LSD Cases On The Rise In Georgia

ATLANTA, GA — LSD, the hallucinogenic drug most strongly associated with the psychedelic '60s, is making a comeback in Georgia.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the number of LSD cases brought to the agency's crime lab more than quintupled during the last fiscal year compared to just four years ago. In 2013, the lab handled just 24 submissions in which LSD was involved, according to data from the agency.

During fiscal year 2017, the number skyrocketed to 137 cases. That's up from 82 during the 2016 fiscal year, 58 in 2015 and just 21 in 2014.

"The GBI Crime Lab is aware of the rise in LSD cases and continues to monitor this drug trend," GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles told Patch.

LSD, or Lysergic acid diethylamide, is a chemical compound known for producing psychological effects including hallucinations, altered perception of one's surroundings and altered moods and feelings. Mainly used recreationally, the drug has has been linked, in some cases, to panic attacks or extreme anxiety.

Medical studies have suggested that LSD may play a role in bringing on psychosis in previously healthy people and that people with severe mental illnesses, like schizophrenia, have a higher likelihood of negative effects from the drug.

It is classified as an illegal, Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, with no currently accepted medical use in the United States, according to the U.S Drug Enforcement Agency.

It is typically swallowed or held under the tongue and often is used on blotter paper or injected into a sugar cube or gel. While LSD use never went away, authorities say its use appears to be on the upswing, at least in Georgia.

Earlier this month, a teen was arrested in Hall County for dealing LSD after someone authorities say he had sold the drug to ended up in the hospital. Tanner Lee Brown, 18, of Flowery Branch, was charged with possession of LSD with intent to distribute.

The Hall County Sheriff's Office said the person who bought the drug "had to be transported via EMS to the hospital due to the hallucinations they experienced as a result from ingesting the drug."

This week, a man who stabbed three people while on LSD was sentenced to three years in prison. In April, Adam Scott Presley, 22, stabbed a friend, the friend's brother and grandmother in the victims' Athens home.

He was arrested after he was found naked and bleeding inside a Walmart.

Image courtesy U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration