From: Shawn Garbett
Subject: Re: LSD Lethal Dose info
Date: Tue, 26 Apr 1994 00:49:00 GMT

LSD Overdose Reports

garbett@utkvx.utk.edu (Garbett, Shawn) writes...
>Tired of the endless discussion of LSD's lethality. I was, so I looked
>it up in the medical text _Clinical_Management_of_Poisoning_and_Drug_
>Overdose, by Haddad Winchester. A very informative book which I recommend
>any informed experimenter should have.
> 
>****************
>page 459:
> 
>No well-documented human deaths resulting directly from the toxic effects
>of LSD itself have occurred, though LSD has been implicated in
>accidental deaths, suicides, and homicides. LD50 (That's lethal dose
>in 50% of those who injest this much) determinations vary widely
>with species, begin 46 mg/kg in mice, 16.5 mg/kg in rats, 0.3 mg/kg in
>rabbits and 0.1 mg/kg in elephants. In monkeys, the LD100 is 5 mg/kg.
>Death in these animals is the result of respiratory failure, preceded
>in the rabbit by marked hyperthermia. Human data are manifestly lacking,
>and predictions of the average lethal dose for humans have ranged from
>0.2 mg/kg to more than 1 mg/kg, administered orally.
>**************
> 
>So if one weighed about 80 kg, then the lethal dose would be (estimated)
>between 16mg and 80mg, or in street terms between about 50 to 250 hits
>of the strongest blotter acid you can find. [e.g ~300 ug/hit]
> 
>All I can say, is don't try this at home.
> 
>Shawn Garbett

Sorry for the bandwidth but scanning over this book before I closed it I discovered a neat story I thought I would share about this subject:

Page 459 (There sure is a lot on this page)

A report of eight patients with severe LSD intoxication resulted from the substitution of LSD for cocaine, which the patients then snorted in doses greater than 2 "lines" each. The product was analyzed and found to be 80 to 90 percent pure, thus comprising a massive ingestion (milligram amounts). On presentation 10 minutes later, five patients were comatose, three with depressed respirations requiring endotracheal intubation. Sinus tachycardia (ranging from 110 to 200 beats/minute), mydriasis, vomiting, flushing and diaphoresis were uniformly present. Four patients developed fever (highest temperature, 41C or 107F), and transient hypertension was observed in three patients. Coagulopathies was demonstrated in all patients. Recovery was rapid and complete by 12 hours, but included a stage of hyperactivity and severe visual and auditory hallucinations.

This was attributed to: Klock JC, Boerner U, Becker CE: Coma, hyperthermia, and bleeding associated with massive LSD overdose: A report of eight cases. Clin Toxicol 8:191, 1975

If anyone out there cares to translate this for the rest of us please do so. It sounds quite bad.

Shawn Garbett

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