Deaths from LSD, new psychoactive drugs a concern

Six fatalities related to their use since 2016; reports of ‘trip parties’ increasingly common

- Zaihan Mohamed Yusof

On June 13 last year, Mr Lee got the late-night call parents dread – his son was in hospital and critically injured. When Mr Lee arrived at Changi General Hospital, he learnt that Ethan had fallen from a height.

Mr Lee, who declined to give his full name, said he was also told that his son, a 22-year-old freelance artist, had consumed lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, before his fall. Ethan later died from his injuries.

He is the latest young person to die in an incident involving the use of LSD or synthetic drugs that mimic the effect of LSD, known as new psychoactive substances (NPS).

Drug deaths are rare here, but since 2016, there have been six fatalities related to LSD and NPS use.

A study by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) published in 2019 in the Forensic Science International journal showed four deaths. Two more were recorded after it was published, including Ethan’s.

Last year, a 17-year-old died from injuries sustained in a fall from height. An autopsy report showed traces of LSD and sleeping pills in his blood and urine. He was arrested by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) earlier in the year for trafficking 131 LSD stamps.

The amount of LSD and NPS the CNB seizes is small compared with other drugs like crystal methamphetamine, or Ice.

But the drug appears to have a following among young people, with reports of “trip parties” becoming increasingly common, and the sale of the drug on messaging platform Telegram becoming more visible.