Also known as:

• LSD
• Lysergic acid diethylamide
• a trip.

What is acid?

Acid is an hallucinogenic/psychedelic drug, meaning that it changes how you see the world and it's made from a fungus. It usually comes in blotting paper or cardboard that's been treated with the drug then cut into very small squares (tabs) which are then swallowed. In the past it often came as a pill, known as a microdot.

What's the attraction?

During an acid ‘trip’ you can see colours more intensely and patterns appear, with your eyes open or shut. Time seems to slow down, with strange sensations (for example of floating), bizarre or comical illusions where objects appear distorted, moving or melting into other things.

A trip can seem like a glimpse of an alternative reality and be felt as a profound experience, giving new insights into life and how the mind works.

After taking 30 to 60 minutes to start, a trip usually peaks in the first two to five hours and can last eight to 12 hours.

The drug can make the user feel horny, increasing their sense of touch and make sensations stronger. Sex can feel as if it's lasted a very long time, even if it hasn't.

Hallucinations can be erotic. As there's always a risk of a bad trip, sex on acid is best done with a partner you know well.

As the drug lowers inhibitions and creates a very altered perception of reality, users can find it easier to act out sex fantasies. Lower inhibitions can also make it harder to have safer sex.