In its pure form LSD is a white, odourless crystalline powder that is soluble in water.

LSD comes in a variety of forms, but is virtually always taken orally. LSD is most commonly found as small squares of paper called blotter (full sheets of paper are decorated with artwork, perforated, then soaked in liquid LSD solution and dried). The blotter is generally divided into small squares. Each square (approx ¼ inches) represents a LSD dose or hit. Recent testing data shows that this usually varies from 20-80 µg LSD. This is considerably less than the levels reported during the 1960s and early 1970s (when LSD was more commonly available in pill form) when the dosage of LSD ranged from 100 to 200 micrograms, or higher.

There is no practical way of knowing the exact dose of LSD without knowing the chemist who dipped the blotter. Adjacent tabs will usually contain very similar levels of LSD

Other forms of LSD include small pills (microdots), gelatine sheets (window pane), liquid, which can be dropped onto sugar cubes, and powder. There is little testing data on these forms of LSD, although some reports put the average microdot at 50mcg LSD and the average window pane at 50-150mcg LSD. Liquid LSD is uncommon and is generally (but not always) diluted to ensure that 1 drop equals 1 dose.

LSD is degraded by exposure to heat, light, oxygen and moisture. Optimal storage conditions exclude these. Recommended is wrapping in tin-foil to exclude light, storing in an air tight container with a desiccant bag and then in the freezer.

Orange Sunshine and The Brotherhood of Eternal Love

In 1966 a biker gang from California, lead by “Farmer” John Griggs held up a Hollywood producer at gunpoint and stole his stash of Sandoz LSD. After taking the acid they appear to have experienced some sort of epiphany, and began to experiment with psychedelics and mysticism. In the summer of 1966, John Griggs travelled to Millbrook and met Timothy Leary who urged Griggs to form his own church.

The Brotherhood of Eternal Love, consisting of 30 original members was formally established in October 1966, 10 days after LSD was made illegal in California. The groups stated objective was: “to bring the world to a greater awareness of God through the teachings of Jesus Christ, Buddha, Ramakrishna, Babaji, Paramahansa Yogananda, Mahatma Ghandi, and all true prophets and apostles of God, and to spread the love and wisdom of these great teachers to all men… We believe this church to be the earthly instrument of God’s Will. We believe in the sacred right of each individual to commune with God in spirit and in truth as it is empirically revealed to him”.

As part of this new religion, LSD was used as a communal sacrament. To support the emerging religion they opened a shop, selling “hippie paraphernalia” in Laguna Beach, California. However the shop did not provide the necessary income for its intended purpose, which was to purchase land for the church.

Subsequently the Brotherhood started dealing drugs: Initially they smuggled Marijuana from Mexico, however over a few years they developed a smuggling and distribution network that reached to Afghanistan. They also sold LSD produced by Owsley in San Francisco.

In late 1967 Owsley was arrested and supplies of LSD dried up. The Brotherhood made contact with Owsley’s former assistant Tim Scully in 1968, along with another chemist, Nick Sand who had previously served as chemist to Arthur Kleps’ Neo-American BooHoo Church. By June 1969 Sand and Scully had produced an estimated 10 million doses of high quality LSD.

In the summer of 1969, at a rock concert in Anaheim a member of the Brotherhood appeared wearing a T-Shirt reading “Orange Sunshine Express” scattering pills of Sand and Scully’s LSD around him. “Orange Sunshine” was born. It is estimated that 100,000 doses of LSD were given away that day.

Orange Sunshine quickly reached mythical status: Timothy Leary (who had moved to the West Coast following the disintegration of the Millbrook community in 1967) endorsed Orange Sunshine over other brands of acid and gave public lectures on the theme of “Deal for Real: The Dealer as Robin Hood”, claiming that psychedelic drug users had an obligation to distribute drugs, to pay tribute to brotherhoods, or groups of men. It was said that Orange Sunshine was different to other LSD because of cosmic influences and special karma. It was put forward that it was not just selling drugs but enabling people’s existence and spiritual development.

In the late 60’s and early 70’s Orange Sunshine spread worldwide, reaching Goa, Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam, Israel and Mecca. The Brotherhood had developed a reputation as spiritual crusaders.

However by the summer of 1969 cracks were starting to appear: Griggs died after an overdose of PCP and a teenage friend of Timothy Leary’s daughter was found drowned in a pond at the Brotherhood commune with traces of LSD in her system. Members of the Brotherhood were jailed on marijuana charges. After Griggs’ death the approach to distribution became more competitive and less focused on the founding sentiments of the church. Additionally, the supply of Orange Sunshine LSD was dwindling and they had lost their contacts for raw materials.

Scully left the Brotherhood in 1969, shortly after a man named Ronald Stark appeared at the Brotherhood Ranch. Stark became the Brotherhoods chemist, producing an estimated 20kg of LSD between 1969 and 1971. He also subsequently became its banker, channelling money through a bank which had originally been set up by the CIA, as a front for covert narcotics and money laundering operations. Stark was a mysterious figure, with worldwide contacts, he claimed to know spies and was suspected of being involved with the CIA (and the project later to be revealed as MK-ULTRA). In 1971 he shut down his European LSD manufacturing operation, having claimed to have been “tipped off”.

In 1972 the Brotherhood was busted, and Stark ended up with most of the Brotherhood’s property and money in his name. This was shortly after The Weathermen aided Timothy Leary in his escape from jail (with funds provided by the Brotherhood).

Stark was jailed in Italy in 1975, and received several visitors from the US and British consulates. He was freed in 1979.

For further info: “Acid Dreams: the Complete Social History of LSD, the CIA, the Sixties and Beyond” Martin Lee and Bruce Schlain.

Blotter Art

From the mid 1970’s blotter has been the most available form of LSD. There are likely two main reasons for this: Firstly, after LSD was made illegal in the US (in 1967) mandatory minimum sentencing was introduced. Sentences were determined by the weight of the substance with which offenders were caught. If someone had LSD on a sugar cube weighing 1g then the sentence was the same as for an individual caught with 1g of crystal LSD (representing approx 10,000 LSD doses rather than just 1)! . The move to lightweight LSD blotter therefore reduced sentences. Secondly: There were many high profile busts in the late 60’s and early 70’s, during which pill presses were seized, LSD blotter was therefore more convenient for many to make.

Over the years “Blotter Art” has developed as a field in its own right, with images ranging from multiple repeats (so each trip has a complete image), to complex images spanning a whole sheet. Images have typically been psychedelic in nature, or relied heavily on cartoon images. Occult and religious symbols have also been widely used. There is also a distinct sub-category of satirical Blotter Art, including images such as “Gorby” and “FBI”. This imagery originally served as an identifier of different batches of LSD, a form of “trademark”.

There are distinctions within Blotter Art. Some iconic images have been circulating since the 70’s (Eg: Hofmann’s, Eye of Horus, Knights of Malta) other art work is dubbed “Vanity Blotter Art”. This is art as a collectible and has never been dipped.

The original collector and originator of the scene is Mark McCloud, a San Francisco artist (and former Art Professor). Initially his collection was based on street prints, which have subsequently been exposed to UV light to destroy the LSD. In 2000 McCloud was charged with “conspiracy to manufacture and distribute LSD”. The DEA claimed that having 30,000 Blotter Art sheets in his possession meant that he was supplying chemists and wholesalers. This was his second arrest (the first was in 1991). In both cases he was acquitted. It is estimated that he spent more than half a million dollars on his defence.

It is important to realise that although Blotter Art is now un-dipped, selling it (or giving it away) and claiming it contains LSD is STILL an offence.

Blotter Art can reach high prices, particularly when signed by prominent figures from the psychedelic movement. In 2004 MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) received almost $20,000 as a result of sales of Blotter Art signed by Albert Hofmann.

As a result of the growing popularity of the art-form, and high prices generated, Blotter Art is sometimes counterfeited. Another concern is the reproduction of copyrighted images without the consent of the artists.

Famous Blotter Art artists include: Mark McCloud, Thomas Lyttle, Stevee Postman. Alex Grey’s images also often appear.

Links:
Erowid LSD blotter galery
www.blotterart.net