DOSE: T+ 0:00	40 mg	oral	Duloxetine	(daily)
T+ 0:00	125 ug	oral	ALD-52	(blotter / tab)
T+ 8:00	1 mg	oral	Etizolam

BODY WEIGHT:

145 lb

My primary motivation for submitting this trip report is to clear up some confusion about ALD-52, the somewhat mysterious 1-acetyl analog of LSD. I hope this report adds to the public domain of knowledge about this interesting substance.

I recently had the opportunity to get ahold of some ALD-52. I was elated, because, having read the entry in TiHKAL, I knew that this may have been the active ingredient in the famous 'Orange Sunshine' of the '60s. The dose came in blotters, marked with the substance name and dose (125ug) on one side, and with the chemical structure on the reverse. The blotters were a little larger than I am used to, but I believe this has more to do with the vendor than with the nature of the substance.

Testing a quarter of a tab with Ehrlich's reagent gave a pale yellow (negative) result, which I believe is caused by the presence of the acetyl group where the NH would normally be in an indole. Either way, this result made two things clear: Firstly that this wasn't just mislabeled LSD, and secondly that very little to none of the substance on the blotter had degraded or hydrolized into LSD during several weeks of storage at room temperature and average humidity. This doesn't rule out rapid hydrolysis of ALD-52 into LSD once ingested, but it seems like ALD-52 stays put pretty well in storage conditions.

Before I move on to the trip report, I feel like I should disclose that I take 20mg duloxetine (an SNRI) twice daily. This hasn't really affected my psychedelic experiences, as far as I can tell. Visuals have been slightly milder since I began taking it, but that's the only noticeable difference for me.

It was an bright Saturday afternoon when my friend Taylor and I prepared to experience ALD-52. I had had a few drinks the night before, and we had each only gotten 6 hours of sleep, but I felt fine, and I thought this was a perfect opportunity to try it out. After the aforementioned Ehrlich test, we each took one 125ug tab. The tabs were practically tasteless, but I did feel a slight buzzing sensation on my tongue underneath the blotter. We then sat down and watched some TV, slowly feeling the familiar warm glow of an LSD comeup creeping over us. Eventually, we decided to go outside.

At this point, about 1.5 hours in, we agreed that this substance was very similar to LSD, but perhaps with less comeup anxiety and a lighter body feel. It was a beautiful day, colors were bright, and everything was very pleasant. We talked about our lives for a bit, then went for a hike. The effects were intensifying at this point, and there was a notable stoning effect. I had some trouble reading a map, but noticed that the trees were growing, shrinking, and shimmying organically whenever I stopped walking. These visuals intensified as we continued our hike, and eventually, the trail ahead appeared to spiral.

After our hike (~3.5 hours post-drop), I felt refreshed and was very much enjoying myself, and I believe Taylor was in a similar mood. Our conversations were becoming disjointed, though, and we began lapsing into silence. At some point, Taylor had an appointment with a friend, and we had to have a few conversations and maintain some facade of sobriety. These conversations stressed me out, and my sleep deprivation started to catch up with me. I began to feel exhausted and anxious, tired but unable to go to sleep, and frustratingly stupid. It was also around this time (5 hours post-drop) that I noticed that I couldn't relax the muscles in my neck, and that this was giving me a pretty nasty headache (I think this might have something to do with the blood-pressure raising qualities of ALD-52 mentioned in TiKHAL, because I have never previously had this experience with a psychedelic, and my regular blood pressure is on the low side of average).

Now, I wasn't having a bad trip, but I frankly didn't want to be tripping anymore. My anxious tendencies were increasing, and I remember trying to divide 25,000 by 60 in my head for a solid 15 minutes to try and prove to myself that I hadn't somehow lost the ability to do math. Taylor was much more lucid than me at this point, and handled several conversations while I offered occasional interjections. We spent some time watching The Eric Andre Show, which was hilarious, but also not conducive to helping my headache (long laughing fits -> more pressure in the head -> ow!). I think Taylor was beginning to feel the anxiety too now (7 hours post-drop), because I had to field several conversations about 'am I doing enough in my life?' and 'am I good enough to succeed at my future plans?'. This was ultimately helpful, however, because the ensuing conversation led to us spending an hour organizing Taylor's life ambitions and creating a to-do list, a move which I think will pay dividends in the future. At this point (8 hours post-drop), I elected to take 1mg etizolam, which did wonders for my anxiety. Relaxed, I spent the next few hours talking with Taylor and Taylor's partner, eventually falling asleep.

This was an interesting substance for me, because it seemed essentially like LSD, but with a gentler comeup, a more gradual, less well-defined peak, and a long, anxious comedown coupled with an annoying pressure headache. I don't know which (if any) of these factors are unique to this experience and which are endemic to ALD-52 - further experimentation is required. That said, ALD-52 seems almost identical to regular LSD for me, so it might not be worth the extra cost or trouble unless there are legality differences where you live, or if you, like me, are curious about this substance.

I hope this report helps others, and I wish you, the reader, happy trails in the future.

Exp Year: 2016	ExpID: 109193
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 22
Published: Sep 26, 2016	Views: 6,203
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ALD-52 (748), Duloxetine (395) : Small Group (2-9) (17), Combinations (3), First Times (2)