Psychedelic Syndrome

Psychedelic syndrome, also known as chronic LSD syndrome or acid head syndrome, is a partially culture-bound psychological syndrome proposed in 1969 by the physician David E. Smith, founder and medical director of the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic in San Francisco, to describe pronounced psychosocial and personality changes resulting from chronic or prolonged use of psychedelic drugs, particularly LSD. According to Smith, the syndrome produced profound alterations in psychosocial functioning and lifestyle, with claimed symptoms including belief in magic or magical concepts, intense study of metaphysical objects, superstition, belief in astrology, mental telepathy, extrasensory perception, and telekinesis, mysticism, and isolation from mainstream society, along with a profound belief in non-violence, frequent adoption of vegetarianism, a deep desire to return to nature, and self-psychoanalytic and pseudoreligious aspiration.