LSD'S POPULARITY WORRIES AUTHORITIES

Charley Hammil got more than a sugar high from his breakfast
cereal.

His bowl of Cap'n Crunch often was laced with LSD, just the way he
liked it since he began dropping acid at age 13.

Hammil is now 24 and a resident of Amity, an eastside drug-treatment
facility for adults.

And he hopes to help discourage a growing number of Tucson-area
residents from using the hallucinogenic drug.

``I want people to know that eventually it destroys your brain,'' said
Hammil, a self-described LSD and marijuana addict.

Hammil's message is echoed by area police and drug counselors who say
the drug, popularized by the 1960s counterculture, is becoming popular
again in the 1990s, largely because it's cheap, plentiful and
long-lasting.

University of Arizona police suspect the drug - lysergic acid
diethylamide, often called ``acid'' - may have contributed recently to
the accidental death of a UA freshman. Brian Scott Balcer, 18, died
early Monday, more than a week after he apparently fell from a
staircase at the UA's Fine Arts complex.

When he was taken to University Medical Center on Oct. 17, Balcer told
hospital staff that he had taken acid, said Sgt. Michael Smith of the
UA Police Department.

Initial blood tests revealed a trace of drugs in Balcer's system, but
official lab results aren't in yet, Smith said.

Deaths connected to LSD are rare - far more students die as a result
of alcohol - but local drug counselors say there is reason for concern.

LSD has been growing in popularity in Tucson over 10 years, with a big
jump in the past year, said John Leggio, founder of a Tucson treatment
program called The Mark.

He said most teens he sees abuse marijuana and alcohol.

But ``the next most frequently used drug is LSD,'' said Leggio, a
20-year youth substance abuse counselor.

Leggio believes LSD is more popular today than it was during the '60s,
when it was a hallmark of pop culture, espoused by hippie guru Timothy
Leary and indulged in by the Beatles.

A police officer with MANTIS, an interagency anti-drug task force,
also said Tucson acid incidents have increased in the past year. Much
of the drug traffic is concentrated in the university area or around
North Fourth Avenue.

MANTIS officers don't know the sources of Tucson's LSD supply. ``It
can't be made easily,'' said the officer, who couldn't reveal his name
because of undercover work. Still, suppliers may make it here, he said.

Some LSD shipments have been intercepted in the mail on their way to
other college campuses, and acid may come into town the same way here,
the officer said.

The drug's popularity is driven by its low cost. A single dose of acid
- - called a ``hit'' - costs $3 to $5 on Tucson streets. Also, many
teen-agers get their acid supplies at school.

Experts agree that today's LSD has about one-fifth the potency it had
in the '60s and '70s. Users make up for that by taking more.

``The biggest danger with LSD is that you take it and never come
back,'' said Bette Fleishman, executive director of Amity, a
nationally recognized substance-abuse program. ``I've certainly seen
people like that. They've taken it and gone over the edge.

``People have been known to hallucinate so much that they will kill
themselves by walking in front of a car, or driving into a pole.''

Hammil said he and his friends enjoyed most of their trips, which
typically last eight hours or more. But he also had his share of bad
experiences.

``A bad trip stems from an overdose or just something not seeming
right,'' he said. ``You are not able to really grasp reality, so you
kind of freak out.''

The effects of LSD vary from person to person, depending on the amount
taken and the user's state of mind. Sensations are heightened, pain is
relieved and the user's sense of time and place are dramatically altered.

Some users experience terrifying thoughts about losing control and
going insane.

The dangers of acid can be heightened by taking it alone, counselors
say. Although they don't like to give ``tips'' about drug use, even
the staunchest opponents say if you're going to trip, don't drop solo.

``It's always best to be with someone who's not tripping at the
time,'' Leggio said.

``You can't always control the experience,'' he said, and a person
who's not on the drug can help keep a companion from having a bad trip.

Users also need to be careful of where they store acid that's blotted
on absorbent paper, said Deborah Brook, a counselor at
PACT/Providence, an agency that provides outpatient drug abuse
counseling to teen-agers and their parents.

LSD can be absorbed through the skin, she said, and youngsters can
experience an inadvertent trip from acid stashed under a hat or even
in a pocket.

For drug enforcement officers, LSD is an almost invisible enemy.
Unlike marijuana and alcohol, acid has no odor.

``It's a visual - you'd have to see it'' on a suspect to make an
arrest, said Smith, of the UA police. Although arrests are climbing,
officers still don't make many.

If acid is blotted on absorbent paper - the most common form of
distribution - a hit can be smaller than the fingernail on your baby
finger.

LSD is available in other forms too: laced in sugar cubes, on hard
candy, or in vials of liquid. Leggio, from the Mark, said the
availability of liquid acid is problematic.

``There's a little bit more confusion with the dosage,'' Leggio said.
Most of today's LSD users know that a typical hit of acid is less
potent than in the '60s, so they take multiple hits at once.

``The most I ever took was nine,'' said Hammil, the Amity
resident.

Leggio said in its pure form, LSD - which is manufactured from
lysergic acid, found in a grain fungus, ergot - is less toxic than
aspirin.

``But it's almost always adulterated,'' he said.

LSD can be cut with any stimulant or with amphetamine, but Leggio said
it's often cut with strychnine, otherwise known as rat poison.

Columbia University has a Web site called, "Go Ask Alice", where you
can get all your questions about LSD and other drugs answered.
[http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/Cat2.html]

Checked-by: Patrick Henry