candyflipping: (slang) The experience of combining the drugs LSD and MDMA.
MDMA is a highly potent hallucinogen that has earned a reputation as a party drug. Because of its primary use as a recreational drug during highly emotional gatherings, people often take MDMA with other drugs like alcohol or marijuana. A trend among young people is to take MDMA alongside LSD for more powerful effects without as high a risk of overdosing on MDMA. This combination is known as “candyflipping.”
Candyflipping yields unpredictable and often harmful results. So, it would be safer to take them separately or refrain from using recreational drugs altogether since both substances are highly addictive.
Explore what candyflipping is and its potential effects. Also, learn how to protect yourself from the permanent health effects of candyflipping.
What Is Candyflipping?
Candyflipping is mixing LSD and MDMA to create a more potent and powerful experience. In most candyflipping scenarios, a person will take LSD. Then, they will take MDMA four hours later.1
The original purpose of candyflipping when it first entered the scene in the 1980s was to boost the potency and duration of MDMA effects without risking an overdose on MDMA.2 People do this by substituting multiple MDMA pills for LSD to heighten the impact of the MDMA.
However, LSD has unpredictable hallucinations, made more unreliable by the combination of drugs. Therefore, many people report different experiences—many of which are negative.
The combination of LSD and MDMA poses several risks and adverse side effects. So, people should refrain from mixing the two substances.
What Is LSD?
LSD is a hallucinogen that has no medical use. Other names for LSD include:3
- Acid
- Dots
- Mellow Yellow
- Window Pane
LSD is colorless and odorless, with a bitter taste. People take LSD as tablets, as liquid, or as blotting paper. Then, the body absorbs LSD orally before producing hallucinations and distorted senses.
What Is MDMA?
MDMA is a stimulant and psychedelic with no current medical uses. Common names for MDMA include:4
- Ecstasy
- Adam
- Beans
- Clarity
- Disco Biscuit
- E
- Eve
- Go
- Hug Drug
- Lover’s Speed
- Peace
- STP
- X
- XTC
MDMA primarily comes in tablet form with a logo stamped on top. People can also find it as a capsule, powder, or liquid.
The body absorbs MDMA orally, except when people snort or smoke it. So people will often take three or more tablets at one time for a longer, more powerful effect. However, today, young adults will do candyflipping rather than only using MDMA.
What Are the Effects of Candyflipping?
Candyflipping has unpredictable results that combine the effects of LSD and MDMA. As a result, each person’s experience is different and not always positive.
Here are a few of the symptoms each drug exhibits on its own. You might experience some or all of these symptoms when you take them together.
What Are the Effects of LSD?
LSD causes a trip where a person experiences unpredictable hallucinations. During the trip, you might have vision and mood changes. You may also have poor depth and time perception and a distorted vision of shapes, colors, sizes, and movements.3
Most LSD effects occur during the first hour after taking the drug.
Some common adverse effects include:6
- Impaired rational thinking skills
- Inability to make sound judgments
- Injury due to poor sight and mind
- Rapid mood swings
- Inability to recognize reality
- Impulsive behavior
After an LSD trip, some people experience a low accompanied by anxiety and depression.
A few people who use LSD will continue experiencing small trips for weeks or months after taking the drug. This ongoing experience is called hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD).
What Are the Effects of MDMA (Ecstasy)?
MDMA creates feelings of euphoria, intimacy, empathy, and sexuality. This is why it earned its reputation as a party drug. These feelings come from MDMA’s effect on the brain cells.
The brain contains a vital chemical called serotonin that regulates a person’s mood, sexual activity, sleep, and aggression. MDMA impacts the cells that control serotonin for heightened stimulation and emotions.4
The effects of MDMA begin 30-45 minutes after taking the drug and will last four to six hours.
Alongside the euphoric high, MDMA can also cause these adverse side effects.
Psychological Effects
- Confusion
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Paranoia
- Sleep Issues
Physical Effects
- Muscle tension
- Tremors
- Teeth clenching
- Muscle cramps
- Nausea
- Faintness
- Chills
- Sweating
- Blurred vision
When someone regularly uses MDMA, they are also at risk of developing a substance use disorder and cravings for the drug.
Drug cravings can be powerful and challenging to resist. That’s why you need a team of empathetic specialists who will help you find freedom from the harmful effects of substance use disorder. Our team of specialists is ready to provide the help you need to experience long-term drug recovery.
Dangers of Mixing Hallucinogens
Candyflipping combines the effects of LSD and MDMA for an unpredictable result. Because you cannot control the outcome, this poses many risks. There is very little research on the combination, including the long-term impact of using the two drugs together.1
What you can count on is increased effects, both positive and negative. This can result in stronger hallucinations or worse trips. However, you also increase the risk of negative effects like dehydration and increased body temperature.
MDMA poses another risk since Ecstasy is not always a pure drug. Often, Ecstasy distributors will lace other drugs with MDMA. Some common drugs include methamphetamine, ketamine, cocaine, cathinone, and caffeine.4
When you introduce unknown drugs into the mix by taking LSD and Ecstasy together, you will have even more erratic outcomes, some of which can be life-threatening.
The safest option is to separate drugs, especially if you did not receive them from a reliable source.
Mixed Effects of LSD and MDMA
The effects of LSD occur 20-90 minutes after taking it and can last at least 12 hours. Meanwhile, MDMA’s effects begin 20-70 minutes and last for three to six hours. This adds up to an experience lasting anywhere from 12-24 hours.1
Candyflipping also has a harsher comedown. LSD on its results in depression, panic, and paranoia. Then, MDMA comedowns add intense cravings. However, together you may experience symptoms including:1
- Insomnia
- Concentration problems
- Memory issues
- Irritability
- Aggression
- Decreased appetite
- Decreased sexual pleasure
Signs of Addiction to LSD or MDMA
If you regularly use LSD, MDMA, or both, you are at risk of addiction. Take this evaluation to assess how dependent you are on the drugs. If you have experienced two or more of these criteria, you should consider visiting a specialist to discuss your options for a healthier life.5
- Taking more of the drug than you intended or were prescribed
- Feeling the desire to stop using the drug but are unable to stop
- Spending most of your time buying, using, or recovering from the drug
- Craving to use the drug
- Unable to complete work, school, or personal obligations because of the drug
- Continuing to use the drug even though it negatively impacts your social life
- Participating less in social and recreational activities because of using the drug
- Using the drug even if it is not safe
- Using the drug even though you know it will cause physical or mental problems
- Tolerance: Needing to use more of the drug to experience the same effects
- Feeling withdrawal symptoms when not using the drug
Withdrawal Symptoms
LSD has unknown withdrawal symptoms, as most people do not experience severe effects when they stop using LSDs. However, some people who use LSD experience higher rates of mental illness, including depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia.6
Most of the withdrawal symptoms from candyflipping will come from MDMA. Some of the most common symptoms include:7
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Depression
- Trouble concentrating
- Cravings for MDMA
Signs of an LSD and MDMA Overdose
When you regularly take several drugs together, you are at risk of overdosing. An overdose is taking more than the recommended amount of a drug. It often has life-threatening results.
The signs of an MDMA overdose include:4
- Sharp increase in body temperature
- Liver, kidney, and cardiovascular failure
- Death
The signs of an LSD overdose include:3
- Longer LSD trips
- Psychosis
- Death
If you experience any of these symptoms after candyflipping, please see a healthcare provider immediately.
Treatment for LSD and MDMA Addictions
There are currently no specific treatments for MDMA or LSD as there is limited research, especially on their combined effects. However, many people with substance use disorders related to MDMA found behavioral therapy helpful.
California Behavioral Health offers several treatment options for those with substance use disorders related to candyflipping.
Those with more severe addictions might consider joining an inpatient treatment plan. Inpatient treatment allows the patient to stay at a safe and supportive facility for consistent monitoring and care.
You can opt for outpatient care if you have outside obligations and a mild substance use disorder. With outpatient care, you can maintain your regular life, like work, school, and family. Then, you return to the facility for consistent therapy and treatment.
California Behavioral Health is also a leading dual-diagnosis treatment facility. With dual diagnosis treatment, you can get help for both your addiction and the mental illnesses that often come up when you stop taking LSD or MDMA.
Start on the Road to Recovery
Recovery is possible with the help of our supportive specialists. When you contact us, we’ll talk about your situation so we can give you a personalized treatment plan with several options. That way, you are fully comfortable with your journey. Then, we will remain by your side every step of the way to ensure a long-term recovery.
Contact our specialists to discuss the best treatment plan for your unique needs.
Resources
1. Santos-Longhurt, Adrienne, Carter, Alan, Pharm.D., (2020 Feb. 2). LSD and MDMA: What To Know about Candyflipping. Healthline.
2. Chary M, Yi D, Manini AF. (2018 April 30). Candyflipping and Other Combinations: Identifying Drug-Drug Combinations from an Online Forum.NIH.
3. LSD Drug Fact Sheet. (2020 June). Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement Administration
4. Ecstasy/MDMA Drug Fact Sheet. (2020 June). Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement Administration
5. McNeely J, Adam A. (2020 Oct). Substance Use Screening and Risk Assessment in Adults. NIH.
6. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); Office of the Surgeon General (US). (2016 Nov.). Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health. NIH.
7. NIDA. (2020, June 15). MDMA (Ecstasy/Molly) DrugFacts. NIH.
