DRCNet Response to theDrug Enforcement Administration
LSD in the United States
DRCNet Response to the
Drug Enforcement Administration
LSD in the United States
The availability of d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has increased in the United
States in the last 2 to 3 years; the hallucinogen is available in at least retail
quantities in virtually every State. The sources of supply for most of the LSD available
in the United States are believed to be centered in northern California.
At the wholesale production and trafficking levels, LSD remains tightly controlled by
relatively small, fraternal California-based organizations that have evaded drug law
enforcement operations successfully for over two decades. Mid-level distribution networks
generally are comprised of individuals who have known each other through long years of
association and common interests.
Over the past several years, an increasing number of individuals have attempted to
manufacture LSD. Many of these individuals are not associated with the traditional
northern California groups that are believed to have produced most of the LSD available in
the United States since the late 1960’s.
Compared with methamphetamine, PCP, and other domestically manufactured illicit drugs, few
LSD laboratories have been located or seized. Six clandestine LSD synthesis laboratories
have been confiscated by DEA since 1981; however, there have been no seizures since 1987.
This is due primarily to the shifting of law enforcement resources to target and dismantle
the escalating number of cocaine trafficking and distribution organizations established
during the crack epidemic that began during the mid-1980’s and continues into the
present.
Public and private mail systems appear to be the primary means used for the transportation
and distribution of wholesale and retail quantities of LSD.
LSD is relatively inexpensive with an average street dosage unit or “hit”
costing approximately $5 and often as little as $1 or $2. Retail-level doses are available
primarily in paper form; microdot tablets and gelatin squares also have been encountered.
Current LSD potency ranges from 20 to 80 micrograms per dosage unit. This potency is
considerably below levels reported during the 1960’s and early 1970’s, when
potency ranged from 100 to 200 micrograms (or higher) per dosage unit.
The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse for 1993 estimated that 13.2 million Americans
12 years of age or older have used LSD at least once in their lifetime compared to 8.1
million in 1985.
According to the 1993 Monitoring the Future Study, sponsored by the National Institute on
Drug Abuse, lifetime, past-year, and past-month use of LSD among seniors in the class of
1993 increased to the highest level since 1985. Moreover, the survey revealed that LSD use
has increased significantly in every frequency category except daily use at every grade
level.
Reporting from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) indicates that the number of
LSD-related hospital emergencies remains low compared to other major illegal drugs of
abuse. This low number most likely is due to the fewer adverse reactions generated by the
low-potency LSD that has been produced since the late 1970’s. As a result, the DAWN
figures do not reflect the increases in LSD use measured by other indicators such as the
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse and the Monitoring the Future Survey.
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