The Effects of Lysergenic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) While Driving

Lysergenic Acid Diethylamide, also known as  “acid, LSD, or LSD-25”, is classified as a hallucinogen. It is colorless, odorless, and slight bitter in taste. They are often sold in tiny tablets, known as microdots. Its availability, low price, and effect makes it a popular drug. If the user is caught driving a vehicle under the influence of LSD in Las Vegas, the user will face DUI charges.

Driving on LSD

The effects of LSD start 30 to 90 minutes after ingestion.  Their strength depend on the amount ingested. A minuscule amount (25 micrograms) of LSD is enough to experience the effect of the drug. On low dosages, the user may experience these :

Increased or decreased heart-rate and blood pressure, sweating, dry mouth, tremors, mood swings, and loss of appetite. The tremor alone can be dangerous while driving resulting in the user making sudden turns and to accelerate or decelerate abnormally.

Higher dosage effects include:

Impaired Perceptions:

• Visual hallucinations – the user can experience many changes in perception that leads to hallucinations. The user may see strange colors and patterns, melting effects, non-moving objects may appear to be moving, contraction and expansion of objects and more. When driving, especially at night, the user may perceive road lights differently. There is a higher chance that the user may ignore stop lights, signal lights, etc.

• Auditory hallucinations – the user may hear things that is physically not present, or may perceive sound differently. An example is that the user may perceive the honking of the truck as the cry of a whale.

• Impaired time perception – the user may feel that the world is moving slowly or quickly. Example: the car in front of the user has already come to a full stop. The user might think that the car in-front of him is still moving, and would end up hitting it. The user may also feel that the speed of the car isn’t fast enough, and would end up over speeding.

Emotional changes

Users feel rapid emotion changes ranging from pleasure to panic attacks. These feelings may be :

• Excessive happiness
• Increased optimistic views
• Positive feed-backs on things
• Severe depression
• Panic attacks
• Flashbacks
• Fear of losing control

These rapid emotional changes have an impact on “how the user drives the vehicle”. Here are a few examples:

1. Depression, in the worst case scenario, can lead to suicidal thoughts. The user may end up over-speeding in a suicide attempt.
2. A sudden flashback may cause the user to do a “sudden full-stop”, which is dangerous when driving on highways.
3. Excessive happiness may  also cause the user to over-speed. He or she may enjoy the adrenaline caused by high-speed driving.

Are you charged with DUI?

If you are charged with DUI, contact an experienced DUI attorney in Las Vegas. Find a criminal defense attorney that will examine your case legally and offer legal aid to provide the best DUI defense possible.