Can You Pass The Acid Test?
[LSD & Counter Culture]

What's up guys I've seen a lot of discussion lately on the Internet regarding the use of psychedelics, LSD especially. I want to first relay and clear up some misconceptions regarding the substance and explain how it became so popular, along with the counter culture it created. Let's begin!

LSD-25 & How to Know you have It

LSD is one of the most sought after psychedelic chemicals and is so for many reasons. Unfortunately we live in a time where we are sanctioned into what chemical we can, and cannot indulge in. With its legality categorized as a substance 1 means there is a lot of risk for vendors to supply it, and a lot f paranoia surrounding those who do so. Another reason for the scarcity of LSD is that it isn't easy to make.. it's not some kitchen chemist chemical anyone can just whip up. It takes time, money and an extensive knowledge of organic chemistry plus proper laboratory equipment. Furthermore obtaining the specific reagents and organic compounds are hard to find and have been "red flagged" by certain agencies. With this being said we can conclude that LSD for the most part isn't being made in some guys bathtub overnight, despite what you may of heard. LSD is created by chemists from various institutions and colleges all over the world; from the US, Czech, Switzerland, etc. It is mainly distributed through the deep web, music festivals, gatherings and rarely on the street. Aside from the college chemists there are a particular group of "Family Chemists" who partake in spreading this magical substance, it is from these "families" where most of the US population gets their acid.

There are a couple ways you can tell if you have gotten real LSD or not, the easiest method is consumption. If what you have has a taste then its NOT LSD. The only reason LSD would ever have any sort of taste is if leftover tartaric acid solidified onto the blotter which would leave a sweet/sour taste then vanish. Unlike RC's (Research Chemicals) which tend to numb the mouth/tongue and make everything taste like metallic shit. The second way is through LSD's natural illumination under UV or black light interaction, so grab a black light and hold it to your blott, if it glows then you have LSD if not it's something else. I enjoy this test in particular not only because its accurate but if your dealing with a large amount of LSD like a sheet (100 tabs) then you can check if the person who layed it knew what they were doing. By this im referring to titration which is the distribution of a substance over a medium. Our substance being LSD and our medium being blotter paper. The last way is through Test kits. The only test kits ill ever recommend are through a company called "The Bunk Police". However no test kit can tell you if you have LSD as its too complex of a chemical to test for via test kit, but what it can tell you is if what you're testing is not LSD. So if you drop a some blott or a drop of liquid in and nothing happens you may have LSD or just water, if a reaction occurs then you have something else. (RC)

Forms & Purity of LSD

LSD comes in many forms along with different levels of concentrations or purity. The best LSD is laboratory made from Sandoz, Czech Republic (famous czech acid) or Owsley Stanley (Owsley acid) but sadly isn't available anymore.

In this section i'm going to go over the different types of LSD you may find a vendor passing around or something you'd see at a music festival.

First off ALL LSD is produced as Crystal and either dissolved in a solution to be manufactured as liquid, "layed" on a sheet/blotter or kept in crystal form for gel tabs. Below ill list some common termanology regarding LSD developed by the GD families throughout Grateful Dead tour.

TYPES OF CRYSTAL

Needlepoint -very pure(95%) white powdery crystal, was available in small amount's. The best of the best, same quality as Hoffmans or Czech, or Owsley Stanley.

White Fluff -Very pure(95%) white light flakes of crystal. Still around and the most sought after. very pure. Fluff is also rumored to be a recipe created by Bear Owsley during his famous career of producing the BEST LSD around on tour and through the Haight-ashbury scene. The last known chemist to have produced this was Timothy Pickard. It's rumored now that certain people within the "Rainbow Family" have the recipe, however this is pure speculation. The term "family fluff" is very abused and has now become a gimmick in a way for people to upsell their product, feed an ego and is responsible for the abundance of "white on white" tabs.

Silver -Good and clean(85-90%)-light grayish (cloudy) crystal. Was an unbelievable amount of this around in the late eighty's and early nineties. Very good stuff, in my opinion the most prevalent quality achieved through family chemists hence the reason why this purity is available today.

Amber -Decent(70%?) This crystal varied from a light amber color to an almost dark brown color. Was always available on tour. One batch called quadricept amber was the color of light honey and was very good.

Lavender -(60-70%?) light purple to almost black colored crystal. Like amber it varied batch to batch.

Champagne -(50-60%) black crystal, nasty stuff contains a lot of impurities. Still in today's day and age i'd consider it lucky to get over an nBOME.

Now for the different forms!

Blotter - From crystal to liquid it is then "layed" on a sheet of blotter paper. Unfortunately its hard to find good blotter LSD today. Most blott is sold as LSD, but simply isn't. The reason it's hard to find good blott is because it's not worthwhile to produce in bulk for chemists. LSD is too risky and expensive to make to distribute on a mass scale in this form. LSD degrades quickly and this isn't a sufficient form to keep it in. Also ordering massive amounts of blotter paper tends to be fishy, and were already dealing with paranoid people here.
Nicknames: Tabs, Tickets, Paper, Blott

Liquid - from crystal to liquid with the help of a solution, usually water. Liquid is harder to come by as its harder to store. If you get real liquid LSD; it would be as if you dropped water on your tongue. NO TASTE! Liquid also needs to be handled carefully, stored in a cool environment like a fridge, kept in bottles which block sunlight. Liquid also needs to be taken carefully. It's easy to misdose and if spilled on your palm will quickly be absorbed into the bloodstream. I have seen countless times people at concerts or festivals spill a vial on their hand.
Nicknames: Liquid, Water, Owsley Water, Mothers Milk

Gel Tabs/Windowpane - A mixture of either liquid or crystal LSD stored in a gelatin tablet. Rare to come by, has a longer shelf life. You can find a few examples on erowid. It's old school.
Nicknames: Gel Tabs, Windowpane, Ambrosia

Microdot - Small tablets resembling ecstasy, are infused with either liquid or crystal. Made with a pill press. Rare to find, unless your at Burning Man. This is the least talked about form of LSD.
Nicknames: Microdot

Crystal - The solidified form of LSD ranging in purity depending on color. You can't buy crystal until your taught to lay it, further more you can't lay it until you've received your first THUMBPRINT from a "Family Elder" or Chemist - NO EXCEPTIONS. Eating a piece of crystal would dissolve almost immediately. It would not have very much of a taste, and crunchy if you bit it. Crystal is reserved for those who deserve it.

Counterculture & The Scene

A counterculture is a group of individual that contrast the typical norms of a prevailing culture. They shun what the mass have accepted as true and create their own societal "norms". These people sterotypically seem to have a deeper sense of community, spirituality. They reject mainstream ideologies as they are transparent and artifical or manufactured. We refer to society as your parents know it as "Babylon". The counterculture flourished upon revealing itself in the mid sixties and continues to do so til the present. There are 3 primary advocates responsible for its existence.

1.) The CIA - During MK Ultra the military was testing the effects of LSD at numerous colleges throughout the US. Through these experiments they recruited knowingly/or unknowingly the primary advocates of the counterculture. (Timothy Leary, Ken Keesey, Richard Alpert, Merry Pranksters, Aldous Huxley, Neal Cassady, etc. The list goes on). These individuals were college grads. Very smart people. They advocated drug use, banded together and created a movement which spiraled out of control from the CIA.

2.) LSD - It's what the CIA was peddling at the time, and they had no idea how it would effect the upcoming generation, or did they? LSD remained LEGAL for 6 years (1960-66) before they realized the extent of how many people were "turning on" and the new attitudes that followed consequently. It is in my opinion that LSD is a catalyst for the imagination, it's food for thought. It breaks down societal norms, dissolves boundaries of opinion and separation. It allows the user to view themselves from the crystal lens of their higher perspective and cast an ego-less determination on themselves and those around.

3.) Music - The psychedelic music scene was not only catalytic but served as a medium or vessel which allowed LSD and the counterculture to perpetuate itself. It was a tool that through lyricism weaned out stigma regarding LSD, perpetuated its existence and facilitated a positive experience. Everyone was turning on, and the music kept people happy.

I'm not going to go too in depth on how the CIA created hippies, you can do the research for yourself. It's there. Lets move onto Families and the scarcity of LSD

Families are a group of people who designate themselves within a counterculture centered around a music group or ethical belief. Hence we have the Grateful Dead (GD) Family, Rainbow Family, Silver Family, Nitrous Family, Eternal Brotherhood of Love, Children of God, etc. Each family contains their own beliefs and goals on how and why they distribute the drugs they do. For instance the motto for the GD and Rainbow family seem to center around the following:

"LSD isn't moved and sold like the cartel's move coke and such. It's handled by a brotherhood of people who truly believe there doing the work of god(or whatever name you call creation). We believe that LSD crystal has to be handled by the right people who are totally committed to the movement. When we moved crystal there was always the feeling that we were protected by a higher power. I can't tell you how many times i have had crystal or acid on me or my brothers and have been in situation's where we should have gotten busted and something always protected us. So many times that coincidence is not an option. Why do i think we were protected. Because the family does it for mankind not money. We viewed LSD as the only hope for the radical change in consciousness that would save us. So in effect we viewed are work as the work of God. You know why they never busted a family lab? Because we would never betray LSD. Just as Jesus was nailed to the cross we were willing to spend the rest of our lives in jail or die to protect what we viewed as the salvation of are species. Sound's a little dramatic doesn't it, but i'm trying to give you an understanding of the faith in LSD that the family has." - Chinacat72
(A known family member, has ties with Fast Eddie)

Rainbow Family

This family was created back in the late sixties on dead tour. They centered in Oregon and at first were a tight knit of individuals with members ranging from top chemists, merry pranksters, to cool cats they met on tour. They would hold annual festivals called "Rainbow Gatherings" which were a private invite only occurrence, but now i believe are publicly held. Given their roots they still have some great individuals involved like Lorenzo Hagerty, the founder of Palanque Norte. Other members prominent members contain Terence Mckeena, Erik Davis, Sasha/Ann Shulgin, Alex Gray and Robert Venosa. The chemists in the family are incredibly skilled, and if you're going to a festival to get acid, you'd be best to check out a Rainbow Gathering.

Scarcity

LSD is still around though it seems that a majority of the labs are inactive at the moment. This is normal as they don't produce all the time. Most like the silver family only produce about every 5 years. Though they usually produce enough to last that long. When the Grateful Dead toured massive amount's of LSD were distributed around the country. On a typical east coast tour 100-150 grams could easily be sold. That's a million to a million and a half doses. This flooded these city's and the lsd trickled down to every nook and cranny of America. By the time it was dry again another tour would roll through the region and resupply it. Plus we would meet people on tour from certain area's of the country and keep them supplied with the help of the good ole USPS. Sadly when the dead stopped touring this network went into shambles. People fell out of touch and with no shows ,there wasn't the marketplace for distribution. In turn parts of the country aren't getting saturated anymore. By the way the Kansas Silo bust was not a family lab if anybody is wondering. The point i'm trying to make is the family believes LSD has to move through the right hands. This is why you can't go down to the corner and get a gram of crystal. As some of the cooks retire i rest assure you that they pass there recipes and secret's down to those chosen to continue to fight the good fight. I don't think it will ever be as readily available all over the country as it once was due to the break up of the distribution cycle of tour. I could be wrong and hope i am.

The last known major supplier of LSD was William Pickard. This was an amazingly intelligent individual. He was a chemist from UCLA, and operated the biggest LSD laboratory known. He worked out of a old missile silo in Kansas that he purchased from the government with another chemist, i forget his name. Unfortunately his demise was at the hands of a women who's name i won't mention because she is a fucking bitch. You can find her operating a Youtube channel by the name of Nuerosoup. Pickard was important because was responsible for over 90 percent of the LSD in circulation. After dead tour stopped, the scene took a hit. After his arrest. It was very very dry for a long period of time, still is and a lot of chemists are paranoid still.

ThumbPrint

Originally thumprints were given by taking the glass vile and putting your thumb over
the top of the vile and turning it and flipping it upside down real quick. This put a coating of crystal on your thumb which was pressed into the palm of the person ,leaving your crystal embedded thumbrint in there palm(hence the term thumprint) where it would absorb(or they might lick it off.). This was your certification.

Nowadays thumbprints are eaten. Any time someone eats crystal it's referred to as a print. This way was adopted because it's more efficient.

As for the experience itself. You feel it almost instantly. LSD crystal has an energy to it. Having a jar of it my pocket is enough to alter my consciousness. As soon as it touches your skin or goes in your mouth you can feel it. A lot of folks will throw up within minutes. This is an exorcism of sorts. Like all the negative energy being cast out of your body. Then you lay down and learn. As for the experience I just couldn't do it justice to describe it. Your never the same again. A thumprint doesn't open the door of perception it blows it off the hinges.You melt into eternity. You let go and die into the moment which is all. There is no you anymore only all. The intensity of this can't be described, but you realize as your slipping away that it's familiar. This is because it become quite clear this is exactly what happens when you die. After an eternity you slowly start to come back in pieces. You feel reborn and a completely different person. You don't ever come completely down or back. This isn't a bad thing ,but it's very scary at first. I won't try to describe it any more because I can't. Also after your experienced with eating crystal its a little less traumatic. Your first one is spent on the ground. After awhile I could eat crystal at shows and whatnot.

Puddling

Puddling used to be a writ of passage, an initiation into certain families or groups of individuals where one would hold out their palm and receive a "puddle" of liquid LSD poured into their palm to be either drank or left to absorb. You can from time to time if you come across heady kids at shows, or festivals or wherever offering to puddle kids for the sheer experience. But this substance isn't to be taken lightly and i condemn the use of spontaneous puddling. I've been to shows with friends who've spilled vials and puddled themselves, the look on their face isn't a good one and often recognizable. Quickly myself, friends and nearby hippies run over and wipe as much onto ourselves as we can, in attempts to salvage ans save the unsuspecting nomad from being shown the white light a little too early. Funny to see, looks like a bunch of house cats rubbing up on each other next to a tent.

THE ACID TESTS

The Acid Tests were first held by Ken Keesey in SanFran. He would hold gatherings for Chemists, authors, musicians (especially early jazz scene) and would consist of everyone attending to drop acid share experiences and dissolve the stigma surrounding LSD. When the Grateful Dead arrived on the scene providing entertainment for the TESTS is when the transition from the Beat Generation to the Hippies occurred as they brought with them visual and musical influences.

Although the Acid Tests were much more than sharing ideas and experiences of you trip, Ken Keesey was quoted saying

“There were people who passed and people who didn't pass the test."
So the true meaning of these tests has still gone under raps.

In my pinion they were simply trying to find like minded individuals who could hang. It takes a certain kind of attitude to chill with Hunter S Thompson, a group of Chemists and some Hells Angels all while undergoing the Bardos via LSD.. with that being said, would make sense for why they gave diplomas to those who passed. The Tests eventually came to a public halt once LSD became illegal and the Dead split up due to Jerry's death, although Acid Tests still occur via private invitation, music festivals or by whoever decides to throw one. Today certain festivals and groups will throw spin off traditions of Acid Tests called Bicycle Day which participants will drop acid in commemoration of Albert Hoffman taking his first intentional LSD trip on April 19th 1943, the celebration conveniently rolls over to 4/20 the day after.

Other Notes

Measurements

Tab: 1 hit

Strip: 10 hits

Sheet: 100 hits

Page: 500 hits

Magazine/Book: 1000 hits

Bible: 10,000 hits

Dosages & LD50

Put simply, LSD does not cause death at recreational or therapeutic doses (less than 500 ug / 0.5 mg). An increase in news articles in 2012/2013 suggesting deaths related to LSD are almost all related to 25I-NBOMe and 25C-NBOMe, two new chemicals, available on blotter, but completely different from LSD. While there are substantial reasons why users should be cautious about LSD use (see LSD Health), death is not a major risk.

Less than a handful of human deaths have been tied in the medical literature to the pharmacological effects of LSD, and none of these deaths have been unquestionably attributable to LSD's actions. The clearest case was documented by Fysh et al. in 1985; however, they fail to explain the circumstances of the death, only discussing the toxicological assessment, casting some doubt that the only explanation for the death was LSD.

Estimates of lethal doses of LSD are higher than 10 mg (10,000 ug) administered orally, more than 100 times a normal moderate dose of LSD (100 ug). The administration of this amount would require the ingestion of more than 200 units of street blotter, which typically contain about 50 ug of LSD (as of late 2010). LSD has been used by tens of millions of people over the last 50 years and has been administered to tens of thousands of patients in psychotherapeutic settings (mostly prior to 1960).

For those concerned about immediate medical hazards in ingesting LSD [...] Abram Hoffer has estimated, on the basis of animal studies, that the half-lethal human dose--meaning half would die (a standard measure for drugs)--would be about 14,000 [ug]. But one person who took 40 mg. (40,000 [ug]) survived. In the only case of death reportedly caused by overdose ([Griggs and Ward, 1977]), the quantity of LSD in the blood indicated that 320 mg. (320,000 [ug]) had been injected intravenously.2

There is no way to determine an LD50 for LSD in humans. LD50s are only ever experimentally determined in animals, and extrapolations from one species to another for lethal dose are notoriously unreliable. Based on the real-world killing of lab animals the following results have been published for LD50 studies of LSD-25.3 Bear in mind that an oral LD50 is commonly 2 or 3 times an intravenous LD50.

For what it's worth

Few other things I want to put out there is the myth regarding fluff and why buyers/users should be cautious when dealing with this gimmick. I'm not going to debate whether or not Fluff, Family Fluff, White Fluff exists. I only believe It did when Owsley Stanley or Bear for short was in command of production. The name White Fluff is characteristic to Bear's final crystalline product which was Piezoluminescent, a property shared by few chemicals, DMT including. So i believe the White in White Fluff is referring to that property which allowed it to shine and glow naturally. While Fluff used to refer to the texture and color of final product. Today "Fluff" is passed around on standard watercolor paper #14, which dealers have used to spin in their favor to trick kids into thinking their getting some really high quality shit when in fact its either mediocre/fake product that was simply printed on White on White blott to fit the narrative. White on White has taken over the scene from the deepweb to personal transactions, it seems everyone wants to pass it off as fluff which is why i stay away from blott to begin with. White on white especially; it rings that bell of sketchiness. I'd recommend anyone looking for paper to try and find tabs with designs on them, as their rarer to come by and chemists who do produce real LSD like to trademark or provide a symbolic signature to their product.

Lastly kids in this forums really really need to stop shooting in the dark and saying that they to "xug" and so on. Because to be put frankly, you don't know how much you're taking. C'mon. I don't care where you claim to get your shit from, or the super cool vendor you use. Everyone has the ability to lie and make shit up. I understand you want to try to impress those around you, i get it. Everyone wants to be respected and act as if they really know whats going on. BUT, you don't. Neither do I. You aren't the chemist, and the chemist didn't hand you you're shit. You have no idea how many hands your stuff has been passed through, or where down the line you're receiving it. It takes more balls to have some humility and just say "i took some dank tabs" or "idk what the dosage was, but 2 really got me high". LSD is active at 25 ug and most street tabs according to Erowid range between 50 and 80. You can guesstimate all you'd like but to those who know, we know you don't know.

Anyways i'm gonna rap this up for now as not to drag this on or overwhelm anyone more than i already did. But to anybody who is involved on this topic knows this is a watered down version of how complex and in depth this scene is. Hope you guys enjoy the read, peace!

Picture copyright to original owner.