ALD-52

ALD-52, also known as 1-acetyl-LSD (1A-LSD) and falsely as "Orange Sunshine", is a psychedelic drug of the lysergamide family related to lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). It is taken orally. The drug acts as a readily converted prodrug of LSD and hence has very similar properties to those of LSD, including in terms of onset, duration, and subjective psychedelic effects. LSD itself acts as a non-selective agonist of serotonin and dopamine receptors, including of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor, and this mediates its hallucinogenic effects. ALD-52 is a 1-acyllysergamide, specifically the 1-acetyl derivative of LSD, and is closely related to other 1-acyllysergamide LSD prodrugs, such as 1P-LSD, 1V-LSD, and 1cP-LSD. The drug has about 90 to 100% of the potency of LSD. ALD-52 was first described in the literature by Albert Hofmann and colleagues at Sandoz in 1957. It was once claimed that the "Orange Sunshine" LSD distributed by Tim Scully and Nick Sand during the 1967 Summer of Love in the United States was actually ALD-52 rather than LSD, but this turned out to be untrue. ALD-52 was first definitely encountered as a novel designer drug in 2016. The drug is a key parent compound and inspiration for the 1-acyllysergamide prodrugs like 1P-LSD that were developed by Lizard Labs and emerged as designer drugs in the mid-2010s.