[Mitch]

Dies recently: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040726/full/040726-12.html

[gregpawin]

Yeah he was a legend.  I remember watching a documentary about how they were drawing these amino acids on strips of paper and then one day one of them curled it up into a spiral.

Hehe, those biologists back then were pissed too that a chemist discovered DNA's structure and replication mechanism.

[Mitch]

I don't remember which one, but one of them was a physicist. X-Ray diffraction is tricky business.

[ssssss]

Yeah i read that in the newspaper.He was suffering from corona cancer.

[gregpawin]

National Public Radio's site has some good stuff about Crick


http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_3803044.html

[Limpet Chicken]

Apparently, Crick was tripping balls on LSD when he made the discovery of the structure of DNA. I say good on him :')

[gregpawin]

LSD's mean stuff man.  Its fat soluble and can give people flashbacks years after taking it.

I remember reading a book ages ago... I think it was called The Outsiders and one kid who took LSD would no longer be able?/allowed to have children.  I don't know all the real facts about it though.

[Limpet Chicken]

I find it difficult to believe that LSD could stay in the body for any length of time, it's a very unstable molecule, preparation has to be done under special lighting and an inert atmosphere such as argon or nitrogen.

Besides, plasma levels are almost eliminated DURING the experience, LSD is metabolised pretty quickly. I certainly don't think LSD would cause any reproductive toxicity at the levels of use, after all it's active from about 50 micrograms upwards, and the margin of safety between a lethal and an effective dose is INCREDIBLY high, probably one of the most nontoxic and physically safest drugs around in my opinion.

LSA on the other hand, (lysergic acid amide) is IMHO unpleasant stuff, more toxic, sometimes causing leg and arm cramps similar to other ergot alkaloid poisonings, I know for a fact that it can cause acute stomach pain, and the worst living nightmare you could ever imagine!

[Corvettaholic]

I think LSD sticks around in spinal fluid. From what I understand, doing a spinal tap on something is an easy way to find out everything they've done to their body. Maybe it just decides to do its magic when you crack your back the wrong way? I've known a couple people who've had flashbacks, which is why I'll never touch the stuff.

[Limpet Chicken]

LSD doesn't stick around much, its almost ALL gone be the time the trip is half through, cracking the back is rubbish, maybe some kids DO believe it, and get a psychosomatic response from it, but not from any acid for sure.

Assuming 50 micrograms to be a threshold dose, then isthat 50 Mcg was ingested and worked its magic, then, by logic, some would be metabolised, and therefore, there would be less than that magic 50mcg (if there was any at all, unlikely in the case of LSD)
so it would be unable to cause repeated effects due to its physical (as opposed to psychological) activity.

If anyone is going to use acid, then by far it's best to do it in a controlled surroundings, with familliar and pleasant setting, while your feeling good to begin with, feel like sh1t and drop acid, and its a pretty certain ticket to hell for a whole load of hours.

I must admit though, I prefer psilocin myself though...seems more natural.

[Mitch]

locked, you know why.

[jdurg]

Okay guys, while Mitch gave a pretty good explanation why the thread was closed, I needed to chime in here since this field is what I majored in during college.  (Forensic Chemistry deals a LOT with illegal chemicals).  Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) is one of the most potent psychoactive chemicals in existance.  The strength of it is why a tiny little piece of paper can hold enough compound to make people "trip."  It was "discovered" during WWI or WWII, I believe, by a german scientist who was trying to develop a chemical that could be sprayed onto the enemy causing them severe psychological trauma.  The research was done on ergot alkaloids since they have a history of causing intense physical and psychological changes.  The scientist who discovered it had an accident in the lab and spilled a large quantity of the stuff on his skin, and about half an hour later started freaking out.  LSD was born.

Like most ergot derived compounds, LSD is metabolised quite readily by the body.  However, LSD binds to the neurons in the brain a lot more strongly than most alkaloids do.  As a result, the effects of the drug are felt for quite a long time as the body has a rough time pulling it away from the brain.  Once it is detached, however, the liver metabolises it very rapidly.  The idea that it gets retained in your body for years is a myth.  Flashbacks are NOT LSD which has "broken free" and is affecting the user once more.  Flashbacks are simply a side effect of the INTENSE psychoactive power that the drug has.  It creates such strong emotional experiences during its use that sometimes the brain will subconciously remember the experience at random moments.  If you've had to deal with a lot of LSD users, you'll notice that those who "flashback" are those who are usually going through a rough emotional time period, or those who only did it "once".  All of the "bad trip"/"good trip" lingo you hear is not because of chemical differences; it's because of the psychological state of the user during the time that LSD is working into the brain.  

So I just wanted to confirm that a "flashback" from LSD is purely psychological and not physical.  I also want people to know that LSD is not a harmless drug that you can do all you want.  Any drug which affects how your senses react, or how your brain interprets things, can cause severe psychological damage which some people may never recover from.  You may think that you're fine and can handle all that you're doing, but you never know when that one "trip" will happen when your brain is functioning in a slightly different way which can leave emotional scars for years to come.  

We also don't want further discussion about drugs and such on this board for numerous reasons.  We do not want to be known as the "chemistry board that helps people make better drugs", nor do we want to attract a crowd of basement chemists whose only goal is to make illegal drugs.  Drugs that you may find on the street are not made in a safe lab by smart people.  They are made by crazy basement chemists who don't care about safety and only care about the almighty dollar.  If something is made wrong, they don't care.  As long as someone is dumb enough to buy it, they'll make it the same way.  It's VERY risky and VERY illegal to purchase drugs like that.  We don't want to assist people in making those drugs, and we don't want to grow a reputation as a place that will help people out if they want to try and make them on their own.