The date, the 16th of November, 1938.
On this day, the psychedelic drug, LSD, was
first synthesised.
Lysergic acid diethylamide, usually abbreviated
to LSD but also commonly known as acid, is
an ergoline drug with no current approved
uses as a medicine.
Today it is used primarily for recreational
use or in spiritual contexts, due to the sensory
and psychological effects of taking the drug,
including auditory and visual hallucinations,
euphoria, and the feeling of mental clarity,
amongst other positive and negative effects.
While searching for medically useful ergot
alkaloid derivatives, Albert Hofmann synthesised
LSD for the first time on the 16th of November
1938, with the intention of producing an analeptic.
Hofmann did not further explore LSD until
April 16, 1943, when after re-synthesising
it, he discovered a small amount had been
absorbed through his fingertips.
He describes the effects as follows;
“I perceived an uninterrupted stream of
fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with
intense, kaleidoscopic play of colours.
After about two hours this condition faded
away.”
– Albert Hofmann
Hoffman experimented with the drug, believing
it to be a potential tool in the treatment
of psychiatric patients.
By the mid-1950s, LSD research was being conducted
across America, and in other countries, such
as the United Kingdom, often on servicemen,
with the drug proven to aid in the treatment
of alcoholism, and facilitating psychotherapy.
By the mid 1960s however, governmental production
began to slow as LSD began to be used by the
people recreationally, and scientific study
almost completely evaporated by about 1980.
Research into psychedelic therapy, using LSD
and other psychedelic drugs such as Psilocybin,
experienced a resurgence from the mid 2000s,
however they remain heavily restricted and
far from completely understood.
Hofmann continued to study psychedelic drugs,
and was the first to isolate, synthesize and
name the principal psychedelic mushroom compounds
psilocybin and psilocin.
He died in 2008.
Everything becomes history.
Until next time, goodbye.
