Police raid acid stash

LSD tabs -- enough to supply about 100 users -- were seized from a Darwin home during a raid by drug squad officers.

The tabs -- believed to be manufactured interstate -- would have a street value
of about $8000.

They were found in a unit on Aralia St, Nightcliff, by detectives on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old male resident of the unit has been charged with possessing a
commercial quantity of the hallucinogenic drug.

About 148 tabs of LSD have been seized by police since August 2002.

But Drug Squad Superintendent Kris Evans said those seizures did not reflect a
substantial increase in the availability of the drug in the Territory.

"LSD is fairly rare in the NT these days," he said.

"While we do see it from time to time, it's not as prevalent as cannabis,
ecstasy and amphetamines. We're not seeing an increase in the availability of
LSD."

The detectives raided the unit after receiving information drugs were stored
there, Supt Evans said.

The drug squad has been running targeted operations on dealing in city licensed
venues.

LSD was discovered in 1938 and is one of the most potent mood-changing chemicals. The drug, commonly referred to as "acid", is sold on the street in tablets, capsules and, occasionally, liquid form.

In this case the LSD was added to blotter paper and divided into small, decorated squares, each square representing one dose, or tab.

LSD is a hallucinogenic drug and its effects are unpredictable.

The user may feel several different emotions at once or swing rapidly from one
emotion to another. If taken in a large enough dose, the drug produces delusions
and visual hallucinations.

Police also found 0.3g of methylamphetamine (speed), 1g of MDMA (ecstasy), and 0.6g of cannabis.

The man has also been charged with possessing a traffickable quantity of MDMA,
possessing methylamphetamine and possessing cannabis.

There was no evidence that the man was dealing.

The man will appear in a Darwin court on June 22.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: 04 June 2004
Source: Northern Territory News
Author: Edith Bevin
Website: http://www.ntnews.com.au
Email: ntnmail@ntn.newsltd.com.au
Copyright: 2004 Northern Territory News