dragonrider said:
I don't know if the vasoconstriction itself has anything to do with it. Maybe though, constriction of the pores of the skin, could cause rashes.
It could also be more complicated. As LSD has dopaminergic as well as noradrenergic effects, it could also be cortisol related. Or maybe LSD activates the thyroid. I've Always found that the infamous so-called 'electric taste' is more a weird sort of electric feeling in the throat, around the thyroid area, than an actual taste-like sensation.
I always assumed the "electric" deal started with owsley stanley and Ken kesey...
Here's my thoughts on this "electric" nomenclature in the LSD community:
...as well as being the grateful dead's sound engineer, owsley was also a notorious clandestine chemist specializing in LSD, "white lightning" was was an owsley classic brand of LSD...
Owsley also designed the "steal your face" logo for the grateful dead, a clear reference to "white lightning LSD", which also helped to cement this "electric" association with LSD in the public mind.
owsley, as a chemist, would know that Pure salts of LSD are triboluminescent, a phenomena which is said to be related to electricity...
Triboluminescence is an optical phenomenon in which light is generated through the breaking of chemical bonds in a material when it is pulled apart, ripped, scratched, crushed, or rubbed (see tribology). The phenomenon is not fully understood, but appears to be caused by the separation and reunification of electrical charges
So, as really pure LSD will emit flashes of white light, when shaken, in the dark, I always assumed that "electric" was simply referring to very pure LSD, as this phenomena occurs with it...
Repeated recrystallizations [of LSD] from methanol produced a product that became progressively less soluble, and eventually virtually insoluble, as the purity increased. As a totally pure salt, when dry and when shaken in the dark, will emit small flashes of white light. -shulgin ; TIHKAL
So, then this "electric" term for LSD spreads from the chemists, to a public who doesn't understand the physical compound or its chemistry, this could have happened in part by kesey labeling his vats of LSD laced kool-aide for the "acid test" events as "electric" to designate it from the kool-aide which was not laced, so the public gets this name "electric", but as they are not chemists, and as they have not seen pure LSD crystals, they can't understand where it came from, most people even today are unaware that pure LSD crystals are triboluminescent... so the public assigns its own meanings to the term, telling others "good acid will taste or feel electric" because they figured that's what it must have meant,
this causes a psychosomatic synesthesia in the people who hear this, just by expecting it, they experiance it...
Ok, back to the topic:
If this rash was related to Dopaminergic or Adrenergic aspects of the pharmacology of LSD, then you may expect to see similar reactions with other Dopaminergic or Adrenergic compounds, no? Maybe a place to investigate...
The pharmocological properties of LSD are not fully understood, but from what we do understand, and from the research that has been done, I can only remember hearing of this "skin irritation" from LSD in this thread, and from a single anecdote on another site...
I'm still guessing it's a vassoconstriction issue, but really can't say anything for sure.
I posted a graph showing receptor site agonism and affinity for the receptors regarding LSD, though I'm not sure it's very relevant to this thread...
-eg
