ETH-LAD Stats & Data
CCN(CC)C(=O)C1CN(CC)C2Cc3cnc4cccc(C2=C1)c34MYNOUXJLOHVSMQ-DNVCBOLYSA-NReceptor Profile
Receptor Actions
History & Culture
ETH-LAD was first described in the scientific literature by Japanese researcher Tetsukichi Niwaguchi and colleagues in 1976. Nearly a decade later, American researchers Andrew J. Hoffman and David E. Nichols conducted preclinical pharmacological studies of the compound in 1985, examining its properties as part of broader investigations into lysergamide structure-activity relationships. The effects of ETH-LAD in humans were subsequently investigated by Alexander Shulgin, with initial observations communicated via personal correspondence with Nichols in 1986. Shulgin later published his findings in a 1994 literature review and provided comprehensive documentation in his 1997 book TiHKAL (Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved), where he characterized the compound as producing distinctive visual effects compared to LSD. Shulgin also noted concerns about the compound's apparent instability in solution, observing a significant drop in potency after several months of storage even under favorable conditions. ETH-LAD remained relatively obscure outside of research contexts until it emerged as a novel designer drug in Europe around 2016. It has since been marketed alongside other lysergamides such as 1P-LSD and AL-LAD as a grey-market research chemical, commercially distributed through online vendors catering to the psychedelic research community. A prodrug variant, 1P-ETH-LAD, has also been developed and appeared on the designer drug market.
Subjective Effects
Physical
- Bodily control enhancement
- Nausea
- Pupil dilation
- Spontaneous tactile sensations
- Stimulation
- Tactile enhancement
Cognitive
- Analysis enhancement
- Conceptual thinking
- Delusions
- Déjà vu
- Emotion enhancement
- Feelings of interdependent opposites
- Immersion enhancement
- Memory suppression
- Ego death
- Multiple thought streams
- Novelty enhancement
- Personal bias suppression
- Thought acceleration
- Thought loops
- Time distortion
- Unity and interconnectedness
- Wakefulness
Sensory
- Enhancements
- Distortions
- Hallucinations
- After images
- Colour shifting
- Depth perception distortions
- Diffraction
- Drifting: (melting, breathing, morphing and flowing)
- Scenery slicing
- Symmetrical texture repetition
- Tracers
- Colour enhancement
- Pattern recognition enhancement
- Visual acuity enhancement
ETH-LAD is capable of producing a full range of low and high level hallucinatory states in a fashion that is significantly less consistent and reproducible than that of many other commonly used psychedelics. These effects include:
- Transformations
- Internal hallucinations: (autonomous entities; settings, sceneries, and landscapes; alterations in perspective and scenarios and plots)
Forked from Subjective Effect Documentation work by Josie Kins, August 2016. Via dose.wiki (CC0).
Toxicity
PsychonautWikiThe toxicity and long-term health effects of recreational ETH-LAD use in humans does not seem to have been studied in any scientific context and the exact toxic dose is unknown. This is because ETH-LAD is a research chemical with very little history of human usage. Anecdotal reports from those who have tried ETH-LAD suggests that there are no negative health effects attributed to simply trying it by itself at low to moderate doses or using it very sparingly (although nothing can be guaranteed). Independent research should always be done to ensure that a combination of two or more substances is safe before consumption. It is strongly recommended that one use harm reduction practices when using this substance.
Overdose
While ETH-LAD has no known toxic dosage, many anecdotal reports suggest this compound to be harsher to handle in overdoses when compared to LSD or other lysergamides. Overdose effects can already start in the heavy dose range and are described as being particularly uncomfortable and bizarre. Some of these effects include anxiety, delusions, confusion, panic attacks, severe nausea and body load, and more rarely seizures.
Effect Profile
Curated + 22 ReportsStrong visuals and auditory effects with strong body load, mild headspace
Community Effects
TripSitTolerance & Pharmacokinetics
drugs.wikiTolerance Decay
Cross-Tolerances
Demographics
Gender Distribution
Age Distribution
Reports Over Time
Effect Analysis
Erowid + BluelightEffects aggregated from 22 experience reports (13 single-substance Erowid + 9 Bluelight)
Effect Sentiment Distribution
Confidence Distribution
Each bar is the share of reports mentioning the effect; its whisker, and the band on the rows below, is the 95% interval: where the share could plausibly be with other reports of the same kind.
Rows resting on fewer than 20 reports show a count (“3 of 7”) instead of a bar. Why 20?
Positive Effects 41
Adverse Effects 17
Show 17 neutral or unclassified mentions
Also reported in combinations. In the 10 ETH-LAD reports where another drug was taken too, 1 mentions hospital, emergency services or an overdose, 1 a seizure and 0 psychosis (too few reports for percentages). In the 13 single-substance reports: 0, 0 and 1. These are not in the figures above: they cannot be put down to ETH-LAD alone, and a mention is not always something that happened to the writer.
Real-World Dose Distribution
ErowidFrom 18 of 20 recorded dose entries: those that state a weight (mg, g or µg), in routes with at least five of them. Values above Q3 + 3×IQR, far above what people typically take, are left out; they can include real heavy doses and overdoses, not only mistakes.
Oral (n=10)
Sublingual (n=8)
Common Combinations
Most co-occurring substances, as a share of all 23 reports filed under ETH-LAD; whiskers are 95% intervals
Form / Preparation
Most common forms and preparations, as a share of the 16 reports that give one
Too few reports for bars: these forms come from 16 reports, and a bar is drawn only from 20 reports or more. With fewer, a percentage cannot tell a common effect from a rare one. Counts are shown instead. Why 20?
- Blotter / Tab 16 of 16
Body-Weight Dosing
Dose per kg of body weight, one dose per report (the first listed), from reports giving a weight of 30–250 kg. Doses above Q3 + 3×IQR, far above what people typically take, are left out of the median and range and listed under each route.
Redose Patterns
Redosing behavior across 16 reports
Too few reports for a chart: redosing is known from 16 reports, and a split is drawn only from 20 reports or more. Counts are shown instead. Why 20?
- Single dose 15 of 16
- Redosed 1 of 16
Legal Status
| Country | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | Gray area (NPSG may apply) | Not explicitly scheduled by name. However, it may fall under the Neue-Psychoaktive-Substanzen-Gesetz (New Psychoactive Substances Act) as a structural analogue of LSD. |
| Germany | NpSG controlled | Controlled under the Neue-psychoaktive-Stoffe-Gesetz (New Psychoactive Substances Act) since July 18, 2019. Production and import with intent to market, administration to others, and trading are criminally punishable. Possession is prohibited but not subject to criminal penalty. |
| Latvia | Illegal (LSD analogue) | While not officially scheduled by name, it is controlled as a structural analogue of LSD under an amendment to drug legislation enacted on June 1, 2015. |
| Poland | NPS class (illegal) | Classified as a New Psychoactive Substance under Polish drug law. Both possession and distribution are prohibited. |
| Switzerland | Controlled (Verzeichnis E) | Specifically named as a controlled substance under Verzeichnis E of Swiss narcotics legislation since December 1, 2015. |
| Turkey | Illegal | Classified as a controlled drug under Turkish legislation. Possession, production, supply, and importation are all prohibited. |
| United Kingdom | Class A | Specifically named in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as a Class A controlled substance since January 7, 2015. Class A carries the most severe penalties, including up to 7 years imprisonment for possession. |
| United States | Unscheduled (analogue liability) | Not specifically scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act. However, as a structural analogue of LSD (Schedule I), sale for human consumption or use for illicit non-medical purposes may be prosecuted under the Federal Analogue Act. |