In Entry 26 of his compendium TiHKAL, which discussed LSD, chemistAlexander Shulgin touched briefly on the subject of ALD-52. His comments there are vague, second-hand accounts saying doses in the 50–175 µg range have resulted in various conclusions. One account found that there was less visual distortion than with LSD and it seemed to produce less anxiety and tenseness and that it was somewhat less potent. Another informant claimed it was more effective in increasing blood pressure. Yet another informant could not tell them apart.
Safety
In The Hallucinogens by Hoffer and Osmond, ALD-52 is listed as having a lower intravenous toxicity, a lower pyretogenic effect, an equal psychological effect in humans, and double the "antiserotonin" effect as compared with LSD. Human experiments have not been well documented.
History
The Orange Sunshine variety of LSD that was widely available in California through 1968 and 1969 was produced in the Sonoma County underground chemistry lab of Tim Scully and Nicholas Sand. It was shut down by the police, and Scully was arrested and prosecuted. This resulted in the first drug analogue trial, where Scully claimed that he and his partners did nothing illegal, because they were producing ALD-52, which was not an illicit drug. However, as the prosecution claimed, there were problems with such a rationale—ALD-52 was claimed to readily undergo hydrolysis to LSD, and secondly, the synthesis of ALD-52 required LSD.. Scully was convicted and served time in prison. Tim Scully has confirmed that the speculation above is incorrect. In a Reddit AMA with the director of the movie The Sunshine Makers, he says "The Orange Sunshine we delivered was LSD 25. ALD 52 was an ill-advised desperate defense strategy that failed miserably... The story of Orange Sunshine is complicated by the fact that The Brotherhood distributed LSD from more than one manufacturer as Orange Sunshine. "Nick and I made the original Orange Sunshine in Windsor. That was the last lab I worked in making LSD. Ron Stark managed several LSD labs in Europe and most of his output was tableted and sold as Orange Sunshine. At least some of the LSD that his labs made was not pure."
Legal status
Austria
ALD-52 is technically not illegal but it may fall in the NPSG as an analogue of LSD
Denmark
ALD-52 is not listed as an illegal substance in Denmark as of April, 2019, and its chemical class 'lysergamide' is not banned under the Analogue Act.
Germany
ALD-52 is controlled under the NpSG as of July 18, 2019. Production and import with the aim to place it on the market, administration to another person and trading is punishable. Possession is illegal but not penalized.
Latvia
ALD-52 is illegal in Latvia. Although it isn't officially scheduled, it is controlled as an LSD structural analog due to an amendment made on June 1, 2015.
Romania
1P-LSD is illegal to produce or sell in Romania. It is not included directly in the list of controlled substances, but it is included in . However, it is not, as of yet, classified as illegal to use.
Singapore
ALD-52 is a class A controlled drug, and is illegal to traffic, manufacture, import, export, possess, or consume in Singapore as of December 1, 2019, punishable with a minimum of five years’ imprisonment and five strokes of the cane.
Switzerland
Since March 2018, ALD-52 is illegal in Switzerland and has been put in the .
United Kingdom
On June 10, 2014 the UKAdvisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs recommended that ALD-52 be specifically named in the UK Misuse of Drugs Act as a class A drug despite not identifying it as ever having been sold or any harm associated with its use. The UK Home office accepted this advice and announced a ban of the substance to be enacted on 6 January 2015 as part of .
