There’s a recent resurgence of interest for psychedelic drugs, and extreme cases can be very valuable for researchers.
What happens when you take 10 doses of LSD? Wait, what happens when you take 550? The answer (and I say this in full responsibility) will surprise you.
Substance abuse
In 1997, a 12-year-old anonymous girl (which researchers called VA) became acquainted with the mental health system. She reported suffering from hallucinations and had numerous behavioral problems, as well as severe depression. She reported hearing voices in her head for many years.
Her story is detailed in a new study by researchers from the University of British Columbia, who looked at a couple of examples of extreme LSD ingestion.
Doctors started VA on antidepressants for a diagnosed bipolar illness, but the situation was problematic from the start. The girl’s home life was turbulent and she had already been familiar with cannabis since she was 11. By 13-14, she reported irregular consumption of magic mushrooms and a one-time consumption of MDMA and LSD. But the extreme episode happened when she was 15, during a summer party.
The supplier of liquid LSD made a decimal error — what the dealer had intended to be 100 mcg doses (a “normal” dose), were actually 1,000 mcg doses. AV drank her glass, and then drank the leftovers from two other glasses, raising her total intake to around 11-12 doses.
She had taken the drugs at 10 PM, on a relatively empty stomach. Her friends and other observers reported erratic behavior for the next 6.5 hours — even more erratic than what you’d expect from a typical LSD dose. Then, she exhibited what they believed to be a seizure.
Locked in a fetal position, with her arms and fists tightly clenched, AV simply stopped. An ambulance was called, though by the time paramedics arrived 10 minutes later, she was alert and active. She was transported to a local hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with a seizure.
To Read The Rest Of This Article By Mihai Andrei on ZME Science
Published: October 01, 2021
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