Day of LSD & Psychedelics: Bicycle Day

Everyone is touching their face. Why is that so captivating in a blog about LSD? On April 19, over 80 years ago, Dr. Albert Hofmann pedaled home in the afternoon after a day's work at the Swiss Sandoz laboratory. That day, Hofmann accidentally spilled an unknown substance on his hand, which turned out to be LSD.

Bicycle Day & the Discovery of LSD

On a sunny spring day in 1943, Albert Hofmann rode his bike home after a long day's work. The Swiss scientist had been researching medicinal substances in molds growing on rye and other grains at the Sandoz laboratory in Basel for years. During his research, Hofmann stumbled upon a chemical substance that we now know as LSD-25. Not intentionally, because the only reason LSD was discovered is because Hofmann accidentally spilled it on his hand that day.

You're not aware of it, but you often touch your face more than you think. Hofmann had spilled LSD on his hand, probably spreading it around his mouth. The result? During the bike ride home, Albert feels cheerful, restless, and slightly dizzy. Upon arriving home, he lies down for a while and drifts away into a pleasant trance, full of extreme visualizations. In a dreamlike state, he sees fantastic images in an intense play of kaleidoscopic colors. Albert Hofmann accidentally became the discoverer of LSD. Hofmann then went down in history as a leading researcher into various psychedelics and became a key figure in spreading the message that these drugs can also offer personal benefits. That's why we celebrate Bicycle Day on April 19, commemorating the day LSD was discovered on a bike.

What is LSD?

LSD is the well-known but controversial psychedelic party drug from the flower-power era. But that's not how it started. LSD was introduced as a medicine in psychiatry under the name Delysid in 1947. According to newspapers and early televisions, LSD grew in popularity in mental health care in the 1950s. It became immensely popular in the 1960s because even healthy people started using it. LSD quickly became the go-to substance for entering a psychedelic state.

LSD is short for Lysergsäure-diethylamid; German for lysergic acid diethylamide. In the party scene, LSD is also called Acid. LSD-25 is a chemical compound that causes a strong psychedelic trip half an hour after ingestion, lasting eight to twelve hours. In the United States, during the Vietnam War era, some prominent figures like From Leary to Hofmann: Key figures in Psychedelics openly advocated taking LSD instead of going to the front lines. "Turn on, tune in, drop out" was his famous saying. Then-President Richard Nixon called Leary "the most dangerous man in America" for that reason. Many blame Leary for the ban on LSD and other psychedelics. Due to that ban, research into all psychedelics came to a halt for decades.

MK-Ultra, Remote Viewing & Experiments of the US Government

In 1953, a large-scale project was started by the CIA, the espionage branch of the US government, in utmost secrecy. The goal was to develop means and methods to get people to talk. During the Cold War, alternative ways of obtaining information from the opposing party were sought. LSD played a major role because it was used to brainwash and mentally torture people. In 1977, 20,000 documents were released showing that the CIA also experimented on people unrelated to the war. They were experimented on without their consent. There was an early test subject who received a dose of LSD every day for 174 consecutive days without knowing it. Operation Midnight Climax is a bizarre example, where various brothels were set up with mirrors that you can see through from one side. Without their knowledge, the clients were drugged with LSD, filmed, and studied.

But it can get even crazier. In other CIA experiments, trained individuals were put under the influence of LSD in a tank of water. Earplugs in, eye covers on... The idea was that with some instruction, they could project their consciousness outside the body and move to anywhere in the world. This remote viewing or remote viewing even yielded some interesting results, but LSD was quickly labeled as unpredictable.

The CIA's practices were largely unconstitutional and had to stop due to concerns about human rights.

Classical Psychedelics

Because LSD was discovered early in the last century and then thoroughly researched, we call LSD one of four classical psychedelics. LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and DMT all cause similar hallucinations. Of the classical psychedelics, LSD is the only substance exclusively prepared in the laboratory. Psilocybin is the active ingredient in mushrooms and magic truffles. Mescaline comes from peyote, san pedro, and peruvian torch cacti. Mescaline also has a synthetic variant made in the lab. Finally, we have DMT. DMT is the active ingredient in the traditional Ayahuasca brew. There is also a chemically prepared variant that can cause a very intense, but short-lived trip after inhalation.

Is LSD Legal?

LSD is not a legal drug - in any country. One reason is that LSD is incredibly concentrated. Just 25 micrograms (that's 25 thousandths of a milligram) is enough to feel the effects. That makes LSD one of the most potent drugs out there. So you can imagine that this potent drug is extremely difficult to dose, and only people with finely tuned measuring equipment can make LSD. That certainly doesn't make LSD a party drug - how can you be sure it's exactly the right dose? Moreover, the effects of LSD and other hallucinogenic psychedelics are actually better suited for a calming setting and accompanied by a sober tripsitter. How to safely spend such a trip discussed in this blog is discussed in this blog.

What Does LSD Do?

LSD is a strong hallucinogenic substance. It first causes a feeling of well-being and relaxation, often followed by an intense fit of laughter and crazy ideas. For example, you wonder why your arms are on the outside of your body. An LSD trip quickly turns into a colorful experience in which you gradually detach from reality. During the peak, which occurs 3 hours after ingestion, you often don't know what is real and what is a figment of your imagination. LSD causes a distortion of your perspective, and your senses work differently. At a higher dosage, you will experience strong hallucinations and feel merged with objects. Patterns and intense colors fill your field of vision with your eyes open, and with your eyes closed, you are drawn into a completely different world where you encounter strange beings and confronting thoughts. In all these aspects, LSD is comparable to the effects of mushrooms and magic truffles

How to Take LSD?

LSD circulates on an edible piece of paper. Such an LSD stamp contains a certain amount of LSD, and simply placing it on the tongue allows the tongue to absorb the acid. In the '60s and '70s, it was popular to suck on sugar cubes saturated with LSD. Nowadays, LSD is also often sold as a diluted liquid in an ampoule. People drip it on a stamp themselves or take it as liquid, but you can also saturate sugar cubes yourself.

LSD Pros and Cons

Comparing LSD vs Shrooms? Then you can look at the pros and cons, as well as the dangers of LSD.

+ Because LSD-25 has a fixed potency, the potency of LSD is always the same. Natural products like shrooms, magic truffles, and mescaline cacti contain variable amounts of active substances, while 100 micrograms of LSD under certain conditions always causes the same effect.

+ LSD is very easy to consume. Eating shrooms and especially truffles can sometimes be an unpleasant task due to the taste and quantity. Taking LSD is simply taking a tab and you're done.

+ As far as known, LSD causes little nausea. But you can feel dizzy and lightheaded, which can make you nauseous. Other hallucinogens cause an uncomfortable feeling in the stomach, partly because you need to consume more of them to induce an effect.

+ LSD, as well as shrooms and magic truffles, are not physically addictive. This is because we build up a tolerance to these substances that takes at least a week to completely break down.

- Compared to shrooms and magic truffles, perhaps the most important disadvantage of LSD is that it is not legally available anywhere in the world. There are plenty of opportunities worldwide to buy shroom grow kits and magic truffles online.

- Shrooms and magic truffles are natural products. For many people, this is a more reassuring thought than a drug like LSD synthesized by human hands in a laboratory.

- LSD, because it is so highly concentrated, is difficult to dose. Especially in the illegal circuit, it is difficult to determine the dosage per edible paper or LSD tab. Shrooms and magic truffles are easier to dose since you can simply eat them. Moreover, there is a good shrooms and truffles dosage calculator available with which you can always weigh the right amount of truffles or shrooms.

- Because LSD can only be obtained through the illegal circuit, you are not sure if the LSD tab even contains LSD. 25x-NBOMe, DOI, and DOB are much cheaper substances that are regularly found in the LSD tab. Always test your tab with an LSD drug test"> before taking it.

LSD molecule

LSD Trip VS. Tripping on Shrooms and Truffles

What is the difference between an LSD trip and tripping on magic truffles and shrooms? A frequently asked question, so we'll try to answer it. We have asked users for their experiences and compared them with our own findings. As experienced psychonauts will confirm: a trip on LSD or magic mushrooms is actually indescribable. Nevertheless, we list the most striking differences.

The most logical difference is the way of ingestion. Many people do not particularly enjoy eating shrooms and truffles. They try all kinds of ways to eat the magic mushrooms without tasting them. Examples include shroom tea, as an additive on a hamburger, or in soup. None of that is necessary with LSD. You simply place a tab on your tongue, take a drop of LSD liquid, or put it on a sugar cube. LSD has little taste and is therefore much easier to ingest.
The way LSD works differs greatly from shrooms and truffles. Firstly, because it often takes longer for LSD to take effect. Shrooms and truffles are usually felt after 45 minutes. In some cases, it can take up to 90 minutes with LSD. Additionally, LSD is often said to have a more gradual onset. By that, we mean that you don't enter the trip all at once. With LSD, the onset is very gradual. Often you think the LSD trip is at its peak, while the peak is still to come. With shrooms and truffles, you often have a moment where you really think: now I'm tripping. With LSD, that moment is blurred.
Many users notice the peculiar feeling in the body. This is not necessarily an unpleasant feeling, but it can be strange. Especially for users trying LSD for the first time. Statements vary from "it seems like the LSD is everywhere in my blood" to "as if the LSD wants to come out from inside my body". With this feeling, we don't mean the connection with nature and the earth. That is something all psychedelics have in common. It's more about a constant presence in your body during the trip.
A commonly reported experience during an LSD trip is the well-known glow. You can also experience this with a high dose of shrooms or truffles, but with LSD, it happens even with a low dose. It's as if there is a glow around everything, both in sight and touch. It gives off a kind of warmth, and it seems like everything is breathing.
Time perception can be strongly influenced during an LSD trip. Especially when taking a high dose. This is because LSD can last a long time. Where a trip on shrooms or truffles usually ends after 4 to 6 hours, an LSD trip can last 6 to 12 hours. Over time, you are only busy tripping, and the clock is no longer important to you. A commonly reported experience is that sometimes it seems like tripping becomes 'normal' when it lasts so long. You then feel like the 'trip world' is the normal world. For some people, this is scary. In such a case, always realize that the trip will eventually end. A tripsitter can help you with that.

Conclusion: Trying LSD? Choose an Alternative!

LSD has a rich history that is not only the positivity of the flower power with which the substance is often associated. Buying LSD? That's just not possible in a legal way. A better alternative to LSD is seeds of Morning Glory and Hawaiian Baby Woodrose. Those are colorful flowers that would also not look out of place in your own psychedelic garden!

Want to know more about LSA and the power of Hawaiian Baby Woodrose? Then read this blog and decide for yourself whether you want to microdose or go crazy with a higher dose.

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