DRUG COP: LSD USE ON THE RISE, ESPECIALLY AMONG TEENS

Use of LSD -- especially among teenagers -- appears to be increasing in
Minnesota, a narcotics officer said Sunday.

Dakota County Sheriff's Sgt. Mike Scott, a member of the county's drug task
force, said he and other drug cops across the state are seeing more of the
hallucinogen, also known as acid.

Authorities believe a 17-year-old Burnsville boy who was shot and wounded
during a scuffle with an Apple Valley officer early Saturday may have been
high on LSD.

The day before the shooting, another officer took 10 doses of LSD from an
Apple Valley student after a scuffle at a school, said Dakota County Sheriff
Don Gudmundson.

"A couple people in their 40s or 50s may find it astounding that it's
around," Gudmundson said. "But it resurfaces in tragedies throughout the
country."

A longtime Apple Valley officer shot the teen about 3:30 a.m. Saturday after
the boy -- who witnesses have said appeared violent and "crazy" -- dived
into a squad car and scuffled with him. Apple Valley Police Chief Bruce
Erickson has said that the two struggled over the officer's gun and that the
teen was shot three times.

The teen, who hasn't been identified, remained in fair condition Sunday at
Regions Hospital in St. Paul. A family friend has said hospital staff told
her that he will probably be paralyzed from the waist down. Attempts to talk
with the teen and his father were unsuccessful Sunday.

Karri Kline, whose 18-year-old son is a friend of the teen's, has said her
son told her that the teen, himself and four others used LSD at the Klines'
Apple Valley home early Saturday. Her son told her that the 17-year-old
became uncontrollable and that the partygoers' attempts to calm him didn't
work and he left the home, she said.

Neighbors called police to report a man yelling in the area. But when the
officer arrived, all he found was a pile of clothing, which he picked up and
put in his car. Witnesses said the officer got back into his car and then
was attacked by the naked teen, who ran up from behind the squad car.

Club drugs

"LSD is starting to make a reappearance. I think it's tied to the club
drugs," said Scott, referring to a collection of other synthetic drugs such
as Ecstasy and GHB often used at raves, clubs and parties. "They think the
drugs are not that big of a deal. They don't think they are harmful or
addicting."

But they are.

In August, a 26-year-old Minneapolis man died after authorities believe he
took an Ecstasy capsule that may have been from a tainted batch. And Scott
said he knows of at least two other overdoses of LSD among teens in the past
few months.

And while LSD -- short for lysergic acid diethylamide -- itself is not
fatal, the actions of the person using it, or those on a "bad trip," may
lead to death.

A 1995 U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency report indicated that the drug has
become popular again, especially among the young, who believe it is safe. It
cites:

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse for 1993, which estimated that
13.2 million American 12 and older have used LSD at least once, compared
with 8.1 million in 1985.

A 1993 National Institute on Drug Abuse report that use of LSD among high
school seniors has increased to the highest level since at least 1985.

The drug is sold in several forms, but is most often dropped on tablets or
dropped or sprayed on sheets of paper and then taken orally.

Its popularity also may be because it's cheap, easy to conceal and difficult
for authorities to detect. One dose of LSD usually sells for $5. It is
odorless and in liquid form looks like water.

In 1998, there were 51 emergency room episodes of LSD reported in the Twin
Cities area, said Carol Falkowski, director of research communications at
Hazelden.

LSD is weaker than it was in the 1960s and 1970s, which means that there
would be less likelihood of adverse effects requiring an emergency trip to
the hospital.

But even so, there is no quality control when it is manufactured: "If
someone sneezes when it's being sprayed on a piece of paper, one dose could
be far more saturated. ... There's no telling the strength of it by its
appearance," Falkowski said.

Scott said that unknowing or first-time users may take multiple doses of the
drug, increasing the likelihood of more-intense hallucinations.

Falkowski said that as with any drug, different users may have vastly
different results.

She added, though, that alcohol remains the primary drug of abuse among
teens.

"This illustrates, however, that there are all sorts of other drugs readily
available to kids, and those can have fatal consequences," he said.