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            ITEMS REGARDING THE PURITY OF BLACK MARKET LSD
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Excerpt from:
'Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered' by Lester Grinspoon and James B. Bakalar,
published in 1979.
 
According to data compiled by the PharmChem Research Foundation, a California
organization, the only psychedelic drugs now generally available on the street
are LSD, PCP, and to a lesser extent MDA.  Almost no one takes the trouble to
manufacture mescaline or psilocybin, because their effects resemble those of
LSD and the much larger amounts required make the expense too great.  Mescaline
is available only in the form of peyote buttons and psilocybin only in the form
of psychedelic mushrooms, which have been discovered growing all over the
United States; they are increasingly sought after in the wild (see Pollock 1975
a; Weil 1977 a) and, with difficulty, can also be cultivated (see Oss and Oeric
1976). (Many "psilocybin mushrooms," incidentally, are just commercial
mushrooms laced with LSD.)  Anything labeled as pure or synthetic mescaline,
psilocybin, or THC is almost certainly either LSD or PCP, or else contains no
drug.  Some chemicals closely related to LSD have been synthesized to sidestep
the law; the one most often available is the acetylated variant, ALD-52, which
is almost as potent as LSD itself.  As for the quality of illicit LSD,
adulterants and substitutes must be distinguished from products of improper
synthesis.  Since the variable physical and psychological effects of LSD
sometimes resemble those of strychnine, belladonna, or amphetamine, there are
rumors that illicit LSD often contains these substances.  But laboratory
analysis, especially the work of PharmChem Research Foundation, shows that
illicit LSD rarely contains adulterants, although the advertised dose is
usually two to five times the actual one.  The major problem is impurities that
are by-products of careless or inadequate synthesis.
        In the manufacturing process, ergotamine or other ergot alkaloids are
reduced to lysergic acid (d-lysergic acid monohydrate), which is then converted
to LSD.  The whole procedure, and especially the last stage, in which LSD is
separated from iso-LSD by chromatography, is rather delicate; it requires skill
and good equipment.  The government has tried to cut off the supply of chemical
precursors; but illicit chemists are usually able to obtain enough, because
several ergot derivatives are used as medicines and the quantities needed are
small: by one estimate, 70 kg of ergotamine tartrate is enough to supply the
American LSD market for a year (McGlothlin 1974 b).  The only impurity
regularly found by the PharmChem Laboratory, aside form occasional traces of
ergotamine, is iso-LSD: it is very similar to LSD in chemical structure (the
same atoms in a slightly different arrangement) but pharmacologically inactive.
It is rarely present in a proportion of more than 15 percent and appears to
have no effect on the drug action.  So street LSD seems to be reasonably pure.
 
McGlothlin, William H. 1974b.  The epidemiology of hallucinogenic drug use.
        In Eric Josephson and Eleanor C. Carroll, eds.
        Drug Use: Epidemiological and Sociological Approaches.
        Washington D.C.: Hemisphere Publishing Corp. Pp 279-301.
 
Oss, O.T., and Oeric, O. N. 1976. Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide.
        Berkeley: And/Or Press.
 
Pollock, Steven Hayden. 1975a. The psilocybin mushroom pandemic.
        Journal of Psychedelic Drugs 8(1): 43-57.
 
Weil, Andrew T. 1977a. The use of psychoactive mushrooms in the Pacific
        Northwest: An ethnopharmacological report.
        Botanical Museum Leaflets, Vol. 25, No. 5, Pp 131-149.
 
 
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                          RELATED ABSTRACTS:
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HOFMANN, ALBERT
"Lysergic acid diethylamide and related compounds.
 Relationship between spatial arrangement and mental effects."
_Chemical concepts of psychosis._  Ed. RINKEL, DENBER OBOLENSKY (1958) p 85
 
 
The author and his assistant made personal studies of the mental effects of
the stereo-isomers of LSD.
 
l-LSD: up to 500 mcg orally had no LSD-like effect,
       over 500 mcg caused very slight drowsiness.
 
d-iso-LSD: up to 500 mcg had no effect.
 
l-iso-LSD: up to 500 mcg had no effect, over 500 mcg caused mild nausea.
 
As both the author and his assistant had previously made a very marked
response to 20 mcg LSD, it seems that the 3 stereo-isomers are at least
15 to 30 times less active than LSD.
 
It is perhaps of significance that of the 4 possible isomers only one - 
which corresponds to natural lysergic acid - causes pronounced mental effects.
 
 
 
 
GUHA, D; PRADHAN, S N
Mescaline.
PharmChem Newsletter; 1972 Vol 1(4) 1-3
 
Describes the pharmacology, behavioral, physiological, and psychological
effects, mechanisms and metabolism, and history and uses of mescaline. A table
of 65 substances recently appearing on the illicit market with descriptions of
alleged and actual contents, origins, and street prices is included.
 
 
 
 
RATLIFFE, BRUCE E; HELISTEN, CARMEN
Street drug analysis as an adjunct to emergency medical care at rock concerts.
PharmChem Newsletter; 1974 Vol 3(7) 1,
 
Describes the process and results of drug analysis as an adjunct to emergency
medical services at a weekend rock concert in California in the summer of
1974. Results of analyzing 46 drug samples show that nearly all
tetrahydrocannabinol, mescaline, and psilocybin samples contained LSD and/or
parachlorophenylalanine [*sic]; that marihuana was nearly always pure; and
that LSD dosages were well below those advertised in selling.
 

  I suspect that "parachlorophenylalanine" above is a transcription error.
  PCPA is the abbreviation for that chemical, and it is used to block
  serotonin synthesis in some animal experiments with LSD. In this abstract it
  was probably confused with the abbreviation PCP, which is Phencyclidine --
  a substance much more likely to be used as a street drug adulterant.]
 
 
 
 
ZWEIG, JONATHAN S; CASTAGNOLI, NEAL
Drug use and analysis results: 1973-1975.
PharmChem Newsletter; 1976 Jan Vol 5(1) 1-8
 
Presents data on trends in the use and effects of 4 major types of popular
illegal drugs: cannabis products, CNS stimulants, psychotomimetics, and
opiates and miscellaneous substances. Use of most of these chemicals seems to
have been relatively constant during the past 2 yrs, although the use of
phencyclidine, a psychotomimetic, is increasing. Instances of dilution,
adulteration, and misrepresentation of drugs sold on the street are described,
including the most notable example which occurred during 1973-1975--alleged
amphetamine samples. Tabular data on 1,600 samples analyzed during the study
period are included.
 
 
 
                  --------------------------------
                  CURRENT AVAILABILITY OF PURE LSD
                  --------------------------------
 
Excerpt from SIGMA Chemical Company, 1991 Catalog:
 
CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES -- DRUG STANDARDS
 
No DEA license is required.
There is no administrative fee charged for handling these items.
FAX, Telex, and telephone orders for these standards will be accepted.
 
FAX: 1-800-535-2674
TELEX: 434475
TELEPHONE: 1-800-325-3010 (USA/Canada)
           314-771-5750 (Outside USA/Canada Call Collect)
 
Drug standards with purity of 98%+ are prepared w/v in methanol at
1.0mg/ml (+/- 5%) unless otherwise noted. Concentrations of those drugs in
salt form are prepared to yield the equivalent of the anhydrous free acid/base.
Drug Standards are shipped in flame sealed glass ampules. For your convenience,
an ampule breaker/collar (A3787) is included to aid opening the ampule.
A labeled screw cap vial is provided allowing storage of unused product for
future qualitative analysis, such as GC, GC/MS, HPLC, UV, and TLC.
 
For maximum stability, store air tight, at 0-5 degrees C
(unless otherwise noted).
 
LYSERGIC ACID DIETHYLAMIDE, 25 ug/ml  --    1 ml   $21.95   FOB Sigma
 
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