On this day, April 19, 1943 Albert Hoffmann, a 37 year old chemist for
Sandoz, in Basel, Switzerland, ingested intentionally a minute
amount—just 250
micrograms--of a compound derived from the ergot fungus thus
synthesizing lysergic acid diethylamide for the first time.Three days
earlier, he had
absorbed a small amount of the drug either through his fingertips or by
accidentally ingesting it. Anyway, less than an hour later, Hoffman
began to feel strange and noticed
sudden and intense changes in his perception. He decided to pedal home
from his laboratory. His bike ride accompanied by strong hallucinations
developed into a real trip. Hoffman turned on, tuned in, becoming the
first human to trip on LSD. This is how Hoffman learned about
the effects of this substance and experienced all its
heavenly and hellish effects.
Hofmann realized he had made a significant discovery: a psychoactive
substance with extraordinary potency, capable of causing significant
shifts of consciousness in incredibly low doses. He
wrote about his
experiments and experience on April 22, which was later put into his
book LSD: My Problem Child.
He saw the drug as a powerful
psychiatric tool, because of its intense and
introspective nature, he couldn’t imagine anyone using it
recreationally.
Hoffman admitted that the substance would be
dangerous in the wrong hands. Look at the sad tale of Syd Barrett and
others, we've all probably encountered, the same drug that awakens us
can also enslave us or drive us mad.
Albert Hofmann had first synthesized lysergic
acid diethylamide (LSD) on November 16, 1938, while researching lysergic
acid derivatives. The main intention of the synthesis was to obtain an
analeptic (a central nervous system stimulant).
Researchers
were looking initially at ways of identifying and synthesizing
chemical compounds from plants. Hofmann
chose ergot, a fungus that grows on rye and other cereals, which was
formerly used by midwives to stop bleeding after childbirth. It also
causes ergotism, a form of fungal poisoning, which was a common
complaint among medieval pilgrims.
Hofmann managed to isolate some of
ergot's active substances, including a drug that stops post-natal
haemorrhaging.But he is best remembered for his accidental discovery of
LSD ..
After Hoffman’s discovery, psychologists
clinically researched the drug throughout the 40s, 50s, and 60s, with
the Swiss company Sandoz Pharmaceuticals distributing free samples of
the chemical for research purposes.Alfred Hubbard read
a report discussing the hallucinogenic effects of the then-obscure drug
and tried it in 1951. He became known as the first true proponent for
LSD outside of the research world after realizing that it could be used
to explore the depths of the human psyche. He began researching and
distributing the compound, eventually swapping his LSD for psilocybin,
the psychoactive chemical in certain mushrooms, being studied by a
Harvard psychologist, Dr.Timothy Leary.
Leary went on to become the most
high-profile researcher and proponent of the drug, eventually losing his
position at Harvard for the controversial nature of his advocacy. He
published The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead with Richard Alpert in
1964, a work that compared the nature of tripping to the spiritual
experience of birth and rebirth detailed in the Tibetan tome.Leary identified phases of
the psychedelic experience with the Bardo stages of consciousness
outlined in the Tibetan Book of the Dead,from "complete transcendence"
to " routine game reality " and indeed the arrival of LSD coincided with a
surge of interest in mystical and esoteric subjects He
advocated for students to “Turn on, tune in, and drop out,” a message
that was picked up by the counterculture and perpetuated with the rising
prevalence of acid parties.
Ken Kesey served as a
medical guinea pig testing LSD and other psychoactive drugs in the
1950’s (at the time, the CIA was also testing LSD as a weapon as part of
its MKUltra program, thinking that it could be used as “truth sermon”
or to incapacitate enemy forces). After publishing One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
in 1962, a book detailing his experiences during the research project,
the financial success of the book allowed him to move to California,
where he began hosting a series of “Acid Tests” in San Francisco along
with his gang of Merry Pranksters. Enter the Grateful Dead, then known as The Warlocks
who served as the house band for these tests, during which attendees
dropped acid and explored LSD’s mind-altering effects.
The 1960's, saw LSD use became widespread among people who sought to
alter and intensify their perceptual experience, to achieve insights
into the universe and themselves, and to deepen emotional connection
with others.
At the helm of the counterculture revolution of the 60s and beyond,
increasingly, the government became worried about the use of the drug,
associating it with the anti-war sentiment and viewing it as a threat to
American middle class, traditional values. After Dr. Sidney Cohen, a
doctor who tested the psychoanalytical capabilities of the compound,
testified before Congress in 1966 and declared that the drug was
dangerous in the wrong hands, LSD was made illegal in 1967.
Hofmann called LSD "medicine for the soul" and was frustrated by the
worldwide prohibition that has pushed it underground. "It was used very
successfully for 10 years in psychoanalysis," he said, adding that the
drug was hijacked by the youth movement of the 1960's and then unfairly
demonized by the establishment that the movement opposed.
While the counterculture raged on, with time the popularity of LSD
subsided in the 80s, as other drugs became en vogue. However, as the
turn of the new millennium approached, so did the youth’s interest in
the psychedelic compound, with the drug reemerging in popularity in the
90’s and into the 2000’s through to now.
Psychedelic enthusiasts across the world now commemorate Hoffman's
discovery of LSD's effects every April 19, a.k.a. "Bicycle Day. " The first celebration took place in 1985. It was initiated by Thomas B. Roberts of DeKalb, Illinois.
Albert Hoffman's amazing discovery has subsequently contributed to
countless works of art, literature, and music. Releasing a rich banquet
of inspiration that still manages to fuel our senses today. From the
books of Aldous Huxley, Kurt Vonnegut , Jr, to the music of Jimi
Hendrix, my local heros Sendelica, acid still catches the imagination.
I've personally taken a few trips in my time, not for a while though,
never seem to come across it, perhaps people are hiding it from me,
because they've seen me under the influence, managed to hitch to
glastonbury from west wales, under the influence , stopping on way back for some respite in a
field by the motorway for a while, to gather my senses and spend time
talking to a tree. Happy days. Oh and I have a flying frog in my living
room called Albert.
My frog who goes by the name of Albert
