reflection, living life, journaling, meditation, spiritual discipline, study, etc etc etc, I learned how to stay in touch with that happiness outside of the expanded state.
In the fewest words possible, LSD restored by desire to be alive. It gave me back the Joy of incarnate life. To say I'm grateful would be cheap.

In terms of social changes, nothing initially. All my friends that I started eating acid with are still in touch, to varying degrees. That said, it caused a definite shift in my inner atmosphere and life trajectory. Because of the way LSD has changed my feelings about my entire life and existence, it has naturally changed my taste in art and music and literature, and interests, and therefore my choice in friends and companions has also been affected.

best wishes on your project, and warmest regards <3

Welcome to the nexus!
I'd like to echo what others have said about using lsd to have fun and be used as a sort of reset from the mundane reality to strengthen our connection with ourselves then radiate that to others. Albert Hoffman has my utmost respect and words do no justice for the gratitude of his work to bring lsd into existence and the impact it has had on my life. He understood the importance of it to his last day and the responsibility that is needed when working with such powerful tools.

My introduction to lsd was dubious to say the least as it being illegal and pushed through the underground market caters to those in the know. It turns out the one in the know who introduced me was not the most noble character. He currently is sitting in solitary confinement in an upstate maximum security prison for smuggling a shank into the courtroom where he stabbed his prosecuting attorney and has since received a life sentence. Definitely was never the hippie type. Saw him on locked up being interviewed with all his teeth busted out, neck sleeved up. He was cool when we hung out until he started to break into my house.

My first time I was thirteen, I now have daughter about the same age and I couldn't imagine her dosing 2 200 mcg tabs. The peak was a heavy experience that I had sought out repeatedly from there by taking bong hits at the peak to feel and hear the carrier wave. I had never been able to get to that space reliably until dmt came into the mix some 20 years later.

I had taken a long hiatus through the 2000's through 2010's as I was only reading about horror stories with all the nbome being pushed as lsd, I lost interest until her love sparked a desire to seek her out in the past five years with the relative ease of access these days.

Along with mushrooms and dmt I feel lsd has had the biggest impact with keeping my migraines at bay. I'm much more in tune with myself where I can tell when my mindspace is going in the gutter and the factors that contribute to my triggers. How to acknowledge my triggers and not let them push me into autopilot where more harm than good is achieved. Utilizing this tool to my benefit only radiates this benefit to others within my circle without them even needing to dose.