Ways of administration:

Most people swallow blotter LSD. LSD blotter can also be taken sublingually (allowed to rest under the tongue for 15-20 minutes). Liquid LSD is generally dropped straight onto the tongue (or onto sugar cubes which are then eaten). Liquid acid has also been reported to be administered by dropping in the eye. LSD can also be taken intravenously (although this is uncommon). LSD is absorbed through the skin and so “thumb-prints” (dipping thumb in bag of crystal LSD/liquid LSD) are another means of dosing.

LSD cannot be smoked as it is destroyed by heat.

Typical doses for LSD are:

Threshold (dose at which effects first noted): 20micrograms (mcg) of LSD
Light (sometimes called a “museum” dose): 25-75mcg of LSD
Common: 50-150 mcg of LSD
Strong: 150-400 mcg of LSD
Heavy: 400 + mcg of LSD

The effects of LSD are unpredictable. They may vary dramatically from one person to another based on a variety of factors such as body chemistry, age, gender, physical and emotional health etc. The effects of LSD also depend on the amount taken; the user's personality, mood, and expectations; and the surroundings in which the drug is used.

After oral ingestion of LSD duration of onset is typically 20-60 minutes but can be as long as 90 minutes.

Plateau effect is 3-6 hours
Coming down is 3-5 hours in total
After effects last 2-5 hours
Total duration of an LSD trip: 6-11 hours (sometimes longer)

Effects of LSD
The importance of set and setting cannot be over-emphasised when taking psychedelics: Set is the expectations a person brings with them. Setting is the environment that a person is in. Set includes expectations about the drug's actions and how the person will react. Setting includes the social and physical conditions that the individuals take drugs within. It is widely accepted that set and setting are the most important determinant of experiences with psychedelics, while the drug only plays the role of a catalyst or trigger.

Positive effects of LSD:
Increase in energy, increase in associative and creative thinking, mood lift, increased awareness and appreciation of music, increased awareness of senses (smell, taste etc), closed and open-eye visual hallucinations/illusions. Perceptions are altered. People may notice that the walls of the room are "breathing" or that motionless curtains appear to be moving. Senses appear to mix: A LSD user might see music, taste colours, or hear visual stimuli (synaesthesia). Some people report changes in perception of self and the universe producing profound and life-changing spiritual experiences.

Neutral effects of LSD:
General change in level of consciousness, Increased salivation and mucous production (may cause coughing), Pupil dilatation, Increase in body temperature (very rarely LSD has been reported to cause hyperthermia), Change in perception of time, unusual or rapidly changing thought patterns or emotions, Slight increase in heart rate and blood pressure, Facial flushing, Goosebumps.

Negative effects of LSD:
Anxiety, Muscular tension (including jaw tension and teeth grinding), Dizziness, Confusion, Increased perspiration, Nausea, Over-awareness (and over-stimulation as a result) of sensory stimuli, Fear, Panic, Paranoia and unwanted and overwhelming feelings.

Different Uses for LSD

LSD has been used for many different purposes over the years. Originally LSD was used in psychiatric research as a means of inducing an “experimental psychosis” as it was thought that the LSD state was analogous to schizophrenia. Much research was done in the 50’s and 60’s in attempts to prove or disprove this hypothesis. Of particular interest was “blocking” the psychotic state by administration of drugs, as this was seen as a promising development in the treatment of mental illness. However it became increasingly obvious that the LSD-induced state had many specific characteristics clearly distinguishing it from schizophrenia and this approach was abandoned by the majority of researchers.

LSD experiences were recommended as a tool for the training of psychiatrists, psychologists, medical students, and psychiatric nurses. The LSD sessions were advertised as a short, safe and reversible journey into the world of the schizophrenic. It was thought that a psychedelic experience could increase the subject's ability to understand psychotic patients, approach them with sensitivity, and treat them effectively.

This early period of LSD research brought important new insights into the nature of creative processes and the psychology/psychopathology of art. It was also an important impetus in the development of theories about the psychology/psychopathology of religion.

Clandestine research was also undertaken during this period by various government agencies worldwide, who were seeking to utilise the effects of LSD (and other hallucinogens) as “truth serums” and interrogation tools. LSD was also investigated as a chemical weapon. Much of this LSD research remains classified, however an excellent overview is provided by :“Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD, the CIA, the Sixties and Beyond” by Martin A Lee and Bruce Schlain.

Perhaps the most important area of LSD research was experimental psycho-therapy, this was first postulated by Condrau in 1949. In the early fifties several researchers independently recommended LSD as an adjunct to psychotherapy, which could deepen and intensify the therapeutic process. The pioneers of this approach were Busch and Johnson and Abramson in the US; Sandison, Spencer and Whitelaw in the UK; and Frederking in West Germany. Over the next 30 years or so hundreds of papers were published on the use of LSD in psychotic illness, as a treatment for alcoholism, and other addictions, as a treatment for depression and as an adjunct in personality and sexual disorders. Much of the research seemed to indicate that LSD-assisted psychotherapy could reach certain categories of psychiatric patients usually considered poor candidates for psychoanalysis or other forms of therapy.

For a more complete look at the history of LSD psychotherapy read this:
History of LSD Therapy – by Stanislav Grof, M.D.

By 1966 LSD was available on the streets. Publicity generated by Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert’s research and subsequent firing from Harvard, and a “Life” cover story entitled “LSD: The Exploding Threat of the Mind Drug That Got Out of Control” contributed to Sandoz recalling the LSD it had previously distributed and withdrawing funding for LSD research. LSD was made illegal in California on 10/06/66 and was federally scheduled in the US in 1967.

Whilst many people do take LSD for purely recreational value, others use LSD for spiritual purposes and self-exploration.

There have been several attempts made to incorporate LSD into religion as a sacrament (and thus avoid prosecution for use, as with the Native American use of peyote). In 1966 Arthur Kleps founded the Neo-American BooHoo Church which preached the sacramental use of LSD. Although ultimately unsuccessful he fought a long court-case to have his religious beliefs in LSD recognised and protected. Also in 1966 Timothy Leary founded the League of Spiritual Development which depicted man as God and LSD as the sacrament. Another LSD Church was The Brotherhood of Eternal Love (see the history of LSD).