In short
1D-LSD and 1D-AL-LAD were legal in Germany because their chemical structure was not listed in the NpSG (New Psychoactive Substances Act). Their predecessors, 1cP-LSD and 1V-LSD, had already been included in the law and were therefore also not legal.
Full explanation
1D-LSD (1-(1,2-dimethylcyclobutane-1-carbonyl)-lysergic acid diethylamide hemi-L-tartrate) and 1D-AL-LAD are so-called LSD derivatives or are also referred to as "prodrugs". This means that 1D-LSD is a modification of lysergic acid, which occurs naturally in the ergot fungus and is the basic substance of "conventional" LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide).
LSD has been banned in Germany since 1971 under the Narcotics Act. Derivatives of LSD, such as the now banned 1cP-LSD or 1V-LSD, are not covered by the Narcotics Act. These are regulated by the NpSG (New Psychoactive Substances Act). This law defines exactly which substances are prohibited.
Two factors in particular were crucial for the legality of 1D-LSD and 1D-AL-LAD in the now revised text of the law. These are, firstly, the definition that derivatives with a molecular mass of up to 500u (g/mol) are prohibited and the listing of cycloalkylcarbonyls, which are also prohibited.
1D-LSD circumvented these restrictions through its molecular mass of 508.5u (g/mol), which was achieved by adding half a tartaric acid molecule to the chemical structure.
The chemical structure of 1D-LSD also contains cycloalkyldimethylcarbonyl residues, but in the NpSG only cycloalkylcarbonyls were listed, not cycloalkylcarbonyls with additional substitutions.
Laws do not change overnight, but they are constantly being adapted. For this reason, the trade in 1D-LSD was banned in mid-2024.
