LSD should be legal under license

Potential For Abuse and Dangers:There are various cases of LSD being abused extensively. LSD is not technically addictive, but it does develop a strong sense of dependability on users, much like marijuana. The DEA has developed three reasons as to why LSD users may find repeated abuse desirable and dangerous:• The long duration of the drug's effects means the user will not have to purchase the drug on a rapidly recurring basis.• Tolerance develops so quickly that repeated ingestion is useless so the dosages have to become more potent.• The inconsistent effects and potential adverse reactions lead to erratic use of LSD. This can be seen as exciting and users will not become bored.The abuse of LSD is not as common as most other hallucinogens or narcotics, but it does occur with potentially dangerous effects. LSD use can cause people to have psychotic-like reactions and become dangerous to themselves or others. This data was collected by University of Maryland studies. Adverse effects include:• Intense anxiety• Panic• Delusions• Paranoia• Rapid mood swings• The sense that one is losing his/her identity.• The fear one is disintegrating into nothingness and reality does not exist.• The frightening and disorienting effects of a bad trip are known to result in violent or hazardous behavior, leading to accidental fatalities, homicides, self-mutilation, or suicide.• Some users may experience seizures.Long-term effects include:• Drug-induced Psychosis for some people, even those with no history or symptoms of psychological disorders, a distorted ability to recognize reality, think rationally, or communicate with others caused by LSD may last years after taking the drug.• Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) Known familiarly to LSD users as "flashbacks," HPPD episodes are "spontaneous, repeated recurrences of some of the sensory distortions originally produced by LSD." 27 The flashback experience may include visual disturbances such as halos or trails attached to moving objects or seeing false motions in the peripheral vision.Sources:- http://www.cesar.umd.edu...- http://www.lsdaddiction.us...Medical Uses:Nobody claims there are “no medical uses” for LSD. There is apparent medical value with this drug, however, they are not considered worth the side-effects or the studies are just inconclusive. There is a lack of studies to prove that LSD is actually safe or worthwhile in medicine. University of California San Francisco and Harvard are both studying for possible uses of LSD, but they are both inconclusive so far. LSD has some potential use in treating anxiety, but there are preferable alternatives to proscribing a psychedelic drug with a history of causing dependency on users and with hazardous side-effects. Safer and proven alternatives include:• Diazepam (Valium)• Alprazolam (Xanax)• Lorazepam (Ativan)• Clonazepam (Klonopin)• Sertraline (Zoloft)• Paroxetine (Paxil)• Fluoxetine (Prozac)• Escitalopram (Lexapro)• Citalopram (Celexa)• Venlafaxine (Effexor)While most of these drugs also have dependency their side-effects are mild and not nearly as hazardous as LSD. There are also proven therapeutic ways to treat anxiety not using drugs at all. There is little reason to consider LSD when you have more accepted and proven drugs at your disposal that are much safer to use with the same desired effect. That is the reason why the United States, Canada, and the UK do not use LSD in their medical communities and consider it to have no reasonable medical use.Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com...LSD as an Inspiration:First of all, Steve Jobs only said he used it and didn’t claim it helped him in any way. Kary Mullis is a rare case of LSD assisting in scientific development, but there is no proof that he wouldn’t have developed it either. The fact that he credits his research to a psychedelic drug proves his lack of confidence in himself and I am sure somebody would have developed it soon after he due to his lack of hallucinogens.There is actually no evidence of Francis Crick using LSD when he came up with the double-helix concept. Biographer Matt Ridley actually suggests it is unlikely since that discovery was made before LSD was popularized and would have been unavailable to him. Also, the story that suggested that Crick used LSD was reported second hand meaning it used secondary sources and may lack credibility. Ridley got his information directly from Crick’s wife who said Crick wasn’t supplied with LSD until 1967. Crick developed the double-helix concept in 1953 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962.Source: http://www.rationaloptimist.com...Legalization Method:“LSD is a victimless crime, a person takes it and will continue to trip peacefully and often with a "trip sitter" or sober person to ensure that things are kept under control. This is why I also argue to make it only legal under a license similar to firearms or a car. The participants would need to take a safety class and possibly pass a test in order to be able to buy the drug.”LSD can have victims with the fact that the drug can cause psychotic reactions on the users. LSD users can easily become violent and unpredictable. LSD is illegal for recreational use as a preventative measure for something that will almost certainly happen at least on occasion. If there is an obvious chance that people will be harmed or even killed it should not be legalized for mere recreational use. The “trip sitter” would be put in great danger and perhaps more than what he/she is aware of. Taking classes to prepare people for “trips” would not work because once LSD takes effect any rational knowledge the person may have had is gone. People on powerful hallucinogens are no longer rational.How strict will your test be? What will be tested? What would be covered in the safety class? You should also consider the fact that this program you are suggesting will popularize LSD across the board. How do you know that people who are rejected from the program will still find a way to get the drug through illegal means? You are now giving out licenses for people to buy LSD legally if they pass your program. What will stop them from illegally selling it to people who could not pass your program once they have obtained a license to buy it? They can easily just buy it and then secretly sell it for a profit to people who your program would have declared unfit or dangerous to have LSD.“Then the people will be able to trip peacefully while the people who want nothing to do with it, dont have to buy it. This combined with the fact that no one has ever died from an LSD overdose only enhances the safety of this chemical”There is no evidence that people will actually trip peacefully. LSD effects are unpredictable and people can have “bad trips” that can potentially cause permanent harm. There are no confirmed cases of people dying from LSD overdose, but it is possible and we shouldn’t encourage it to happen. People can and have died or got seriously injured (sometimes mutilated) while on LSD due to its effects.