How to spot LSD usage?
 

Hi all, I have a little problem I'm hoping you can help me with.

I own my own (small) company, and recently hired a very good friend of mine (sort of as a favor to him...he's recently fallen on hard times). He smokes and drinks heavily, but it doesn't affect his work at all in the 5ish months he's been with me.

Two weeks ago, I went over to his house. He lives with his girlfriend and her two children, ages 9 and 5. I was playing with the 5 year old, while he and his GF were outside smoking. The 5 year old asked where her mom was, I told her, and then told her not to pick up a nasty smoking habit. She then said something quietly that sounded like "they do dots".

I asked a couple known drug users if they knew if that meant anything in drug culure. They didn't. I then looked it up on urban dictionary, and one of the more obscure definitions has something to do with LSD.

Please understand that I'm more worried about him as a friend than as an employee. Please also understand that I'm not taking a 5-yr-old's mumbling and an obscure urbandictionary definition as gospel. However, it would be silly to totally dismiss the idea of drug usage.

He is always short on money, and he makes way more than his bills. I do not know how much he helps his girlfriend with her bills, though. At this point, my mind is wide open.

My question is, do any of you have any experience with LSD? Have you heard the terms "dots" in drug culture? If you have LSD experience (even if you haven't yourself used),can you please tell me what some telltale signs are, so I can be somewhat on the lookout.

Thanks everybody!

hd

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

check his fridge, if hes got a lot of OJ, it's case closed!

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

This is probably a good place for you to start looking. Also, my understanding is that LSD is a fairly difficult drug to tell if someone uses on a regular basis if they aren't high. When they are high, besides the obvious stuff (talking about the walls melting), a telltale sign is enlarged pupils.

In your shoes, I would just bring it up to the friend, making sure to clarify that I was asking as a friend and not as an employer.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

I would point out that if you want to get involved as a friend, fine, but as an employer you really shouldn't worry about an employee who drops acid, as long as he doesn't drop at work or come in tripping it can't affect his performance.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

You wouldn't know after the point at all, it sounds like you are pretty naive and looking for something which probably isn't there. Also LSD is generally done alot by people it is certainly not addictive and finally it's not even expensive and you don't need a whole lot so it wouldn't be the reason that he has no money.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

Maybe she said, "they do pot"?

LSD is cheap and lasts a long time. I doubt that would be the cause of his money problems.

Anyway if you ever see him where his whole eye is nothing but pupil and he's laughing a lot he's on acid.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

lsd is not addictive and by its nature it doesn't lend itself to 'benders'. tolerance develops intensely fast and makes it so that it's a practical difficulty to string multiple sessions/days together (and users will normally never find themselves even wanting to do this). it's also about $5 per dose and lasts 6-12 hours, so it's certainly not going to put somebody in the poorhouse.

in drug speak dots are microdots, a tiny pill-like form of (usually) lsd.

the only way to physically tell if somebody's on it is to look at their eyes. if they're tripping, their pupils will be seriously dilated.

you should be able to find everything you want/need by reading at erowid and wikipedia.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

LSD can be sold in all kinds of ways, including "blotter acid," which is a drop of liquid LSD on a tiny piece of thick paper which absorbs it. You can't really see it as a dot once absorbed, but I could see it being described as that.

I've known a few people who can go to work on LSD, once they're really used to it. I've known many who will happily drive cars on it, and actually do it just fine. It really depends on the person, as some people of course will trip so hard they'll be out of their gourds, even for a couple of days. Those kinds of people will of course be way more dangerous put in control of machinery and the like, but you've probably bumped into a few people before who were on acid and you didn't even realize it.

Most Americans overspend. Simple fact. Doesn't mean you're on drugs; rich people even do it just as much as poor, according to an old friend in the insurance industry who has seen actuarial tables and figures on how many people retire with nothing but social security(many very well off people do). Don't presume too much because he's always short money. Especially with kids in the house. Booze runs up the bills fairly quick too.

You won't really be able to tell if a guy takes LSD much or not, I think. Look at his pupils and see if they're really dilated inappropriately; that's a sign of being high.

If he's doing okay at work, as you say, it probably doesn't really matter. I wouldn't take the gobbledygook kids say too much to heart without a lot more corroborative evidence or even an outright confession. You may be chasing down a blind alley to no good end. Perhaps letting the proof lie in the pudding might be best. If he works fine, what he does in his off hours should probably be his own business.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

Maybe the kid said "they do lots"?

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Maybe the kid said "they do lots"?

[/ QUOTE ]
genius!

Thanks Everybody
 

Thanks guys. I read the linked site (somewhat), and that given with what has been written here tells me what to look for.

Again, I'm more worried about him as a friend. I had no idea LSD was so inexpensive...even if he is trippin, he certainly spends a lot more on booze.

hd

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

I seriously doubt hes doing LSD. Other have explained why well enough.

I would be more inclined to guess that "dots" refers to some kind of pill like oxycontin, or some other pharmaceutical.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

By "Dots", I assume people mean micro dots, which are mesculine.(sp?) (Drug, not the salad like green) From my very secondhand knowledge, they are slightly less halucinagenic than LSD but give more of a "Dopey" high. Not usually a junkie, shoot through all your money drug; the threat is more that you will get fried.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

If you want symptoms, look for people having jelly legs if they're not experienced users, and also just conking out into kind of strange positions on chairs / the floor for long periods of time.

He's not about to run into the night screaming "THIS IS BAT COUNTRY" though, and the drug certainly isn't addictive, it doesn't have a high like a normal drug, you just feel totally altered (in my experience, acids really person dependent).

Wouldn't worry about it, infact, suggest you pop some with your friend some time, it might make you feel a bit closer to him since everything just pours out, and you seem a little uptight.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

Five year olds are very hip to drug vernacular, so I'd fire his ass or something, but there is a slight chance (less than .5% or so) that she meant something else.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

http://img467.imageshack.us/img467/3395/dots10rx.jpg

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

okay how about the so-called "dots" reference was actually to her mom's/your friend's use of the patch.

i mean she is 5 years old and you said you were talking about smoking.

....anyway may be more of a completely harmless random thing that kids often do...


cheers,
sean

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

look for the Hippies sitting in a circle outside on the lawn beating on there drums...

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

Dots could mean Microdots, a very strong "brand" of LSD.
If they'd be tripping on dots you'd certainly notice.

Better call some child protection agency, if they really are using LSD AND their kids know about it.
That's just sic.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

Op, I strongly recommend you don't call CPS...you need proof. Don't wreck a family unless you are 100% positive.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Op, I strongly recommend you don't call CPS...you need proof. Don't wreck a family unless you are 100% positive.

[/ QUOTE ]
Absolutely.
But the parents might need professional help: drugs and kids are a big no no!!!!
Smoking pot I can understand, same as drinking beer.
Garbage like LSD, XTC and the rest...
So have a good talk with the parents, and try to determine what they are using. However if they are neglecting their kids because of drug use, u should know what to do.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

Even pot, being against the law, is VERY dangerous in a state with an activist child protection agency. All they have to do is say the wrong thing at school, and the goons are at your door.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

your avatar is the [censored]

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

LSD= good times
Mushrooms= best times of my life

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

meh. Without even knowing any of the parties involved, I'd say there was at least a 90% chance this was a misunderstanding. It's extremely uncommon for someone to habitually use LSD, plus nobody calls them dots anymore.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Maybe the kid said "they do lots"?

[/ QUOTE ]
genius!

[/ QUOTE ]

"How many 5 year olds" say lots of goofy crap? All of them.

Edited to reflect OOT culture.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

As many have pointed out, LSD would be one of the last drugs I'd be concerned about as an employer or friend. It's cheap, not addictive, almost impossible to OD on and there are no known long-term effects on the brain.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

[ QUOTE ]
there are no known long-term effects on the brain

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure about that. I know a few people that were never the same after having a really bad trip on lsd.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

C'mon now. Interpreting something you thought you heard from a 5 year old?

87.5% of people who say "I was just trying to help" should be shot.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

[ QUOTE ]
no known long-term effects on the brain.

[/ QUOTE ]

Whoa , i just got a flashback to my 8th grade health class...

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

The girl with the great boobs? Yeah I get that all the time.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Dots could mean Microdots, a very strong "brand" of LSD.
If they'd be tripping on dots you'd certainly notice.

[/ QUOTE ]Correct.

[ QUOTE ]
Better call some child protection agency

[/ QUOTE ]Incorrect.

And FWIW, I'm in the "They do lots" camp.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

I'm pretty sure everyone telling OP to call child services and the such is overesitmating OOT's ability to detect sarcasm.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

i've done microdots before. it's not a "brand" of lsd, just a delivery mechanism, and it doesn't imply that it's any stronger that standard blotter. you certainly couldn't expect to know if somebody was on it easily.

the suggestion that mescaline can be effectively delivered by them is apparently also false: http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/mesc...ne_info2.shtml

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

I too have done microdots, and as with any form of LSD I think you would be able tell they were on something besides caffeine.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
there are no known long-term effects on the brain

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure about that. I know a few people that were never the same after having a really bad trip on lsd.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your anecdotal evidence aside I mean [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
no known long-term effects on the brain.

[/ QUOTE ]

Whoa , i just got a flashback to my 8th grade health class...

[/ QUOTE ]

I would imagine that they tell you that it destroys your brain in an 8th grade health class.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

I think they told us that it would break our chromosomes.

But, my memory is hazy from all the weed.

Re: How to spot LSD usage?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
there are no known long-term effects on the brain

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure about that. I know a few people that were never the same after having a really bad trip on lsd.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your anecdotal evidence aside I mean [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Seriously. This one guy especially. He was always a normal, outgoing guy. He had a very bad trip on acid one night (he thought he was god, throwing furniture around.. just totally messed up). He just was never the same after that night. He now talks really slow, has the IQ of a chimp, and has basically withdrawn from society.