LSD: Psychedelic Drug Reaches All Time Lows in Usage

A small group of researchers at the University of Michigan have been tracking drug use among Americans since 1975. Although there has been several surveys conducted over a number of years among teens, the results cannot be concluded as valid since teens who use drugs are not the most credible resource of information. At Michigan state university they have established a research group called the M.T.F which stands for "Monitoring the Future".

The lead researcher at MTF, Dr. Lloyd Johnston states that the research group has never seen such a dramatic drop of LSD as they are now. Between 2000 and 2001, 6.5 percent of all high school students surveyed have reported experimenting with LSD within the previous year. Just one year after that, In 2002 that percentage has dropped by almost 45% to 3.5 percent of students who reported experimentation with LSD. So why would the number of students surveyed drop at such a dramatic rate in such a little amount of time, only one year!

The evidence of the drugs decline in use can be seen almost anywhere you go. There has been a smaller number of police reports with evidence of the drug; A huge drop in federal cases having to do with the drug; and also a smaller number in reports of hospitalizations where the drug had been taken. Where LSD was once a very common drug among teens and college students, It can no longer be found in the numbers it used to.

So one may ask why there has been such a decline in use and availability of this drug? There is one very simple answer and that is one of the biggest drug busts in DEA history. In November of 2000 the DEA made two arrests which cut the supply of LSD in the united states by nearly 95%. Two individuals by the names of Clyde Apperson and William L. Pickard were the ones behind the operation of LSD manufacturing and distribuiton. According to court records, The DEA seized the largest laboratory of LSD in the history of the United states. An average dose of one "hit" of LSD is around 100 micrograms. With that information taken into account Clyde Apperson and William L. Pickard had manufactured nearly 400 million hits of LSD. The two men paid a very hefty price for their crime. Clyde Apperson was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, and William L. Pickard was given two life sentences for posession and conspiracy to distribute the LSD.

With almost 95% of the supply gone, LSD has also dramatically increased in its street value. A once steady price of $5-10 per hit now ranges from $20-30 per hit. Also around ten years ago you could go to a certain type of musical concert of festival and purchase several sheets of highly potent blotter LSD, but now getting ahold of 10 doses in these days are much more difficult.

For now, LSD seems to be at a complete downfall since it is so hard to come by, and there are many more hallucinogenic substances which are easier to obtain. As the war on drugs in the United states continues to grow, I don't think we will see any increase in LSD use for a very long time.